Anaheim High’s most notable alumni will be celebrated on Wednesday, Sept. 9 Induction and Unveiling Ceremony that will begin at 6 p.m. in the school’s recently renovated Cook Auditorium. 

The Hall of Fame has been in place since 2003 and includes 68 inductees, but this is the first year that a wide-scale celebration will take place to bring attention to Anaheim High’s outstanding alumni.

After a ceremony to celebrate the Hall of Famers, including seven new inductees, guests will be ushered to a new display in the school’s Main Building Hallway, where plaques with “then and now” photos and a summary of each inductee’s accomplishments line the walls of the historic high school’s Main Building.

Signage is in place to indicate the Hall of Fame category in which the inductees are placed, including Arts and Entertainment, Athletics, Business and Industry, Community and Country, and Faculty and Staff.

The event and the new Hall of Fame is being underwritten by the school’s Alumni Association, an active group of graduates who have raised thousands of dollars for annual scholarships, and to support school clubs and programs, and preserve Anaheim High’s rich traditions.

“For a school like Anaheim, the third oldest high school in Orange County, a Hall of Fame with our distinguished alumni means a lot toward developing spirit and pride our students and AHS community” said AHS Principal Rueben Calleros. “This program does two things: it recognizes individuals who make our school proud,” he continued, “and it helps our students learn about Anaheim High’s rich history.”

This year’s seven new inductees include:

Joseph A. Clayes, an AHS faculty member from 1914 to 1941, 22 of those years as principal. He designed the school’s first logo and helped establish City of Anaheim Parks and Recreation Department.

Mason Henry, Class of 1930, who served as a faculty member for 42 Years, only taking a leave during WWII when he served as a U.S. Naval officer. He founded Anaheim High’s counseling department.

Charles Pearson, Class of 1917, who served as class president and mayor of Anaheim from 1940 to 1959. He owned the county’s largest trucking company at the time, helped found Anaheim’s YMCA, and was instrumental in bringing Disneyland to Anaheim.

Marion Knott, Class of 1939, daughter of Walter and Cordelia Knott, founders of Knott’s Berry Farm. She expanded park attractions as director of Design, Planning and Entertainment. Marion was a major benefactor of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.

Robert Fluor, Class of 1939, transformed his family’s small engineering shop in Anaheim into Fluor Corporation, an international construction and energy conglomerate. He joined Fluor in 1946 after returning from WWII. He served as a U.S. Air Force Pilot and earned a Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal. He served as president, then chairman and CEO of Fluor from 1962 through 1984 and was known as a civics and arts philanthropist.

Joseph Clayes III, Class of 1950, was a bright mathematics major at Anaheim High and served as co-editor of the school newspaper and treasurer of Lambda Sigma, a science club. The grandson of Principal Joseph Clayes, the longest serving Anaheim High Principal, Joseph enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and upon discharge, enrolled in the first class of Orange County State College, which evolved into California State University of Fullerton. He was the school’s third Student Body President. Clayes became a successful financial and real estate investor and an avocado rancher. A patron of the arts and a philanthropist, his trust helped fund the construction of the CSUF Performing Arts Center and supported many charities throughout the years.

Richard Baney, Class of 1965, an all-star athlete from a young age who was an All-Sunset League/All-Orange County/All-CIF-SS AAA Division pitcher who led Anaheim Baseball to back-to-back Sunset League Championships and CIF-SS AAA Division Quarterfinals. He was drafted by California Angels in 1965 in the Amateur Draft and played Major League Baseball for Seattle Pilots and the Cincinnati Reds. Upon retiring from baseball, he became a general contractor, real estate investor and property manager and advocated for retired ball players to receive better benefits.

For a complete list of Anaheim High Hall of Famers and their photos and bios, visit anaheimcolonists.com.

To RSVP for the event, email anaheimalumni@yahoo.com or call Janet Brown at 714-726-4372.

Long before Disneyland entertained nighttime crowds with fireworks shows against the backdrop of Sleeping Beauty Castle, one Anaheim citizen marked Independence Day with a firecracker of a different sort.

As early as 1897, Fourth of July in Anaheim was commemorated with the explosion of cannon fire courtesy of Captain Alexander Nicol Henry, a Scottish-born hero of the Crimean War. Captain Henry was father and grandfather of several Anaheim High School graduates who played prominent roles in the Anaheim Community.

Born in Edinburg, Scotland in 1839, Alexander Henry married Catharine Mason in Leith, Scotland, on November 20, 1862. They immigrated to America in 1863 and moved from San Francisco to Anaheim in 1867.

The couple bought 220 acres of land near present day Lincoln and Brookhurst avenues and improved the land by planting a vineyard. After the 1886 vine disease wiped out the grapes, Henry replanted his “Caledonia Grove” with citrus and began making orange brandy. They raised three children in Anaheim: Innes, John M., and Archibald. A fourth son died in infancy.

Every Independence Day, Captain Henry pulled his cannon from his front lawn onto the street, while wearing his war medals and kilt, to shoot off several rounds to let the townspeople know of his patriotism.

A July 8, 1897, Anaheim Gazette article states, “Alex Henry’s cannon awakened the echoes for miles around. No Fourth of July celebration could be complete without Alex’s cannon.”

In 1905, he built a two-story, wood-frame house, described as a novelty in Roman and Egyptian design, that featured a formal front gate and gardens and a cupola surrounded by a widow’s walk, perhaps providing views of the distant Pacific Ocean.

By this time, Henry had sold off all but 10 acres of his property. The scaled back ranch and home, which was surrounded by an orange grove, was sold in 1909 for $25,000, which was called a “big price” by the local paper. At the time of the sale, the Henry’s were in their 70s and entering retirement to enjoy their grandchildren.

One of their grandchildren was John Mason Henry, an AUHS Class of 1930 graduate, who was born in Anaheim on June 18, 1913, and passed away Tuesday, October 25, 2011.

A bright lad, Mason, as he was called, spoke German and French, excelled in school, was a popular student and a talented actor and musician.

Like many Anaheim High graduates, he returned to his alma mater to teach and later founded the school’s Counseling Department. He was a teacher and counselor at Anaheim High School for 42 years, leaving between 1942 and 1946 to serve in the U.S. Navy during WWII.

Other Henry grandchildren were the four sons of Archibald. They all became pharmacists and practiced together as the owners of the Henry Drug Store on Lemon and Center.

Alex and Catharine enjoyed their children and grandchildren, many spending their lives in the City of Anaheim, until they both passed away in 1929. They are buried at the Anaheim Cemetery, as are other members of this Founding Anaheim Family.