Some born-and-bred Santa Barbarians went to San Marcos High School. Others went to Dos Pueblos. But Santa Barbara High alumni went to “the high school,” as Dons themselves say.
Founded in 1875, and now in its 150th year, Santa Barbara High is the 6th oldest high school in California. On Tuesday, the school — and its alumni association, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year — was recognized by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors as a historic institution that continues to “shape the spirit, pride, and future of Santa Barbara.” Attendees dressed in green and gold — the school’s colors — for the special honor.
The board’s honorary resolution for the school was printed with a brand new certificate design by artist Aiden Khuiphum created to celebrate the County’s own 175th birthday. The resolution ends on the school’s motto: “Once a Don, always a Don.” With such an active alumni association, those words really ring true.
Santa Barbara High School (SBHS) started humbly in a small building with a small class on the corner of Anapamu and De La Vina. But with Santa Barbara’s booming population, it quickly outgrew its old digs and eventually moved into its current Spanish-style, 40-acre campus on Anacapa Street in 1924…