El Paso High's historic R.R. Jones Stadium tops vote for best in El Paso County

Click here or the photo for the El Paso Times Article

*************************

*************************

EL PASO DEL NORTE” TEXAS TRAVELOGUE TV SHOW w/ JACK DOUGLAS SAN ANTONIO, EL PASO & JUAREZ XD52004

https://youtu.be/X7fKgJihjLU

*************************

1962 Varsity Football (now in the Museum)

Austin vs EPHS played for District @ Kidd Field

AHS 28-EPHS 22

*************************

20 Year Reunion Football Game versus Austin (now in the EPHS Museum)

EPHS Museum Sports Case

*************************

The Alumni Association has updated the old Custodian Headquarters at EPHS on the SW side of the Campus (Virginia-Cliff).

We are nearing the completion of the 1st Phase but lack $$ to complete it.  We are asking Classes of 1963 & 1964 for Donations to complete a number of items...

Amada Flores & I have been working around the Campus since 2012. as Tigers-Friends & Exes.....the "Tile Project" generated $30K.  We've used the $$ for a number of Beautification Projects...we've put our Classes on a number of things around the school...notice "Class of 64" on bottom right of Address Monument @ the Corner of Schuster & Virginia..

We purchased "Trophy Cases" for the CD Jarvis Gym...

Plaque on Cases...

Picture from Back Patio of Muesem...

Slab in foreground for BBQ Grill...

We have these 2 Metal Pieces that were too large for the Address Monument (picture above)

BBQ Grill... 

Please send Tax Deductible Donations to me, Sandy Aaronson @ 140 W Castellano #322, El Paso, Tx 79912 for EPHS Alumni Association, or to EPHS Alumni Association, PO Box 5024, El Paso, Tx 79953-5025

*************************

Report: El Paso High needs $15 million in repairs

• By David Crowder / El Paso Inc. staff writer

• Apr 14, 2019

A new, 290-page architectural study of El Paso High’s facade demanded by the alumni association raises safety issues at the historic, 102-year-old school.

Released last month, the study calls for $15.3 million in repairs and restoration work and says the deterioration of the outside of the building “may become a life safety issue.”

The El Paso High School Alumni Association’s president, Amada Flores, who led the push for the study along with Anna Mares, says they’re basically satisfied with the $476,000 study.

“I’m satisfied because it is verifying and validating the fact that the building is deteriorating and that there are life-safety issues that must be addressed,” Mares said in an interview Friday. “This is an accident waiting to happen.”

Designed by famed Southwest architect Henry Trost the school is one of El Paso’s historic treasures. To Flores and Mares, it is also one of the most endangered.

The study, performed by El Paso-based Nine Degrees Architecture & Design in conjunction with Gensler Architecture, calls for the “complete restoration” of the high school’s facade and labels it the top priority.

“Other considerations include concerns over stability of these elements and the safety of the students, staff and visitors if not addressed in a timely manner,” the study states.

Flores, the 73-year-old owner of AIM Construction, which was not involved with the report, said there are plenty of other safety issues with the building not addressed in the report because it focused on the facade.

“We discovered a crack in the basement foundation, and it is no small crack,” she said. “We feel this is probably load-bearing, and is not good. How do you miss something like that?”

At issue to the alumni association is how and when the school board will fund the facade project and a further investigation of the building’s problems.

Flores and Mares contend that the money for the facade study and corrective work should have come out of the $669 million school bond proposition voters approved in 2016 and should not have been diverted to a new fine arts addition at El Paso High.

Carmen Arrieta-Candelaria, the district’s deputy superintendent of finance and operations, said that decision was made by the 80-member facilities advisory committee.

“So absolutely there was some discussion about the facade,” Arrieta-Candelaria said. “But when it went to the board, the board prioritized a fine arts addition and allocated the budget for the fine arts addition in a voter compact.

“So that obviously was the priority after the bond was passed. That’s where the majority of this funding has gone. But nowhere in any of those discussions have we said we’re not going to address it.”

The board’s commitment began with the $496,000 for the study, she said.

“They found over $15 million of need for that project,” she said. “We received directions from the board to pursue either a capital campaign or some grant funding.

“We have already met internally to see what avenues we could pursue. We think it is an important project, but we also have 90 other schools we need to attend to.”

The city and other jurisdictions often rely on certificate of obligation bonds, which don’t require voter approval, to address deferred maintenance and emergency repairs.

Arrieta-Candelaria said the board and administration have considered that route, which would be faster and surer than looking for donations or a grant.

“We did talk to them,” she said, referring to the board. “It would cost about $1 million a year for 20 years. Again, they felt that with all the needs that we have, we have not yet exhausted the capital giving and private thread.

“We felt we needed to exhaust those first, and then go back to the board and decide what to do from there.”

Mares questions that decision along with the possibility that the district will be able to raise $15 million in donations or grant money for a pressing project.

“They could use COs but they’re choosing not to,” she said.

Email El Paso Inc. reporter David Crowder at dcrowder@elpasoinc.com or call (915) 534-4422, ext. 122 and (915) 630-6622

*************************

The El Paso High Alumni Association is seeking nominations for Outstanding Ex for 2019, the nominee should meet the following requirements for consideration:

1. The nominee must have graduated from EPHS.
2. The nominee should be a respected leader or representative of her/his profession and community.
3. The nominee should have a life long record of service and/or professional accomplishments.
4. The nominee must be available to participate in Homecoming weekend activities, October 3 & 4 , 2019.

