There have been countless clubs throughout the history of William Henry Harrison High School. Academic and Social Growth for all students every day has been our district mission for years, but even before that, student involvement in extracurricular activities was encouraged. Some of these afterschool programs are still thriving and going on to do massive things, like our athletics and theater programs, while others are gone and forgotten, with students and even teachers having no recollection of them. But a trip through the yearbooks stored in Mrs. Frey’s office can remind us of what kids were up to in years past, including serving as Camp Wildcat Counselors, and belonging to clubs like Latin Club and Bridge Building Club.
Over the years, there have been several foreign language clubs. Currently, we have a Spanish club, a Spanish Honors Society, and an ASL club, but in the past, we had a Latin Club and French Club. Since these languages are no longer taught at Harrison, these clubs are no longer offered. These clubs often focused on the culture and language, however they also snacked on popular cultural food; this helped students in each club catch a grasp of each culture. I wonder what food the Latin club ate? Maybe Caesar Salad?
On the athletic side, our school offers dozens of sports for students to get involved with. In the past, we also offered a program called Athletes Who Care, where student athletes served as role models for youth athletes throughout the entire district of Southwest Local Schools. Unfortunately, WHHHS only offered this program for two years from 1995 to 1997. There were over 30 members involved with numerous options for sports such as football, basketball, tennis, and volleyball.
One interesting club you may have never heard of is Bridge Building Club. This organization centered around learning of the laws of physics and engineering to teach and show students how different types of bridges were made. Club members made their own unique bridge design and competed in contests to see who created the best bridge. One of the ways they would test the bridges sturdiness was by putting them under a hydraulic press to see how much pressure it would take until it broke. The number of members ranged from 20-30. Bridge Building ended after the year of 2010.
Overall, there has numerous clubs and organizations throughout the years of William Henry Harrison High School. We never know if some of these clubs will return, or if we will get new clubs in the future. However, we should appreciate the clubs that we had in the past that inspired the current clubs and organizations we are now offered. If you are interested in being in a club that we don’t offer, talk to the grownups in the building and see if someone will serve as an adviser. You can be the beginning of another great Wildcat club.
