The Roosevelt High School Alumni Choir, under the direction of Kathleen Kane, and the RHS a capella choir, directed by Gerald Hymer, perform April 29 during the school’s centennial celebration.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE – Choirs of past and current students sang and alumni and politicians mingled and spoke as Roosevelt High School hosted a centennial celebration April 29 showcasing the impressive Gothic, Tudor-style institution.
Principal Benjamin Reynolds spoke, as did state Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-4th District), state Rep. Jaime Churches (D-27th District), Interim School Supt. Carla Harding, Mayor Robert DeSana and Centennial Committee Chair Alana Paluszewski.
Paluszewski, an expert on the school’s history, said that when the high school opened 100 years ago, it had a profound impact on the community, and its modern amenities included a pool, library, auditorium, print shop, lunch room, music and speaking rooms, and science laboratories.
As students transitioned to the new high school, the other school buildings expanded to accommodate a growing elementary and junior high school student population.
When the high school’s cornerstone was laid in 1921, the school was designed to accommodate 1,400 students. The cost — $1.14 million — was a significant amount for a school in the 1920s, and required the passage of three separate bond issues.
Wyandotte Roosevelt High School Principal Benjamin Reynolds (left) speaks April 29 during the school’s centennial celebration, as state Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-4th District), state Rep. Jaime Churches (D-27th District), School Board Trustee Theresa Crnkovich, Interim School Supt. Carla Harding, Mayor Robert DeSana, Centennial Committee Chair Alana Paluszewski and School Board President Cynthia Kinney listen.
The school was built by hand, without the use of power tools. Marble and English oak are used throughout the building, which include art work replicas.
The site used the most modern heating, ventilation and humidifying techniques available at the time.
Extra land surrounded the school to accommodate athletic fields and to permit future expansion as the community grew.
In 1937, athletic fields were constructed on land purchased from the Detroit Brass and Malleable Iron Works, and from 1938 to 1941, the original stadium and fieldhouse were constructed as part of the Works Project Administration initiated as part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.
In 1942, five historical murals were created in the school auditorium by WPA artists.
A music and industrial arts complex was added in 1957, followed by a 1962 math and science addition.
A $7 million renovation was begun in 1970, following the passage of a bond issue, which also provided new classrooms, expanded counseling and administrative offices, and added a cafetorium and a media center. In 2003, a new gym and workout facility were added.
For more information about Roosevelt High School’s history, go to RHS100.org.
Wyandotte Roosevelt High School welcomes alumni and guests April 29 with a centennial celebration.