Deadline to receive nominations is Friday, May 31, 2019. A letter of nomination and resume should be sent directly to The El Paso High School Alumni Association, P.O. Box 5024, El Paso, Texas 79953 or by email to ephsalumassoc@gmail.com or EPHS Alumni Association 1523 E Yandell, El Paso, Texas 79902

**************************

EPHS vs Austin HS July 1984

On the left side under the HOME Page there is a 17 minute video of the EPHS vs Austin Football game played 20 years later.  In case you missed it or want to re-live it.

*************************

EPHS Alumni Association

New Directors Elected for EPHS Alumni Association 
At the 2017 Annual Meeting of the General Membership of The El Paso High School Alumni Association eight new Directors were elected to the Board of Directors to join four hold-over directors and now Immediate Past President Michael Montes.
Cyntia Skevington Bumb (Class of 1960)
Betty Garcia Flores (Class of 1962)
Jim Wofford (Class of 1965)
Bob Novick (Class of 1966)
Sylvia Vasquez Pedrayes (Class of 1972)
Roberta Rodriguez (Class of 1974)
Frances Vega (Class of 1981)
Christina Favela (Class of 2011)
Directors whose terms on the Board are unexpired are Amada Flores (Class of 1963), Sandry Aaronson (Class of 1964), Becky Murillo Huenneke (Class of 1979), and Anna Mares (Class of 1980).

*************************

OCTOBER 2017 ALUMNI TATLER

Many of you have received the latest Alumni Tatler via either snail mail or e-mail.  For those who have not, follow the following link.  

October Alumni Tatler

The current issue has many articles about Homecoming, scheduled for October 26 - 28.  If you get a chance to attend any of the events, please do so.  Make it a mini-reunion!

*************************

Two El Paso Schools Named ‘Most Beautiful’ in Texas in Separate Publications

Nice news for the El Paso Independent School District this week as two of its schools were named as the most beautiful in Texas in separate publications. Transmountain Early College High School ranked 22 out of the top 25 schools in the state on Aceable.com’s list. Meanwhile, El Paso High ranked sixth on that same list, but also took the top honors as Texas’ most beautiful school in a piece published by Architectural Digest this week.

Aceable had this to say about TECHS:

"A collection of small, Spanish-style buildings, Transmountain Early College High School rests in the shadows of the stunning Franklin Mountains. The understated campus lets the natural beauty of the Trans-Pecos region shine." — Aceable.com.

And this to say about EPHS:

"Overlooking downtown El Paso and resting at the foot of the Franklin Mountains, this Greco-Roman style high school is considered one of the area’s architechtural masterpieces. Its football field, which is partially encircled by the school building, was named one of the 'high school stadiums to see before you die' by MaxPreps.com." — Aceable.com

Architectural Digest added this about EPHS:

"Opened in 1916, the grand Neoclassical El Paso High School, designed by firm Trost & Trost, takes the nickname 'the Lady on the Hill.' The school overlooks R. R. Jones Stadium, the first major stadium built of concrete in the U.S". — Architectural Digest

El Paso High remains the oldest operating high school in the Lone Star State, and EPHS has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. This week’s list is just one in a long list of accolades for the design of the school. EPHS is routinely making lists of the most beautiful schools in America:

• Southern Living: ” The South’s Most Beautiful High Schools”
• Lawnstarter.com:  “Report Card: The 14 Most Picturesque High School Campuses in the U.S.
• MaxPreps.com: “10 High School Football Stadiums to See Before You Die”
• PureWow.com: “The 9 Most Beautiful High Schools in America”

Read More: El Paso High Named Most Beautiful High School in Texas 
*************************
 

New Trophy Cases in CD Jarvis Gym...We are leaving our "mark" at various locations around EPHS.  The latest one is pictured below.

The Plaque was added today...

Close Up!!

We also left our "mark" at the Corner of Schuster and Virginia...

*************************

EPHS CENTENNIAL FLOAT MAKES BRILLIANT FINAL APPEARANCE •

The encore appearance of the the EPHS Centennial Float, a creation of the El Paso High School Alumni Association and Jefferson High's Industrial Arts students, was viewed by thousands of spectators in downtown El Paso during the night-time Celebration of Lights Parade.  The Parade was in conjuction with the tree lighting ceremony in San Jacinto Plaza and WinterFest in the Downtown.  For photos of the Centennial Float decked-out in celebratory lighting and other images of the festivities downtown, visit the El Paso Times e-edition, El Paso Times on-line, or the EPHS Alumni Association Facebook Page.

A big thanks to EPHS alumna Anna Mares, float designer and all-around decorator, Yvette Soto, and John Gable, float construction director and advisor, for making the EPHS Centennial Float a reality and source of pride and joy to Tigers around the world and to tens of thousands of specatarors on the streets and watching television coverage of the Sun Bowl Parade and the Celebration of Lights Parade (lots of folks along the way to and from those parades, too!).

