Clara Dixon Scheiber was among 43 students in El Dorado County High School's class of 1929.

"The town was small then, and everybody was really close," she recalled.

El Dorado High has dropped "county" from its name and boasts nearly 1,400 students this fall. But as it celebrates the centennial of its first graduating class, the Placerville school continues to revel in the support of a close-knit community.

Alumni include county Supervisors Jack Sweeney and Ron Briggs and Placerville Mayor Patty Borelli.

Next weekend, a parade of nearly 50 entries will make its way along Main Street, with Scheiber, 97, reigning as the alumni association's homecoming queen.

After the parade, visitors can stroll down memory lane, browsing at Cougar memorabilia and voting for their favorites among the Main Street window displays decorated with the help of current El Dorado High students.

The school, founded in 1905, graduated its first class in 1909. For a half-century, it served the entire county.

When Scheiber entered high school, classes were held in a two-story building on a hill above Clay Street. She remembers climbing 119 steps from the street to the schoolgrounds.

The 1970s-era buildings on the Canal Street campus replaced 1928 structures, which didn't meet earthquake-safety standards.

Despite the physical differences over the decades, Principal Jerry Smith says, "There is a sense of history as you walk on this campus."

Scheiber, whose family operated a dairy in the Rescue area, lived with a great-aunt in Placerville during the school year. Students from the Tahoe basin and other outlying communities also boarded with friends or relatives in Placerville, she recalled.

A Diamond Springs resident and the eldest member of the El Dorado High School Alumni Association, Scheiber has shared her recollections with school yearbook staff members.

Students in teacher Jamie Trykar's advanced junior English class spent recent weeks poring over old yearbooks and archived editions of the school newspaper, the Hangtown Noose. Working in pairs, they created newsletters designed to bridge the gap between school and community. Several focused on the centennial, comparing the school culture today with that of years past.

Larissa Burkey and Brittney Martin researched the school's homecoming traditions. They were fascinated by 1959 yearbook photos of the first queen and her court.

"Their dresses were so big and pouffy," said Martin, comparing the long formal gowns with the short party dresses worn today.

And these days, boys need not wear tuxedos: "If you've got a tie, you'll be good," she added.

Jayde Danielson and Stephanie Stoflet discovered that the school didn't have a football team until 1922, because poor roads made it difficult to travel to compete.

They noticed that student council members appeared to have had more influence in the past. "They were more idolized than they are now," Stoflet said.

Many students requested yearbooks for the year their parents graduated, noted school librarian Jo Avery.

Strong family and alumni ties led to passage of last year's Measure Q, a $66.3 million bond measure for improvements to the El Dorado Union High School District's four comprehensive high school campuses, Avery said.

At El Dorado High, the measure is funding expansion of the library as well as construction of a new culinary arts center, with a commercial kitchen and student-run restaurant.

Community support over the years resulted in ties with local businesses.

Mary Ann Harper, alumni association secretary and member of the class of '59, recalled participating in a high school work experience program with the El Dorado Irrigation District. She continued working for the district for four years after graduation.

Smith, the principal, said his school has partnered with the U.S. Forest Service, Apple Hill growers, area vintners and the American River Conservancy to create a four-year natural resources program. An outdoor laboratory on 30 acres in Camino focuses on water resource management, forestry, alternative energy and agriculture.

At Placerville Hardware, the staff has decorated a display window for homecoming. A Cougar blanket is the backdrop for El Dorado High yearbooks, bleacher cushions and hand-drawn diagrams of football plays.

Clerk Sara Rebolcaba, class of '94, is a third-generation alum. Owner David Fausel and his brother Dan also are alumni, she said, and staff member Jim Myers, who supplied much of the memorabilia for this year's display, is a former El Dorado High teacher and coach.

They didn't need to rely on help from current students. "We all just have this stuff lying around the house," Rebolcaba said.

They weren't the only ones who could tap into such stashes.

Presenting Smith with a centennial proclamation during a recent Board of Supervisors meeting, Sweeney (class of '55) referred to his status as a letterman for the school. "I'm proudly wearing my Block E sweater, which still fits," he declared.

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