The OHS Story

By Karyl Alvord

Taken from the '64-'65 Tiger Text

On September 1, 1890, sixty students met in one room of the old Central School Building at 25th and Adams to learn English (the only subject offered) and Ogden High School began. OHS convened due to the efforts of Theodore B. Lewis, who was appointed first principal and Thomas D. Dee, president of the Board of Education. The first commencement exercises consisted of seven graduates – all girls! The first boy graduated in 1893. In the early days Ogden High saw many outstanding leaders, one of whom was George A. Eaton. He wrote our school hymn and later became one of the high school’s best remembered principals. Ernest Spenser was responsible for our school colors which were originally yellow and black. By 1904 they had evolved into our present-day orange and black. In 1909, the enlarged student body moved to the building at 25th and Monroe (now Central Junior High) and that was its home until 1937, when the inspiring building on Harrison was completed.   

A student body organization did not exist in the early years of Ogden High. The Student Body Association was launched late in 1918 and functioned under the direction the school’s first Student Body President, Maurice Conroy. 

The printing of the various publications has always aroused great enthusiasm. In 1896, the publication of the Classicum began. It was then the school paper. The object of the Classicum was for a greater interest in literary pursuits and the promotion of school spirit. The first Classicum was actually more like our present Literary Harvest. Our Classicum has received many national awards and our three other publications have come into being – The Literary Harvest, Tiger Text and Tiger Highlights. 

Ogden has always achieved and is continuing to achieve in all fields of fine arts.  In the past ten years, under the direction of Portia Douglas, the speech and debate department has won state in forensics in 1955, 1961 1962, 1963, and 1964. The public speaking department won the National Forensic Language Sweepstake Trophy for Western States in 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1962. In 1961, the Ogden High N.F.L. Chapter ranked one of the ten outstanding in the United States. In the Weber College Debate Tournaments, Ogden has seventeen first place trophies. 

For the last seven consecutive years the drama de­partment’s one act play has been chosen to go to State, receiving either excellent or superior ratings. The Best Actress of the State was won by Sherry Boedecker in 1955 and by Jennifer Hull in 1963. Best Actor Awards went to Gary Waldron in 1960 and Mac Coonrod in 1962. 

Always keen on writing, OHS writers have won awards under the guidance of Wilson Thornley, who began teaching Creative Writing at Ogden in 1931. In 1957, 1958, 1961 and 1962, Ogden High writers were rated First High School in the Nation because they took more first awards in the National Scholastic Contest than any other high school. In 1956 and 1960 they were rated second, and in 1954, 1955, and 1963 rated third in the National Scholastic Contest.  In 1959 Merrill Van De Graff won the highest single awards in the United States. He also won the Ernestine Taggard Award. 

Music humbly began at OHS when, in 1904, five stu­dents organized an orchestra. By 1926 the ROTC Band had won the John Sousa Contest, judged by Sousa himself. Since then we have had one of the finest music departments in the state. In 1955 our ban was called to California to play for the Western Music Educators’ Conference, where it received much recognition. 

Choral music has always inspired students of Ogden High.  Under the direction of O. Dale Blackburn, the A Cappella Choir gained many honors. In 1963 the A Cappella Choir reached such a high degree of perfection that it was asked to perform for the Western Music Educators Convention in Bakersfield, California; and in 1964, they joined other choirs in the area to sing Vivaldi’s “Gloria’’ with the Utah Symphony Orchestra. 

OHS has a fast-moving and complete program of phy­sical education. Most of the importance, however, centers on boys’ athletics, but this has not always been true. In 1903 the girls’ teams were most popular. In fact, basketball was strictly for the girls and no boy would belittle himself by playing the game!  The boys have taken over the competitive aspect of basketball and have done very well. The first football team was organized in 1897. In 1901, 1906, 1911 and 1916, Ogden won the state foot­ball championship. They did not win another championship, however, until 1955, when they had an excellent record of fourteen wins and no losses. The track team has been successful in capturing the state title in 1918, 1925, 1926, 1939, and 1940; we took baseball in 1946, 1948, 1951, 1953, 1954, and 1958. Numerous region championships in all four sports have also been won. The Pep Club, organized in 1934, has been the heart of school spirit since that time. 

A military department was established here in 1906, under the direction of the Utah State Guard – the ROTC took it over in 1919.  This department sponsored the first Cadet Hop in 1907 and it has been a highlight of the ROTC year to the present time.  A rifle team was organized in 1910, and later was chosen the best in the United States.  In 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1964, they won the State Rifle Championship.  Many state and national honors have been awarded the various divisions of this department, and the entire state may be justly proud of the OHS ROTC. 

From these departments many others have evolved, rounding Ogden High school to not only the largest in the state but also the best. 

In 74 years Ogden High has become as we know it today. Those who deserve the thanks for all these pleasurable years are the administration, the teachers, the cafe­teria and custodial crows, and student officers and most important of all YOU – every student who has ever at­tended Ogden High School.