2016 Grand Marshal's Award
"Around El Paso for 100 Years"
It's official!  The EPHS Centennial Float, "Around El Paso for 100 Years," was judged the Grand Marshal's Award winner in the 80th Annual Sun Bowl Parade held on Thanksgiving Day, 24 November 2016.  The award is made for creative design and is one of nine named awards plus eight Honorable Mention float recognitions made by the Sun Bowl Parade Committee. 

The EPHS Centennial Float was designed by Yvette Soto in coordination with Anna Mares, an EPHS Alumni Association Director who is the float General Chairperson.  The replica of the "The Lady on The Hill," the "Golden 100," and the float apron were constructed under the direction of John Gable by Jefferson High School Industrial Arts students.  El Paso High students and alumni performed the fitting (decoration) of the EPHS Centennial Float.  Tigers and Foxes rode the float together to represent the cooperation of the two schools to create the award winning float.  Also, Susan Torres Macias (Class of 1983) and Martha Lou Florence Broaddus (Class of 1957), who together account for three decades as Student Activities Managers at la High, had the privilege of riding the float along the parade route on Montana Avenue from Campbell Street to several blocks beyond the official end of the parade at Copia Street.

A sound track consisting of the following songs played from loud speakers on either side of the float as it made its way past an estimated 275,000 spectators:  The Orange & Black played by the 2016-17 edition of the EPHS Tiger Pride Band; a swing version of Tiger Rag by the Alvino Rey Orchestra with vocals by the King Sisters; Eye of the Tiger by Journey; the original 1917 version of Tiger Rag by the Original Dixieland Jass Band; and Roar, by Katy Perry.

The El Paso High School Alumni Association entry in the 2016 Sun Bowl Parade consisted of the float and the lead unit, the inflatable "run-through" Tiger Head mounted on a extremely high clearance, extended length pick-up truck which was also decorated in the school's orrange and black motif. Thanks for Rudy Davila, devoted Tiger alumnus, and the El Paso High School Athletic Department for allowing the use of the Tiger Head inflatable.   On the float, in front of the building replica was a representation of the football field replete with yard strips, hash marks, and even yard markings (50, 40, 30, etc.).  A giant tiger paw print waved from the float as well. 

The float was sponsored, designed, created, and operated by the Alumni Association with underwriting from AIM Construction (owned and managed by Amada "Muddie" Flores [Class of 1963], the EPHS Outstanding Ex-Student of 2015) and The Hospitals of Providence.

On the Saturday following the the parade on Thanksgivng Day, a crew of alumni (Lee Schwartz [1962], Sandy Aaronson [64], Bob Novick [66], Steve Blumenthal [66], Lulu Ramirez [80], Chairperson Anna Mares [80], and Designer Yvetter Soto), set to work transforming the float for display in the Celebration of Lights Parade in Downtown El Paso on Saturday, 3 December.  Hundreds of lights (orange & black, white, red, and green), were strung on the float as displayed in the lighting test photo below (in the parade, the globes of the light fixtures on either side of the Main Steps will be illumenated, too).  Three portable generators are required to power all the lightbulbs adorning the EPHS Centennial Float entry in the night parade.

The Celebration of Lights returns this year to the newly renovated San Jacinto Plaza.  Plans include a Celebration of Lights Holiday Market featuring 60 artisans and a farmers' market on the pedestrian walk-way next to Southwest University Park (home of the Chihuahuas) between Santa Fe and Durango streets, noon to 8 PM Saturday.  

The Celebration of Lights festivities from San Jacinto Plaza was be broadcast by KVIA ABC-TV 7 from 4:30 PM to 6 PM.  The El Paso - Las Cruces CW will televise the tree lighting and the Celebration of Lights Parade beginning at 4:30 PM, concluding at the end of the parade.  Although not a part of the Celebration of Lights, Winterfest, downtown, also opens Saturday afternoon, 3 December.  It includes more lights at the Plaza Theater on Pioneer Plaza just a block west of the San Jacionto Plaza, and the opening of an outdoor ice skating rink on the Arts Festival Plaza between the Plaza Theater and the El Paso Museum of Art across the street from the Camino Real Hotel (soon to again be the Hotel Paso del Norte).

**************************
 

Courtesy of Robert M. Lopez

EPHS RANKED AMONG TOP HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTRY AND STATE

Our Alma Mater has again been ranked among the top high schools in the country!!  EPHS is also ranked as the top TRADITIONAL high school in El Paso.  The following Article is from the El Paso Times of April 21, 2016.

"Ten El Paso schools made U.S. News & World Report's list of the 2,673 best high schools in the country.

All El Paso schools that made the cut are charter schools or in the El Paso and Ysleta school districts.

El Paso's Harmony Science Academy, a charter school, ranked highest at 232nd nationwide. Also ranked were:

•Valle Verde Early College: 717
•Charter school Harmony School of Innovation-El Paso: 874
•El Paso High: 1,192
•Silva Health Magnet: 1,432
•Charter school Davinci School for Science and the Arts: 1,573rd
•Coronado High: 1,671
•Del Valle High: 2,177
•Eastwood High: 2,466
•Hanks High: 2,562

U.S. News & World Report rated Dallas' School for Talented and Gifted the best in the country and the best in Texas.

