Beloved Wilson

I'm an alumnus of Long Beach Wilson H.S., class of 1972. The school was big back then, over 3,000 students... today they have over 4,500 students. It could be a university. I looked everywhere online for an old photo of the campus but all I came up with was this signature photo that seems to be used in all their material- Wilson Bruins -those big buildings weren't there back then.

High School was good to me: plenty of friends, more then enough good times and I have fantastic memories of some really great teachers that worked hard to teach me a thing or two... and they did. I suspect most, if not all of them are dead. God bless them everyone.

My major grief in high school had to do with dress codes- THE MAN ruled -and there was no way I was dressing the way THE MAN dictated! Sounds silly now- I'd get sent to the office for having sandals without socks, hair past my shirt collar and a collection of other seemingly meaningless infractions that kept the boat rocking back in the day.

Looking in on the old school- now Wilson Classical High School -everyone in uniforms and totally prep, I was impressed to find the dress code still rides the rules front and center... some things never change. Check it out.

Boys Khaki (tan) pants or shorts (solid color only)

Pants must be hemmed and fitted at the waist and crotch. No sagging pants allowed.
Shorts may not be shorter than mid-thigh.
Long pants cannot drag on the ground.

Girls Khaki (tan) pants, shorts, jumpers, overall, or skirts (solid color only)
Pants must be hemmed and fitted at the waist and crotch. No sagging pants allowed.
Shorts may not be shorter than mid-thigh.
Long pants cannot drag on the ground.
Girls and BoysWhite or cardinal (burgundy) shirts (solid color only).
Shirts must have collars or be a turtleneck.

Non Wilson Logo'd shirts must have a logo no larger than the size of a quarter.
Only white short-sleeved undershirts may be worn.
Undershirts must be tucked in.
All sweaters, sweatshirts, sweat jackets, fleece pullovers, and fleece jackets must be white, cardinal or gold.
No logos are permitted except Wilson Classical, ASB Chartered club, or Wilson athletic logos.
Coats and jackets (except fleece and sweat jackets) may be any color.
Coats may not be worn in the classroom. Only cover-ups in school colors may be worn in the classroom.
No Raiders, Stealers, or Kings attire may be worn.
Hoods must be worn down except when outside in winter weather.

Wilson's now in the top 5% of H.S.'s nation wide- #575 in 2007. Bet they have a chant. I can just see them in the quad- thousands out for a pep rally- "We're #575!" Over and over again, each time louder and louder.

Wilson was a good time. Hope the kids there today are enjoying the moment. Couldn't find it on their site, but back in '72 we had the best theme song- started with "Hail to Wilson..." and ended with a great "bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah..............!" But it was in between that gotcha- we all pledged are hearts to the school. Don't remember in Long Beach State had a theme song. Pretty sure Anderson School of Theology didn't, but "beloved Wilson," did. Life needs a theme song- look how the schools growing: 4,500 students- #575 nation wide... Go Wilson!

Eric