CORRECTION:
After press time, information was received that homecoming will honor the classes ending in “3” instead of “4”. Those corresponding years will be 1943, 1953, 1963, 1973, 1983, 1993, 2003, and 2013.
Oakdale High Principal Lynn Deville and the Oakdale Alumni Association have begun the process of working on the school’s 100th birthday celebration this fall. Oakdale High’s main building was completed in April of 1923, and the school will celebrate 100 years of history this year.
The celebration is in the planning stages, and lots of ideas are being discussed. “Nothing is concrete yet,” Deville said. “There will be other meetings.”
Deville said once school is back in session in August, more information will be released on the event. She will release an itinerary schedule after all plans are in place with times and dates for the Homecoming game against Pickering on Friday, October 20, 2023, and other festivities.
She said there are some things that have been decided like the alumni cheerleaders cheering in the second quarter of the game, and the alumni band playing in the third quarter of the game. The annual homecoming parade will feature the alumni years being celebrated – 1944, 1954, 1964, 1974, 1984, 1994, 2004 and 2014, who do not pay the parade fee. All other classes are invited and welcome to participate, but they will have to pay the $10 fee.
If you are excited about the possibilities of the celebration and want to assist, there are some things you can do like reaching out to the alumni association with ideas. If you have old class photos, old parade photos, etc. and would like to share them, the group is working on a slide show presentation. All photos can be shared with the alumni association on its Facebook™ page or the Oakdale High School’s Facebook™ page.
The possibility of visitors being able to purchase memorabilia has been discussed. She said they are hoping to have a display of yearbooks and maybe a tour of the school on the Saturday. However as plans are put in place, Deville said the traditional events like the bonfire, Powder Puff game, presentation of the Homecoming Court during halftime, etc., will still be held during the festivities.
And if you haven’t driven by the school this week, it is gleaming in all of its glory. Deville said they had the school washed with a chemical soft wash that makes it look brand new. She said, “ ‘It’s looking really good.”