The schools also made the list of the 204 best high schools in Texas, with Harmony Science Academy clocking in at 38th in the state, Valle Verde at 83rd, Harmony School of Innovation at 95th, El Paso High at 121st, Silva Health Magnet at 141st, Davinci School at 147th, Coronado at 155th, Del Valle at 184th, Eastwood at 199th and Hanks at 203rd.

The schools are ranked based on student performance on state tests, graduation rates and how well they prepare students for college".

And the Legacy continues!!

*************************

•Perspectives, An Interview Program of El Paso Community College •

Sandy Aaronson and Betty Ann Seiler (Class of 62) talk about the El Paso High School Centennial Celebration

https://youtu.be/cRM5NbDXzvo

*************************

At the corner of Schuster and Virginia

*************************

100 Years of Excellence of History, Architecture and Trost

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxVBk5RCmUo&feature=youtu.be

*************************

The following challenge came from the EPHS Alumni Association:

"We are challenging everyone to help us get to 1,916 Members by the end of February. All money goes back to our high school and to help us celebrate our Centennial. Memberships are $16 per year or a Centennial special membership is $116 for ten years. WE NEED EVERYONE TO PARTICIPATE,.... Please, we need your help!! I'm attaching a link to our website membership page. Signing up takes no more than 5 minutes."

http://www.ephsalumn.com/join-donate/

Currently, there are only 300 members out of over 10,000 eligible graduates, former students and faculty.  It's really important in this Centennial Year that we support our Alma Mater, and the best way to do that is through the Alumni Association. We, the undersigned, challenge each of you in the Grrrrreat Class of '62  to contribute to this organization that provides scholarship funds, funds to improve the campus, funds to support extracurricular activites, etc., etc. to EPHS.  Currently, there are only 12 members of the Class of '62 who have joined the Alumni Association. We know we can do much better than that!  If you do not want to join online, let us know and we'll be happy to send you a form and envelope you can use to mail in a check.

Come on, Class of '64 - We've always come through in the past, let's do it again!

Tigers Forever!

*************************

• Donor NAME.  Please print or type
• If Alumni, please note graduating year or years of participation
• List items donated and date.

KTSM-TV News to Air Feature on EPHS Centennial •

Linda Ong, a morning anchor for KTSM-TV, Channel 9, along with two cameramen were on the El Paso High campus this past Monday to collect video and conduct an interview with Janie Pierce Shockley (Class of 62) and Hannah Jay, a member of the 2016 Centennial Year Class. The feature story will be broadcast on Friday morning (5 February) about 5:15 AM and again around 6:15 AM during the News Channel 9 Today program. Ong stated that once the feature story has aired, it will be available for viewing on-line.  I will provide the link as soon as I receive it for that particular segment of the show so that those residing outside the KTSM viewing area or El Paso residents who did not get up in time or forgot to set set their video recorders may watch the story.  Go Tigers!  Go Janie!

Link if you missed it...

http://www.elpasoproud.com/news/local/el-paso-news/centennial-celebration-a-look-back-at-100-years-of-ephs

Look at EPHS!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JXibFCEsu4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmeLTqe_Q20

**************************

Here's an email received today, Thursday, January 28, 2016:

Willie Sanchez is flying in from South Dakota to attend the 6thAnnual Alumni v Tigers Baseball Classic on Saturday, 6 February. Willie wants to support the EPHS Baseball Program, particularly during this EPHS Centennial Year. He also has as an objective to visit with former Coach Ken Morehead and as many of his former baseball, basketball, and football teammates as can make the doubleheader Saturday afternoon.

Here are the particulars about the Classic:

When: Saturday, 6 February, Gate Opens at 11 AM
1 PM The "Oldskool" Alumni (1960s - 1990s) v Tigers
3 PM The "Millennium" Alumni (2000-2015) v Tigers

Where: Baseball Field at George Hodge Ball Park, 1841 Brown Street (enter from Brown at Lost Padre Mine; adjacent to Murcheson Park and the old, underground water reservoir)

Pay to Play: $50 donation for Alumni desiring to play (alumni not suiting-up for the game are also welcome to make donations). Alumni players are entitled to a custom ball cap, T-shirt, and a grilled hot-dog, chips, and soft drink for lunch. Player Registration and warm-up begins at 11 AM.

For those who may not recall Willie (Class of 64), some of his accolades while at EPHS include 1963-64 All-EPHS Boy, class president sophomore and senior years; Freshmen Class Yell Leader; Junior Class Favorite; named to EPHS Who's Who twice; and multiple year letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. Willie has since coached baseball at the college level and was a coach with the AA Minor League Baseball El Paso Sun Kings and El Paso Dodgers at Dudley Field (aka: The Dudley Dome) in the 1970s.

Help welcome Willie Sanchez back to El Paso and to George Hodge Ball Park by attending the 2016 edition of the Alumni v Tigers Baseball Classic!

Willie, Coach Ken Moorhead and Robert Manzanarez (class of 1970)

*************************

FIRST PRESENTATION IN THE EPHS LEGACY SERIES

100 Years of Excellence of History, Architecture, and Trost

It's the Centennial of our beautiful, neo-classical El Paso High School  academic building throughout 2016, and to highlight the historic edifice the El Paso High School Alumni Association presents the FIRST in it's five-part Legacy Series of multi-media programs of 100 Years of Excellence at 7 PM on Thursday, January 21, in the historic El Paso High Auditorium.  The presentation is free and open to the public, be sure to mark your calendar and encourage others, including non-alumni of The Lady on the Hill, to attend.  A reception in the Main Hall will follow the program.

