CdA alumni to be honored

Some of Coeur d’Alene High School’s oldest living graduates will be honored Friday as alumni gather to celebrate the school’s 100th anniversary.

The celebration will begin just before kickoff of the season’s first football game. Alumni who wear their letter jackets or school sweaters or who are over 60 years old will be admitted to the game free. Graduates from as far back as 1924 will ride around the Coeur d’Alene High football field in a motorcade as part of a short ceremony, which will begin at 6:45 p.m. Former teachers will be recognized, too, and a memorabilia tent will be set up where alumni can reminisce about high school days.

Coeur d’Alene High was organized in 1903, according to a news release from the school district, but didn’t become a four-year accredited high school until 1905.

At first, the school was located in the old Central School building on Wallace Avenue between Seventh and Eighth streets. Later, CHS moved to Seventh and Montana. The buildings have been razed, and the property has become Phippeny Park.

In 1955, a school was built on 15th Street. CHS moved to its current location on Fourth Street in 1969.

Graduates scheduled to attend Friday’s 100th-anniversary celebration include John Harrison, class of 1924; Ace Walden, ‘25; Dr. Bill Wood, ‘30; Louise Shadduck, ‘33; and Amos Libby, ‘36, and wife Inez, ‘40.

The celebration is being organized by other alumni and CHS Principal Steve Casey.

The school’s anniversary will be acknowledged during home games of each CHS sports team, and varsity athletes will wear special patches on their uniforms with the slogan “Celebrating a Century of Excellence.”

Former teachers planning to attend are being asked to call the high school at (208) 667-4507 so they can be introduced at Friday’s ceremony.