Kofa's celebration begins Oct. 29

50. What is it about reaching that number - the Big Five-Oh - that makes the milestone a cause for celebration?

"That's a good question," says Karen Johnson, a Kofa High alumna who remembers the school when it got its start that many years ago.

"Maybe some of us back in the 1960s thought we would never get this far."

Well, they did. And now Johnson and other alumni are getting ready to celebrate the school's half-century of existence - and their part in the history - in the school's upcoming 50th Anniversary Celebration, Oct. 29-Nov. 1.

Johnson, a member of the Class of 1965, is one of a loyal core of Kofa Kings who have been busy in recent months organizing the shindig. And as the date for it gets nearer, she said, "the rush is on" as alumni finalize their plans to take part in the festivities.

"People are really starting to e-mail, fax and call and our registration is starting to build."

At least several hundred people, and perhaps many more, will come from around Yuma and out of town for the observance that will unfold at the school and several other locations around town.

Festivities kick off Thursday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. at Kofa with a festival plus the annual bonfire that die-hard Kofa fans always attend on the eve of the matchup with the school's traditional crosstown football rival: the Yuma High Criminals.

Past and present Kofa students, past and present Kofa staff and faculty and all other "friends of Kofa" are invited to the Thursday night event, says Johnson. And she uses the term "friends" loosely: They don't have to have graduated from or even attended Kofa; they can be parents or siblings of Kofa Kings, for example, or even just people who, for one reason or another, have a soft spot in their hearts for Kofa.

The Kofa-Yuma gridiron clash, incidentally, is set for 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at Kofa's stadium.

While the game is under way, a Kofa 50th barbecue dinner will be taking place at the Yuma County Fairgrounds The dinner starts at 6 p.m., and those who haven't pre-registered for the event can get in at the door for a $5 admission.

The game will be telecast at the dinner, Johnson said, "but we certainly encourage anyone who goes to the game to join us afterwards."

On Saturday, Oct. 31, at 8 a.m. there will be a Kofa 50th golf tournament at Desert Hills Golf Course. Also that day, public tours will be offered of the newly renovated Kofa campus at Avenue A and 32nd Street, one at 10 a.m. and another at 2 p.m.

There will be a tri-tip dinner at 6 p.m. that day at the fairgrounds, at which past and present Royalaires will be performing.

On Sunday, Nov. 1, at 9 a.m. at Gateway Park, near the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge over the Colorado River, Kofa alums will gather to remember members of all Kofa classes who have passed away.

"It will be just kind of a quiet time to reflect," said Johnson.

And there will be much on which to reflect.

For a half-century before, there had been one high school here, Yuma High School. But then the city's growth dictated the opening of a second school.

Kofa opened in the fall of 1959 with a freshman and a sophomore class.

"Our experiences at the Kofa High School have been novel this year," the then-principal, W.W. Armstrong, recalled. "We have an excellent school plan, but we started school lacking many desirable and needed facilities.

"The campus, other than the buildings themselves, was sand. There was no grass or landscaping. Ditches for the sprinkling system interlaced the area, and the parking lot was not paved. Much of our furniture and equipment had not arrived. Our fine student body and staff have been tolerant and understanding."

Johnson, one of Kofa's original students, is today director of child nutrition programs for Yuma Elementary School District 1. Not for the world would she miss the 50th anniversary celebration.

"Time passes by fast," she said, "and you don't realize it at the time. Why not celebrate it now?"

She hopes to see many of her classmates and other Kofa Kings during the reunion weekend.

"This is one (opportunity) people need to take to get together."