The complete schedule of the Legacy Series and other Centennial Celebration activities is included in the announcement following this entry.

Here are some links to Thursday's event..."100 Years of Excellence of History, Architecture, and Trost"

http://elpasoheraldpost.com/el-paso-high-celebrates-100-years-of-excellence/

http://www.elpasoproud.com/news/local/el-paso-news/el-paso-high-school-celebrating-its-100th-birthday

http://www.elpasotimes.com/picture-gallery/news/2016/01/21/photos-el-paso-high-kicks-off-centennial-celebration/79135702/

http://www.episd.org/community_engagement/news_detail.php?id=2327

From: The Hospitals of Providence Newsletter...

El Paso High School Centennial- This year is a big year for our community partner El Paso High School as they prepare to celebrate their centennial. The El Paso High School Centennial Celebration, which is organized by the El Paso High School Alumni Association, kicks off on January 21^st with a media conference at 1pm and the Legacy Series, followed by five interactive programs and culminating with the Centennial Celebration in October 6-8^th with more than 3,500 alumni, former faculty staff and friends to join together to break the Guinness Book of World records for the largest high school reunion and concluding with a float in the 2016 Sun Bowl parade. We congratulate El Paso High School for their 100 years of excellence! Visit ephsalumn.com for more information on the upcoming El Paso High School Centennial celebration events.

http://www.movinghealthforward.com/

*************************

/000/4/1/9/22914/userfiles/file/EPHS_POSTER-Black(1).pdf

*************************

Finally!!  We've been patiently waiting for approval from the city to erect an "Address Monument" at the Schuster and Virginia corner.  Classes of 1963, 1964 and El Paso High Tigers-Friends & Exes are going in together to erect the above.  We had some money in our account and this is our gift to the school in honor of our 50 year reunion and the Centennial.

This is what was submitted to the City and we finally got the permit after 6 months.  Thank you to the office of City Rep Courtney Niland...Tommie Buringrud Niland's daughter-in-law.

*************************

Amazon Smile Program - Support EPHS Alumni Association 

We hope you have received all the good news about what's happening with the EPHS Alumni Association.   Please do one more thing to help support our school for the Centennial and beyond.

If you are an Amazon shopper, you need to know that Amazon has agreed to add EPHS Alumni Association to its Amazon Smile program.  A certain percentage of  your purchases will come back to the association.  And it's so easy.  All you have to do is sign onto Amazon by using the link below.  It will take you directly to your Amazon account.  Then shop away and Amazon does the rest.   Please click on the link below, add it to your favorite places and use it to sign on to Amazon each time you shop.  

And while you are at it, please share the link with friends and family.  It's a painless way to support "La High."

https://smile.amazon.com/ch/74-2369452

Some of you may already support another charity or nonprofit through Amazon Smile, which is fine.  Maybe you could think about switching for a month or two (maybe during homecoming month?)  to help out EPHS as well.  Following are instructions from Amazon on their Smile program and how to change:

How do I select a charitable organization to support when shopping on AmazonSmile?

On your first visit to AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com), you need to select a charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. We will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make at smile.amazon.com will result in a donation.

Can I change my charity?

Yes, you can change your charity any time. Your AmazonSmile purchases after the change count towards your newly selected charity. To change your charity, sign in to smile.amazon.com on your desktop or mobile phone browser and simply select “Change your Charity” in “Your Account.”

Thanks, and happy shopping, Tigers! 

*************************

Former EPHS ROTC Cadets and Sponsors are invited to join an organization founded in 2003 to celebrate the comraderie engendered whille Cadets and Sponsors at EPHS.

Some of these Tigers have been practicing close order drill to form alumni drill teams.  Those alumni are now drilling with the Cadets at EPHS in anticipation of participating in the EPHS Centennial Celebration Legacy Series - JROTC & Military presentation on 12 May 2016.  The marching Tiger alumni also envision participation in other events including drill meets and parades. 

For more information about the EPHS ROTC Alumni, visit http://elpasohighrotcalumni.weebly.com

*************************

If you were a member of the EPHS Tiger Marching Band at anytime, this is for you!  An Alumni Band is forming.  Even if you haven't played music in public since graduating high school, you have a couple of years to get back into action under the direction of UTEP Director of Bands Kenny Capshaw and Chito Portillo, formerly at UT-Austin.  If you are a musician, an EPHS alumnus, even if you didn't participate in band while in high school, contact the EPHS Alumni Band at ephsalumniband@gmail.com . Plans are for the Alumni Band to perform during the Centennial Celebration Year 2016 (maybe before and hopefully after, too). 

*************************

Classes of the 60's Party Form:

/000/4/1/9/22914/userfiles/file/EPHS_Registration_Form(2).pd

*************************

Legacy Series Schedule

*************************

EPHS Alumni "Tatler"

If you receove this e-mail, you also should have received an e-mail from the EPHS Alumni Association with the latest newsletter, the "EPHS Alumni Tatler" and, if your address is up to date with us (Class of '62), you should also have received a hard copy of the newsletter by snail mail.  If you have received neither, please update your profile with us and go online to ephsalum.com to join and sign up for future newsletters.  Also, while you are at that website, please join the Alumni Association as we ramp up to the Centennial Celebration next year.

