Colonists alumni across the generations and from as far away as New Zealand gathered for Homecoming 2024 at La Palma Park’s Glover Stadium. After the victorious Varsity Football Game against Savanna High, AHS grads gathered under the new BIG A, a blow-up replica of the BIG A built by Mr. Dardarian and his students that was used from 1966 through 1987.
A day of family fun and Colonist connections will take place Saturday, Oct. 19, on the Anaheim High campus as part of the AHSAA Colony Classic Car Show. This free event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Along with 100 classic cars, guests will enjoy Colonist memorabilia displays, music, food, and vendors selling an assortment of items including Colonist spirt wear.
An awards ceremony with custom trophies will be among show highlights. Attendees will also want to check out a silent auction for an opportunity to bid on restaurant gift cards, tickets to local sporting events, and much more.
Add to that entertainment on the Pep Stage featuring student performers and other family-friendly activities and you have a free day of fun that benefits Anaheim youth.
Click here for the the Car Show Sign-Up Form. Cost is $50 per car through Oct. 11; $60 thereafter. All classic makes and models welcome!
Become an event sponsor and receive a car entry or vendor space and receive other benefits such as the promotion of your business or product on the AHSAA website and social media sites, depending on the sponsorship level. Sponsors are what make this event possible and profitable!
To sign up as a vendor, please click this link.
Questions may be addressed to anaheimalumni@yahoo.com.
A January ribbon cutting ceremony marked the opening of Anaheim High’s new state-of-the-art track and field. Moments after the ceremony, the Girls’ Soccer Team played a winning match on the all-weather turf field that is surrounded by a nine-lane synthetic track.
The project also features goal posts, bleachers shaded by solar panels and a pumping system to keep the new track and field free of pooling water.
A large crowd of students, alumni, coaches, administrators and special guests enjoyed messages from Principal Ruben Calleros and two student athletes, and performances by the band drum line, cheer squad and dance team.
Among special guests was Class of 1996 Colonist Reuben Droughns, a former NFL player who set many school records in football, track and wrestling while at Anaheim High.
He was joined by Ron Pharris, Class of 1967, who set school records in the 100 and 200 meter races.
Also in attendance was former coach Albert Rodriguez, age 89, who coached many track athletes to champion status, including Ylena Carrasco, a Class of ’86 grad and CIF-State High Jump Champion who was the first female Orange County athlete to clear 6 feet.
To mark the occasion, the Anaheim High Alumni Association obtained a donation of an electric utility vehicle, called a “Big Foot,” from Anaheim-based WAEV, the parent company of Taylor-Dunn, a manufacturer that has been producing — with employees who graduated from Anaheim High — trusted industrial vehicles for 70 years.
The Big Foot vehicle, valued at $15,000, was presented by Chief Operations Officer Alfredo Arroyo. The vehicle will used by the Anaheim High custodial crew to maintain the 17-acre Anaheim High campus. Thank you, Waev, for this amazing gift!
Alumni, family, friends and fans, we invite you to put your stamp on Anaheim High School forever by buying a commemorative Colonist brick. This is a great way to celebrate a family of Colonists or to commemorative a graduating class.
The personalized bricks will be added to the Centennial Walk that leads to the front door of the Main Building. Each brick costs $150 and may have a maximum of three lines of 14 characters. Lines will be centered.
Orders will be taken through November 03, 2023. Once the final order is processed, the bricks are installed by school district personnel. Once installed in the Centennial Walk, we will mail you a photo of your brick.
Please fill out this order form and mail with check for $150, payable to Anaheim High School Alumni Association, to P.O. Box 389, Anaheim, CA 92815. Or you can pay via this QR Scan Code and email a photo of the form to anaheimalumni@yahoo.com:
If you have questions or if you wish a gift card sent to a recipient, please contact AHSAA Treasurer Janet Brown at anaheimalumni@yahoo.com.
