Anaheim High salutes Colonists veterans who witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor today Dec. 7, 1941.
Junior Perkins – Class of 1941
Our own Anaheim High alumnus Junior Perkins, Class of 1941, was on the U.S.S. Navy Destroyer Shaw docked in the harbor at the very moment of the enemy attack. Perkins survived the attack without a scratch, though his best friend standing next to him wa
s killed. [Read more…]
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 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!
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"
Dr. Paul Demaree – AUHS Faculty – 1925-1937/AUHS Principal – 1941-1954/AUHSD Superintendent – 1941-1958
Dr. Paul H. Demaree
One of the most beloved Anaheim principals, Paul Demaree’s tenure at the high school started in 1925 as a social studies teacher and football and baseball coach. In 1926, Demaree’s “B” teams had the best records of all the AUHS teams.
In 1937, Demaree was hired to serve as principal of Capistrano High School. Three years later, upon the death of Joseph A. Clayes, who served as principal for nearly 22 years from 1919 to 1941, the School Board rehired Demaree, this time as principal.
At the first assembly of the 1941 school year, Demaree reminded the student body that “principal” ended in “pal,” a word he hoped would describe his relationship with the students. Not only was he a friend and father figure to Anaheim pupils and teachers, four of his students were his own children, including daughters Kathleen (’38), Gania (’44), Ruth (’45) and son Dan (’50).
Demaree and his wife, Mary, often entertained students and teachers at their home and, for many years, prepared and served a turkey dinner to the faculty and staff as a prelude to the school holiday break.
Also a community leader, he was active in the Rotary Club, his church and the YMCA. Mr. and Mrs. Demaree worked each summer at the YMCA’s Camp Osceola in the San Bernardino Mountains, where they would cook elaborate meals for camp’s teenage occupants. A special favorite was Mrs. Demaree’s hot caramel yeast rolls she baked each morning for the hungry campers.
An active board member of the local YMCA, Demaree was a counselor for the Blue and Gold Hi-Y Club of more than 100 members. Six of his Hi-Y boys jointly shared valedictorian honors at graduation in 1950.
Principal Demaree also organized a Toastmaster’s program to encourage public speaking skills in the community. He is credited with being one of the original founders of Toastmasters International. He also formed a Junior Toastmasters program at the high school.
The start of World War II dramatically changed the atmosphere of AUHS when 50 students of Japanese descent were forced to relocate with their families to concentration camps. Poignant in that Demaree was born in Japan to missionary parents, he was especially vocal in speaking out against discrimination toward Japanese-Americans, a courageous position to take considering the war fervor at the time.
The principal kept in touch with many Japanese-American students who were interred during the war and encouraged them to continue their studies.
Life at the high school was further affected as students left for jobs in the defense industry and to serve in the military. Demaree asked all his students to carry identification cards in case of bombings. On the first day of school in 1942, Principal Demaree called the student body together with all of them being sworn in the Victory Corps. Students participated in scrap metal drives and held contests to sell the most war bonds and stamps. All teachers were required to take a 10-week course in first aid.
When a manpower shortage affected the 1943 harvest, Demaree responded to pleas for student volunteers from local farmers by declaring half day schedules (called the Victory Schedule) from the beginning of school in September through mid-October.
The popular Nutrition Period of today originated in 1943, when Demaree introduced a 10-minute “relaxation period” because too many students were coming to school without eating until noon. He felt their health and learning efficiency were being impaired.
The war in Europe was over just as the Class of 1945 was getting ready to graduate. The Japanese surrendered in August, leaving a sense of freedom in the United States that had not been felt for years. Demaree held the first assembly on Sept. 24 at which he introduced the new student body president who read the list of AUHS students who had died in the war.
The next 10 years saw the City of Anaheim evolve from a sleepy farm community to a post-war boom town. Change was inevitable for the school as well. For the first time since the District’s establishment, Anaheim High’s principal vacated his post to become the full-time superintendent. Demaree and his staff kept up a frantic pace of buying land and building schools to keep ahead of the educational needs of the children moving into Anaheim. The District asked Anaheim residents to approve a bond measure for $6 million to help accomplish this monumental task.
Demaree retired in 1958 when the building program was in full swing. Yet even after retirement, he continued to be involved in the dedication of new schools in the AUHSD. Throughout his time as Anaheim’s principal and the District superintendent, Demaree provided steady leadership and support to the students and teachers, continually espousing the “one family” concept for the faculties of the new schools.
AUHSD Superintendent Mike Matsuda with Gania Demaree Trotter whose father was Superintendent and Principal Dr. Paul Demaree
Demaree left behind a legacy as one of Anaheim High’s most beloved principals, serving during a time of amazing transformation of the school system and its students. He continues to serve as a benefactor to the students of Anaheim High School through the “Dr. Paul Demaree Endowed Scholarship” established by his daughter Gania (Demaree) Trotter (’44), who later became a music teacher at AUHS.
To donate to this fund, which will be managed by the Scholarship Committee of the AHSAA, a non-profit 501(c) 3 corporation, please mail a check to the AHSAA, P.O. Box 389, Anaheim, CA, 92815, with the notation that the donation is to be placed in the Demaree Endowment fund. Questions may be e-mailed to anaheimalumni@yahoo.com. For more information on the AHSAA, visit www.anaheimcolonists.com.
