The Strong-Huttig School District will celebrate a milestone anniversary from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday.
This year, the district marks 115 years since the establishment of Strong Public Schools, and the district and community will commemorate the occasion with plenty of activities, presentations and free food.
In 2004, Huttig schools merged with the Strong School District as part of state-mandated consolidation for school districts with fewer than 350 students. The newly minted district maintained elements from Strong and Huttig.
“We want to celebrate and include all of the schools that have existed within the area around Strong and Huttig,” school superintendent Jeff Alphin said.
Kicking off the celebration at 10 a.m. will be presentations about Strong, Gardner, Huttig and Huttig Northside. Each speaker or group will spend about 15 minutes discussing their respective topics.
From 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., faculty members and members of the community will grill hamburgers and hot dogs. Chips and drinks will also be provided by the school district.
Food will be served in the high school cafeteria, and service will be come and go. A Kona Ice truck will sell snow cones from 2 until 4 p.m.
Performances are scheduled at 1 p.m. college and church choirs and solo acts.
Sign-ups for a free throw competition will take place from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. The competition is open to students and adults, and the age divisions will be based on the sign-up sheets.
The competition will take place in the new gym, and ribbons will be to winners.
Other activities will include face-painting by Strong-Huttig cheerleaders, horse-shoe throwing, and a Baggo Bean Toss, all near the courtyard.
A giant, air-filled slide will be set up at 11 a.m. near the field house.
A silent auction will begin at 11 a.m. in the high school library. Items will include basketball uniforms from Strong and Huttig teams and other miscellaneous items from the schools. The Huttig mascot was the Eagle.
Excess yearbooks from both districts will also be available for purchase.
Auction items and yearbooks may be purchased and picked up at 4 p.m.
T-shirts commemorating the occasion will also be for sale. The T-shirts, produced by the Southern T-Shirt Company, includes a design that recognizes all of the schools and the years they were established.
Scrapbooks will be displayed and a PowerPoint presentation featuring old photos of each school will be shown in the library.
Parents and students will also be able to visit information booths that will be set up by several colleges and universities.
For more information, call the school district at 870-797-7322.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at tlyons@ eldoradonews.com.