Hibbing High School 100th draws interest near and far

HIBBING—Attendance at the various events held in conjunction with the Hibbing High School 100th Anniversary held July 6 through July 13 went beyond those sitting in the seats of the school auditorium.

Kim McLaughlin, a co-chair for the celebration, recently told the Mesabi Tribune via email that in addition to the guests attending anniversary events in person, Hibbing Public Access TV experienced a spike on its website when live streamed from the historic Hibbing High School Auditorium.

It’s estimated that between 4,000 and 5,000 people attended the festivities in person.

“This included our tours of Hibbing High School, the bus tours of Hibbing, and the nightly auditorium events,” McLaughlin said. “That number does not include those who returned solely to attend a class reunion coordinated by an individual class.”

The nightly events took place at 7 p.m. in the school auditorium July 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12—each with a different theme: HHS Arts, HHS Athletics, HHS Academics, HHS Alumni Music and Memories, HHS Auditorium, Music at HHS, and 100 Years HHS closing ceremony.

Bob Kearney, Mary Keyes and Joe Keyes were among the tour guides for the celebration.

Visitors from various states stopped by for tours of the 100 year old school, referred to as The Castle in the Woods.

Hibbing High School was built between 1920 and 1922 at a cost of nearly $4 million, according to information contained on the Hibbing School District website. At its dedication on January 28, 1924, the school was hailed as the “Richest Gem in Minnesota’s Educational Crown,” it states.

The school is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and contains many treasured works of art. A “gem” of the school is its 1,773 seat auditorium with hand molded ceilings, and cut glass chandeliers imported from Belgium.

Kearney, a retired maintenance supervisor at the school, has been giving tours for the past 35 years, and said there’s a common question posed by tourists within five minutes of touring historic HHS auditorium.

“Geez, you don’t let kids in here, do you?” he said is a question often asked.

In response, Kearney said he explained there are public concerts and “it’s a school.”

“They look around and wonder, how you stop kids from destroying it,” Kearney said.

“Here we teach them that there’s consequences to actions and they get it,” he recalled telling tourists.

Current students are aware their school is “special” and they pass that onto the younger kids, Kearney said.

“It’s amazing how that works,” he marveled.

Mary said she and Joe encountered a mix of alumni and tourists, curious wanting to know “What’s so special about a high school?”

“It’s wonderful to see their eyes light up as they see the school and hear the stories we tell them about the history of Hibbing, the history of the school, the details of the art and architecture that makes this place so special,” Mary said.

A common question posed to the Keyes by tourists, “How can this school still look so beautiful?”

“And we tell them, It isn’t by chance,” Mary said. “It is by hard work, money, planning, and pride in what we have here. And not just by the school board or administration. It takes students, parents, all staff (not just the maintenance staff) and citizens. We all have to be proud and take care of Hibbing High School.”

Mary Keyes said nearly 80 members of the Hibbing High School Class of 1974 celebrating their 50th Class Reunion were among the tours she and Joe led.

“They were the class one year older than me, so I knew quite a few of them,” Mary said.

“Walking through the main hall, pointing out things along the way, with those people who walked these halls with me, when we were all young together—that was a very special feeling that I appreciated a great deal!” she said. “They loved learning (as so many alumni do) all these things about the school that they never knew back in the day. When Joe took them down to see the new pool and new gyms, those who have not been back since 1991(when the new addition was built) were astonished, but visiting the original pool and the “boys gym” was really fun for them.”

Mary also commented on the reaction to her presentation, “The Schools That Did It All,” given on opening night of the anniversary celebration.

“Quite a few people said afterwards that we don’t honor our historic schools enough—these schools that took in the children and the adults and helped them to become Americans,” Keyes said.

McLaughlin said for the many people who were unable to attend the 100th Anniversary events in person, being able to view it remotely was “priceless.”

Frank Di Berardino, Director of the National Bellamy Award Organization was one of the many online viewers.

In response to Christine Lucente’s presentation on Hibbing High School receiving the Bellamy Award in 1968, Di Berardino has arranged for Hibbing High School to be part of a special ceremony this fall.

On September 8, the day in 1892 on which the Pledge first appeared in print, a new American flag—a rededication flag—will fly over the gravesite of Pledge of Allegiance author Francis Bellamy, who is buried in the historic Rome, New York cemetery. The flag will then be delivered to Hibbing High School.

The whereabouts of the original flag presented to Hibbing High School in 1968 is unknown, Di Berardino said in an earlier interview.

A rededication ceremony is tentatively being planned for October 15, according to McLaughlin. The flag will then be proudly displayed in Hibbing High School.

McLaughlin expressed gratitude and appreciation to everyone involved in making the Hibbing High School 100th Anniversary a success: “Those who worked on the committee and shared their time and talent, those who shared memories, the staff and faculty of the Hibbing Schools—past and present, our local community, businesses, and organizations, and to all the alumni and others who brought such great enthusiasm and spirit back to Hibbing and attended the events.”