Click on the image to read the latest edition of the AHSAA Gold and Blue Newsletter.
Class of 1950 Colonist Harry Edman Sexton, a retired U.S. Marine Corp Colonel, passed away Feb. 15, 2023, at age 90.
Born in Anaheim on Dec. 20, 1932, Sexton was an active AUHS student. He was a varsity yell leader, played football, and served as secretary of the Future “A” Club.
He enlisted in the U.S. Marine two years after graduating from Anaheim, and married Ann Goodrich in 1958. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 26 years, from August 1952 to January 1978.
A man of integrity and character, Colonel Sexton flew more than 400 combat missions during two tours of Vietnam. During his first tour, he commanded the only Marine F-8 Crusader Fighter Squadron to deploy from Navy Carrier USS Oriskany.
On his second tour, he commanded a squadron of HMLA-367 “Scarface” Cobra Helicopters, providing offensive air support, utility support and armed escort and airborne support, day or night, under all weather conditions, to Marine ground combat units.
Col. Sexton was awarded the Navy Cross, our country’s second-highest award for bravery, for heroism during Operation Tailwind as he and his fellow “Scarface” Cobra Gunships engaged the enemy to provide cover for the extraction of a nearly overwhelmed force of U.S. Army Special Operators out of Laos. Click here to read more about his mission.
He was also awarded two Legion of Merits with Combat “V”, a Distinguished Flying Cross, and 44 Air Medals/Strike Flight Awards, and was inducted into the Golden Eagles for his distinguished career as an aviator. More on his career can be read here.
His adventures continued after retiring from the military at age 45 when he turned his attention from flying the skies to riding the roads on a Harley Davidson.
His wife, Ann, son, Harry Jr., and daughter Stacie will remember him as a husband and father who lived for others, giving freely of his time, skill, and love to all who were fortunate enough to have known him. He is also survived by four grandchildren; and a great grandson.
Thanks to a communication from her granddaughter, the AHS Alumni Association has discovered our oldest living Colonist, Thelma Charles from AUHS Class of 1938, who will celebrate her 103rd birthday on June 10, 2023.
Granddaughter Malinda reported: “I just spent a weekend in Reno with her and my mom. Nothing stops her. She does it all!”
While at Anaheim High, Thelma was in Glee Club and the Domecon Club, which trained members in scientific home management. Fellow classmate, Marion Knott, daughter of Knott’s Berry Farm’s Walter Knott, was vice president of the club.
Thelma’s best friend was Jeanette VanDelden McDonald from Class of 1936, who passed away at age 103 in 2022.
THE ANAHEIM COLONISTS – An American Football History
The Anaheim Colonists have established a proud football tradition for more than a century, setting the precedent which many successful football programs follow to this day. Now, the memories and experiences that forged a gridiron legend have been brought together in THE ANAHEIM COLONISTS – An American Football History. This is the definitive chronicle of Orange County’s most historic football program.
* Exclusive commentary and memories from dozens of former players, coaches, opponents, fans and boosters
* Rare and never-before-seen photographs chronicling more than 100 years of Anaheim Colonists football
* Complete all-time team records, season-by-season results, extensively researched
* Foreword by Jim Fassel, former Anaheim quarterback and NFL Coach of the Year with the New York Giants
Written by Dennis Bateman
Edited by Thomas Bateman
Published by the Anaheim High School Alumni Association
Printed by Advanced Imaging
Cover Art by Annie Salness
Price: $30.00 (+$10 shipping) – All proceeds benefit the Anaheim High School Alumni Association, a 501c3 non-profit organization.
The book will also be sold at home football games and other alumni events.
To order and pay by check, download and fill out this form and mail with your payment to AHSAA, P.O. Box 389, Anaheim, CA 92815
To order using a credit card payment, please fill out the form below. Questions may be directed to anaheimalumni@yahoo.com.
This form to purchase the book "THE ANAHEIM COLONISTS – An American Football History"
