EVERETT — As voices and laughter filled the halls of the Everett High School on Saturday afternoon, 100 years of history came to life.
The school celebrated the 100th anniversary of its main building Saturday with an all-class reunion. Hundreds came to remember their high school days and catch up with former classmates.
There were sightings of centenarians.
For David Whittaker, class of 1958, it was the first high school reunion. Memories flooded in as he sat in the library looking at old yearbooks, remembering names and faces.
“It’s a wonderful way to remember,” he said.
Whittaker, of Mount Vernon, is a retired state worker.
The main building has changed since his high school days, Whittaker said. The study hall on the first floor was replaced by offices. Still, it wasn’t hard to recognize the school and recall the time spent there.
His most memorable experience at Everett High was being in two musical productions. One of them was “Oklahoma,” directed by longtime teacher Marguerite Snavely.
Literature classes also influenced his creative side.
“I write poetry, play piano and sing to this day,” the self-taught pianist said.
In classrooms throughout the building, graduates were digging for memories in yearbooks and photo archives.
Each decade was represented with photos, copies of Kodak, the school’s newspaper, and examples of clothing styles from that era.
Monica Pribble of Arlington, class of 1973, was looking through a guestbook in the 1970s classroom, spotting familiar names here and there.
Curiosity led her on Saturday to roam the halls of the old building she hasn’t visited for years.
Classes, teachers and students all blend in together now, but the school remained a part of Pribble’s life because her daughter also went there.
Pribble went to her 10th and 30th reunions. She said she skipped 20 years on purpose.
Melissa Shoop of Marysville, class of 1998, came with her mother and her youngest daughter, 8-week-old Laura.
Shoop’s family moved to the area from Texas before her freshman year. She sang in the choir during her Everett High days.
Shoop said she has always been interested in history and was glad to see the building on the National Registry of Historic Places. She remembers running to the Everett Public Library after school just to sift through old newspaper articles and yearbooks, looking for hairstyles and fashion from the old days.
“It’s been fun to walk around the halls again,” she said.
Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
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