Tom Zaradich, a Colony resident who works in the entertainment industry, was inspired to write his book Anaheim’s Dead: Ghostly Encounters with the Passed after hearing about the many homes and in Anaheim whose owners claim to be haunted. Anaheim High is rumored to have its own ghosts and Zaradich includes a chapter in his book about the haunted campus with interviews of alumni and school staff members. He is a popular public speaker and is appearing in the Celebrating Anaheim High Authors & Colony Inspired Literature Authors’ Forum.

Anaheim High’s 2015 Homecoming Celebration brought hundreds of Colonists together at pre-game parties, the traditional Friday night football game and Saturday reunions. Here are a few photos from the occasion. Many more images are available by visiting Anaheim High School on Facebook.

     A new gymnasium score board has been racking up the points for Colonist athletics thanks to generous donations from Anaheim High alumni, family and friends.

     The new wireless scoreboard was installed in time for the fall season of boys’ and girls’ basketball and volleyball. Floor-level bleachers were also in place, allowing an eye-level view from the new gym floor (see photo gallery below).

    The Anaheim High Gymnasium has been standing proud since 1936 and has served thousands of students and spectators. It survived a fire in the 1980s that caused damage to the floor and bleachers.

The improvements to the gym are making a significant improvement in the lives of today’s Colonist athletes, including the Girls’ Volleyball Team which recently won the Orange League title for the second consecutive year.

Thank you to our many donors, including:

Anaheim High School Alumni Association,  Anaheim High Breakfast Alumni, AHS Boys’ Basketball Booster Club, Paul Kott ’72, Minard Duncan ’50, Ronald Divini ’65, Kathryn Reesman ’73, and Roger Morales, Janice Christensen, , Wendy Mia, Paola Del Negro, Robert Peck, all Class of ’82.

Did you know that the tradition of crowning a homecoming king and queen didn’t become popular at Anaheim High until the late 1940s?

The crowning of Colonist royalty first occurred in 1945 as part of a patriotic effort to raise funds for the war effort when Shirley (Walsworth) Guardia, a Class of ’46 graduate, earned the title of Victory Queen in her junior year.

In a letter written to the AHS Alumni Association, Shirley (now age 86) explained that the title of Victory Queen was the reward for raising money for a WWII victory bond drive. Students earned one vote for buying 10 Defense Stamps and 10 votes for buying a $25 War Bond.  Anaheim High raised $46,000 (today’s equivalent of more than $360,000).

“WWII was still going  in full force and the school wanted to show its patriotism by raising money to send to ‘the cause’ so they thought of having a contest for Victory Queen,” Shirley recalled.  “It was such a traumatic time with announcements every day of deaths in so many families and empty seats in many classrooms. We were just thinking of our boys on the battle front.”

By the time Teddy Lou Payne won the title the following year the war was nearly won and America had almost claimed victory at both fronts. Two months later, Warren Mackay was the first king of the campus, chosen for the March of Dimes Valentine Dance.

With the war over and lives getting back to normal, Colonist royalty was chosen for non-philanthropic reasons. In 1948, Arlene Anderson won the title of “Miss Slick Chick” as the first queen of the annual Anaheim Halloween celebration.

In 1947 and 1948, a king and queen were chosen for the Pigskin Ball, a post-football season event sponsored by the Anaheim High Anoranco Press Club. Jim Elam and Dolpha Underwood were ’47 royalty; Dick Golden and Paula Doretti, the ’48 selection.

Homecoming 1949 started a new tradition, that of homecoming queen. Chosen as the first homecoming queen was Class of ’50 Carol McDermott with a court of Betty Siems, Jeanene Sanders, Jackie Whiteman and Dorothy Mejia.

The rest is Colonist history!

(This is a rewrite of an previous article on the history of Colonist Royalty to ensure that facts are correct and Anaheim High’s history is accurate.)

Among Anaheim Colony pioneers were the famous Bever triplets, Orena, Reona and Ramona, the city’s first set of triplets.

Born Aug. 9, 1910 to Miles and Anna Bever, the triplets rounded off a family of four girls, including older sister Rose.

At birth, two weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces; the third was 4 pounds, 8 ounces. A newspaper article announcing their birth stated, “They are all apparently well and sound and the mother is doing nicely.”

Their father was a rancher and architect in partnership with Leslie R. Wilson. Their construction company built many residential and commercial buildings in Anaheim, including the Kraemer Building, Anaheim City Hall (1923-1980), Angelina Hotel and the S.Q.R. Department Store.

On a side note: The six-story Kramer Building, erected on the corner of Center (now Lincoln Street) and Claudina streets at the cost of $300,000, was billed as a “skyscraper” and was, at the time, the tallest and costliest building in Orange County. The ground floor was occupied by American Savings Bank and the other stories were divided into offices occupied by local businessmen.

Records on file at the Anaheim Heritage Center show that the family owned a vineyard lot at 143 S. Ohio. They later lived in another home located at Chestnut and Lemon.

Class of 1929 Anaheim High graduates, all three girls were active in school. Orena was on the Girls’ League cabinet and on the yearbook staff. Reona was a member of the Art Club, Hi-Jinx, and the Girls’ Athletic Association, playing varsity hockey, basketball and baseball. Ramona was a member of the yearbook staff, Hi-Jinx, Art Club and served as treasurer of her sophomore class.

The triplets worked at the Henry Bros Drug Stores and were related to the store’s owner, according to documents on file at the Anaheim Heritage Center. One store was located at Palm and Center (now Harbor and Lincoln) and a second store at Lemon and Center Street (now Lincoln).

All three girls married and became Orena Daughtery, living in Long Beach and Bellflower; Ramona Jordan of Whittier and Anaheim; and Reona Bryan of Anaheim. Their older sister Rose Keller lived in Long Beach and Chino. Ramona had three daughter: Patsy, Joan (Class of ’44) and Marcella (Class of ’42).

An obit was on file only for Reona. She passed away of natural causes on Dec. 30, 1982, in Anaheim, her life-long home.

Photos of the girls and their family show a set of cherubic children always wearing matching dresses and engaging smiles. These Anaheim High graduates are certainly a unique piece of Colony history.