In case you didn't get it by email or snail mail

http://eepurl.com/bxsQoT

*************************

Guinness Book of World Records

The climax of the homecoming and centennial celebration scheduled for October 6 - 8, 2016 will be the attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records mark for the largest Class Reunion on October 8 on the Football Field.  The initial public push for participation began last night with the following clip from the KVIA Channel 7 news on August 15.

http://www.kvia.com/video/borderland-world-records/34730144

Please check it out -- Lee Schwartz and Anna Mares of the EPHS Alumni Association. If the link doesn't work, copy and paste it into your browser.

If you know anyone who worked or taught at EPHS or attended our wonderful school, please make sure they are on the e-mail and address list for the EPHS Alumni Association.  Contact them at centennial@ephsalum.com. 

So save the dates of October 6 - 8 and come on down for a really great celebration and help us make history!

*************************

Our fight song is now available on iTunes for download for $1.29.  A portion of the to the School Beautification Project run by EPHS Friends and Exes. Go to iTunes and search for EPHS Fight Song.   I use it as my ringtone and really look forward to people calling me so I can let the high school memories come flooding back every time my phone rings. The Fight Song is available in "Play Store" for 1.99.  You need to downlad the "Ringdroid" APP to get it as a ringtone.

The Centennial Event site is here:  http://www.ephscentennial.com/ and is updated regularly.

*************************

There is a lot going on at our old Alma Mater right now, and instead of trying post everything on our website, I’ve decided to provide the links for you to peruse yourselves.  Following is a list of links providing information about the EPHS Centennial Celebration as well as other facts of interest to all EPHS Tigers.

1.  http://www.ephscentennial.com – provides up to date information about schedules, events and a vehicle to donate funds (tax deductible) to help defray costs.  Currently, the donation link is not working, but I will notify you when it is up and running.
2. http://elpaso.episd.org/ - is the official web site of El Paso High School and provides updated information about current happenings at the school.
3.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso_High_School - has a lot of information about our school, including such things as the school Fight Song with that elusive 2^nd verse.  There is also a list of distinguished alumni, among other interesting facts.
4.  http://www.ephsalumn.com/ - provides information about activities of the El Paso High School Alumni Association.  This group is spearheading a lot of the activities for the Centennial Celebration.

Plan to attend the EPHS Centennial Celebration

& Friday evening party with the classes of the '60's.

Weekend of October 7-8, 2016

**See 100 Year Celebration Link on the Left

*************************

*************************

A big thank you to June Templeton!!

*************************

We found a couple of articles that may be of interest to EPHS graduates.  Three links on the left titled Creepy Ghost?, Ghostly Images? and The remnamts of tunnels? Enjoy!

*************************

The Basketball team from 1964-65 was honored at the 40th Annual C.D. Jarvis Basketball Tournament last week-end.  This team won 3rd Place in the State Tournament in 1965. 

Right to Left: Jesse "Chunky" Look, Jim Wofford, David Wilbanks, Tom Paul and Kenny John

Jim Wofford, Tom Paul, Ken Moorhead, Jesse Look, Kenny John and David Wilbanks

Coach Ken Moorhead lives in El Paso and was in attendance for the games.

*************************

To upload your reunion photos, click the Reunion Photos link and follow the instructions.

*************************

EPHS at Morehead School

*************************

*************************

Elena and her tile at the Centennial Wall at EPHS

*************************

Homecoming @ EPHS 2014

129 year-old School Bell from Central School

The EPHS Alumni Association coordinated the transfer of the bell from the home of Ken Thomas, a retired EPISD employee, and alumni volunteers and vocational education students at EPHS will take part in the reconditioning of the bronze bell and the refinishing of the cast iron yolk and cradle.

The school bell was originally cast in 1885 in St. Louis, Missouri, by the L. M. Ramsey Manufacturing Co. which specialized in farm machinery and bells during the last quarter of the 19th Century until 1917 when the company closed.  High School for El Paso started on the second floor of Central School in September of 1885.  With the Old Central School Bell now at EPHS, an ad hoc committee is considering options on how and where the bell will be displayed.  One proposition being given consideration is to mount the bell on a custom-made trailer so The Old Central School Bell may initiate some meaningful new traditions at EPHS at the confluence of the end of the high school's first century and the beginning of it's second century of excellence in public education for El Paso.  In this option, the bell may be used during football games to mark scoring plays by the Tigers; as signal indicting initiation or conclusion (or both)  to graduations held in RR Jones Stadium; Memorial Day and Veterans Day Ceremonies on the front steps; Homecoming and Sun Carnival parades; and as part of other events on the campus and in the community.

