close

Grad: ‘We bleed black and blue’

2 min read
1 / 7

Community members line up for hot dogs and hamburgers in spite of the early rain to support the Washington School District 150th anniversary celebration in the high school parking lot Monday.

2 / 7

Volunteers wait out the rainstorm that hit a half hour before the Washington School District 150th anniversary celebration was to begin Monday evening. The skies cleared in time for the parking lot festivities to be held without a weather delay.

3 / 7

Retired Washington teacher Sandy Curtis-Craig greets 1995 alumnus Doug Phillips at the 150th anniversary celebration Monday.

4 / 7

Washington teacher Michele Radachy helps spread Prexie pride by sharing a helium balloon with 6-year-old Jayde Turner at the Washington High School 150th anniversary celebration Monday.

5 / 7

Four-year-old Emory Zeigler gets her face painted by volunteer Joie Engle at the Washington High School 150th anniversary celebration Monday.

6 / 7

A spin of the wheel gives Washington School District parent Sherry Forrest her pick of another inflatable animal at the 150th anniversary celebration Monday night.

7 / 7

Jayde Turner, left, and Chessa Henderson, both age 6, share a hug at Washington’s 150th anniversary celebration Monday.

Sixty-seven years after occupying the classrooms and halls of Washington High School, Mary Lou McCann and Chuddy Butterfield remember the old stage, where students would perform plays for younger students who walked in from neighboring elementary schools.

McCann and Butterfield recall walking home for lunch every day and returning for afternoon classes.

“There was no cafeteria,” said Butterfield. “You had to go home.”

The friends, both 1950 graduates, returned to their alma mater Monday for the 150th anniversary celebration of the school’s first graduating class. Held in the parking lot of the junior/senior high school, the community celebration gave alumni an opportunity to reflect on their time as Prexies.

“We bleed black and blue,” said Barbie Jones, a 1987 graduate who now works as a teacher at the school. “We’re all about community, and it’s nice to see a lot of kids here. This is something special, and we’re thrilled with the turnout.”

Despite a downpour early during the event, the skies cleared, allowing for games and music.

“Almost all of the high school staff pitched in,” said teacher and senior class organizer Kelly Ryburn. “Despite the weather, this is a wonderful turnout.”

Richie Barnes, Jeff Devenney and Josh Barrette from the district took turns in the dunk tank, while children jumped in the bounce house and spun a wheel for prizes.

Almost 60 alumni checked in for the event, said Jones, who gave each a name tag with their graduation year and a Wash High pen and cup.

The school’s first graduation was held in May 1867, with five girls making up the initial class.

This year’s graduating class will be honored at 6:30 p.m. Thursday during commencement exercises, with guest speaker M. Belinda Tucker, a member of Wash High’s 100th graduating class and a professor at the University of California.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today