Ken Thomas, the donor of The Old Central School Bell, told media before the Homecoming assembly that El Paso High was the ideal place for the bell because a) El Paso High is the successor to high school at Central School; b) the JROTC program at EPHS was a continuation of the first JROTC unit in all of Texas which was formed at High School, then at Central School and it was Major James Gaines, an EPISD Assistant Superintendent for JROTC who saved the bell from oblivion and possibly the scrap heap; and c) El Paso High has an alumni association which cherishes and preserves the history of The El Paso High School dating back to the early days at The Old Central School.   Thomas also told reporters that he was very impressed on how competently and amicably the personnel of the EPHS Alumni Association had acted in the three weeks since he offered the bell to El Paso High. The palpable excitement on the EPHS campus among students, faculty, and alumni, Thomas said, was evidence The Old Central School Bell has found it's rightful home.

Read a report about The Old Central School Bell at this link:  El Paso Times.

Ms. Ferret, Principal, ringing the bell for the first time...

*************************

20th Reunion Football Game-Austin vs. EPHS-July 1984

Trophy Case at EPHS

*************************

1984: 20-year issue settled

Austin vs. El Paso High: Storied football rivalry takes field for 80th time

by Evan Mohl / El Paso Timeselpasotimes.com

Posted: 09/23/2011 04:12:39 PM MDT

Pat Wieland knows and accepts the numbers. The former Tiger linebacker understands that when the Austin and El Paso high school football teams meet tonight, the record books will indicate the 80th anniversary of a bitter rivalry.

Wieland, 65 years old and semi-retired from the real estate business, also realizes that statistics, figures or any other kind of quantitative data can never encapsulate the annual Battle of the Claw.

The game never happened in 1963 because of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. But Wieland and his fellow '64 classmates at both El Paso and Austin found a way to play it - even if it was 20 years late and will never show up in the record book.

The Battle of the Claw means that much, as the make-up game still resonates in Wieland's sharp memory.

Historic cancellation

The sounds and sights of Nov. 22, 1963, remain vivid in Wieland's and his teammates' memories.

The day started like all previous Battles of the Claw with the simultaneous pep rallies. El Paso High students and staff packed their auditorium, while a few miles up the road and around the base of the Franklin Mountains, the student body

at Austin High assembled in its gym.

At around 11 a.m., the cheering started, broadcast live on KTSM radio for all of El Paso to hear. Each side received three allotted time slots for a deafening battle of cheers that would go back-and-forth for a half-hour.

"We are the Panthers, couldn't be prouder, if you can't hear us, we'll yell a little louder!," roared the Panther faithful.

El Paso answered emphatically.

"We are the Tigers, couldn't be prouder, if you can't hear us, we'll yell a little louder!," replied the Tiger crowd.

The adrenaline flowed that Friday morning, the atmosphere electric for the 33rd meeting between the two teams.

But the game never happened.

A few hours after the pep rally news quickly spread throughout the school that President Kennedy had been assassinated.

"Someone in the hallway came up running to me and told me the president was shot," El Paso linebacker George Look said. "I thought he was talking about the Austin school president. I didn't think in a million years the president of the United States."

Coaches then delivered a second shocker to the players: The Battle of the Claw was canceled.

It would not be rescheduled.

About the rivalry

As players dealt with Kennedy's assassination, they also tried to come to terms with the canceled football game. Both depressed students. But it was the game, the highlight of the fall for the Class of 1964, that stung.

"Not to take anything away from the president's assassination," Wieland said, "but we were devastated about the game."

The rivalry, which began in 1930, matched two schools separated by 3.9 miles.

Austin player Stafford Werner and Wieland lived across the street from each other.

Austin and El Paso, particularly in the early years, were also the city's powerhouse teams. Their contest usually determined which team from El Paso would advance to the state playoffs.

Everything was on the line - from bragging rights to the season. The game and days leading up to it came to envelop the magnitude, including the broadcast.

Werner remembers an "E" burned into Austin's grass field. Another time, the Panther mascot was covered in black paint. The El Paso "E" on the Franklin Mountains went through a few disassembles as well.

In 1960, a trophy, called "The Claw" in honor of the mascots, was created for the winner of the game to claim for a whole year. "The Claw," now a replica because the original went missing in 2003, is on display as part of a Texas high school football exhibit at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin.

The trophy represents one of the five longest, continuous rivalries across the state.

Missed opportunity

Wieland calls the 1963 game a chance at redemption. The Tigers had lost seven straight years to the Panthers, including the 1962 heartbreaker, when the Tigers rallied from a 22-0 halftime deficit only to lose 28-22 in front of a record 15,000 fans at Kidd Field.

El Paso, for the first time in years, was the favorite. Austin suffered injuries and had fallen to 2-7. El Paso entered the game 7-1-1, just one game behind Bel Air for the district championship.

"We were ready to end all those years of misery," said Willie Sanchez, El Paso's quarterback. "I don't think there was any doubt we were going to win."

The cancellation left doubt. It also meant El Paso would not go to the playoffs. Bel Air was awarded the district title in nine games.

For most, that was the end of football. No college scholarship existed. No more Friday night lights. No more packed stadiums. No pep rallies.

And several of the players, who had spent years sweating and laboring on junior varsity squads, missed their one opportunity to play for "The Claw."

Redemption: 20 years later

The players, coaches, students and Wieland moved on, but he never quite forgot about the game. The what-ifs stuck like a thorn in his side.

Wieland attended Texas Western, soon to become UTEP, and eventually settled down in El Paso. One of his frat brothers and business partners was Werner.

One night in 1984 as the two dined and drank together, they began reminiscing. The details remain unclear, but Wieland, or so he says, threw out an absurd idea: What if, at the 20th reunion, the two schools ended all the doubt once and for all and played for The Claw.

Werner loved the idea. He went back to his reunion steering committee and pitched it.

A few weeks later, Wieland, who never thought the game would gain much traction, ran into Austin player James Luckett in Downtown. Luckett told Wieland the Panthers would win.

The game was on.

Back on the field

The idea began as a friendly pick-up flag football game between 38-year-olds. It quickly turned serious.

Both teams practiced well before the showdown - El Paso three times a week for two hours a couple of months before the game; and Austin a few weeks as well. They worked out and got back in shape.

They even got coaches -Jackie Meeks, the old Tigers backfields coach for El Paso, and Jerry Wilson for Austin, who helped design playbooks full of reverses, post routes, and hook and ladders. They even set up audibles at the line of scrimmage.

At one point, the Tigers closed practice for fear of spies.

"It got dead serious," Wieland said. "It was like we were 17."

The scene on game day, besides a few gray hairs and some bigger guts, looked like what 1963 was supposed to.

It had all the hoopla - and more - of an intense football game between two archrivals.

The teams played at El Paso's Jones Stadium - where the 1963 contest was supposed to be held - in front of 2,400 fans on a hot July day. Referees were hired and the scoreboard was set. Both teams had color-coordinated jerseys and hats.

Cheerleaders worked the sidelines in full 1963 uniform - pom-poms, sweater, skirts and homecoming mums. They rattled off cheers, jumped and kicked as if they had hopped into a time machine. School songs blared over speakers from the Miller Lite truck while some band members, who had rummaged old instruments, played along.

The Tigers ran out onto the field through a hand-drawn banner that read, "Pulverize the Panthers."

"It was just like we were playing for real," Sanchez said. "And we weren't playing for funsies."

In the first quarter alone, El Paso committed two personal fouls. Sanchez remembers watching players persist through injury and do things 38-year-old bodies weren't supposed to, as Eddie Fisher ran through a pulled hamstring muscle just to score a touchdown.

The Tigers led the majority of the game, but as so often happened in this rivalry, Austin rallied to tie the game at 28 late in the fourth.

El Paso answered. On fourth-and-12, Tiger quarterback Eddie Ortegon threw a strike to Fisher for a 36-28 victory that set off pandemonium.

The Tigers carried Meeks off the field, celebrating like teens.

"I've been a part of some national championships (college) and some World Series," said Sanchez, who later was a scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees.

"But I'd have to put that game, that rivalry right up there."

After the game, El Paso held an awards ceremony.

It was emotional.

When Ortegon, a former fullback, came up to receive his award for Most Valuable Player, he limped to the podium with eyes welling up.

The lost game had been found. The void no longer there, Wieland's what-ifs answered.

Players, after 20 years, finally whistled closure on what should have been one of their most treasured teenage memories.

*************************

THE GAME

On November 22, 1963, El Paso High Class of ’64 was scheduled to play arch rival Austin High in one of the most anticipated high school football games of the season.  But on that morning, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and all sporting events were cancelled.  No make-up games were scheduled.

Twenty years later, El Paso grad Pat Wieland and Austin alum Stafford Werner came up with an idea to finally play “The Game.”  After the idea was conceived, each reunion committee embraced it wholeheartedly and “The Game” took on a life of its own. It was such a serious endeavor for the Tiger football players that they practiced 5 nights a week, with their original coach Jackie Meeks, and they actually closed those practice sessions, due to suspected spies!

For EPHS Class of ’64 grads this would be much more than a game. The “Claw”, which was awarded each season to the victor of the EPHS vs. Austin game, had eluded the EPHS football team for seven long years. There was no question that EPHS would finally win back The Claw on game day. The victory would provide a fitting end to the high school football careers of all seniors. But the opportunity to win that “Claw” was denied, as was the opportunity to close the book on their high school football careers. Until…..

“The Game” took place at El Paso High’s Jones Stadium on a hot July day in 1984, complete with original coaches, original cheerleaders and more than 5000 fans.  There was tremendous community & alumni support led in part by TV Channel 7’s General Manager Richard Pearson, an El Paso High alum and Outstanding Ex.  Sportscaster Kevin Lovell was sent to take all the footage he could, much of which has now been preserved on DVD. On game day, there was even a mention of “The Game” on the network’s nationally televised morning show.

Excitement filled the air on Game Day. The setting was complete with fans cheering as the players ran through a paper barrier while the EPHS fight song blared loudly from a Miller beer truck parked on the sidelines. The Tigers prevailed by 36-28, scoring the winning touchdown with about a minute to play. The EPHS football team had won the coveted “Claw” and could finally fill the void left by the cancellation of their final football game.

EPHS Class of ’64 was able to complete the last chapter and close the book on their unforgettable high school years. A victory delayed is no less sweet. GO TIGERS!

*************************

EPHS Tile Project for 100 Year Anniversary Order Form...Link on Left Side

*************************

Picture of actual finished tiles

*************************

Hector "El Pipo" Barragan

*************************

http://tinyurl.com/ljgsv27

*************************