Paden City High School

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Paden City High School
Location
Paden City, Wetzel County, West Virginia, United States
Information
School board	Wetzel County Schools
Grades	7-12
Mascot	wildcat
Colors	green and white
Founded	1951
Enrollment	161 (2006)

Paden City High School is a high school in Wetzel County, West Virginia in the small town of Paden City.

Paden City High School opened its doors as a 9-12 school in 1951. In 1952, PCHS had its first graduating class. Paden City High School has several West Virginia State Champions, Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Champions (OVAC), and Mason-Dixon Champions.

As of 2006, Paden City High School houses grades 7-12 with an enrollment of 161.

The school's mascot is the wildcat, and the school colors are green and white.

[edit] See also

Educational opportunity was first offered in Paden City in a proverbial little red schoolhouse. This one-room brick building was located in the Wetzel County part of town, just across the highway from what is now the Wesleyan Methodist church. The second school was built on the back of the present school site. It was a four-room building of wood frame construction. About 1916 the school population had increased to such an extent that the four-room building was inadequate, and the J.R. Henthorne Building on Main Street was secured for school purposes. A few years later the Kannan Building on Fourth Avenue was rented since it afforded more space than the Henthorne Building.

The temporary building being very unsatisfactory created a strong sentiment favoring the construction of a new school building. Since similar crowding conditions existed in the schools of other Magnolia District communities, a bond issue for financing a district building program was laid on December 14, 1922. The building was erected and the interior partially completed at a cost of less than $70,000. It was further completed as need for space arose. During this period of expansion the State Department of Education authorized the establishment of the "Junior High School," with special permission being granted to include the tenth grade. Because the Tyler/Wetzel county line divides Paden City, juniors and seniors living on the Tyler side of the line had to travel to Sistersville, and juniors and seniors living on the Wetzel side of the line had to travel to Magnolia High School in New Martinsville. Paden City found friends competing against friends and even brothers against brothers in athletic competitions.

During the years that the Junior High School served the educational needs of the community, parents and students envisioned the time when the change at the eleventh grade level would not have to be made. In 1949 a concerted effort with a vision of the formation of a four-year high school at Paden City was made. That effort was lead by Ray Berger, Owen McKay, Jess Brown, Guy Nichols, and Dr. R.F. Miller. The state superintendent of schools approved the plan, and after three appearances finally had the high school it had long sought. The Wetzel County Borad of Education approved the measure, by a 3-2 vote; Paden City finally had the high school it had long sought. The measure was approved by the Wetzel County Board of Education only after the Paden City Lions Club volunteered to purchase typewriters and office equipment; and Owen McKay, speaking for the community, told the board of education that the citizens of Paden City would buy an athletic field for the school. With this beginning, the high school and athletic field became a community project that brought the city and its people together in a single purpose.

The annual Labor Day Celebration was started to raise money for facilities at the new school. Workers at Paden City Pottery and Paden City Glass gave money through payroll deduction plans to support the school. The amount workers gave may only have been $2 per week, but at a salary of $15 per week, that was a sacrifice. They did it because Paden City kids needed a school at Paden City. No state or county tax dollars were used to purchase or build the athletic field. As there was approximately a four-foot drop from one end of the property, which was to be used for an athletic field, to the other, the field had to be leveled off. A fence measuring 1,830 feet was installed, the field house was built, and bleachers were put up. It was estimated that it would take 80 months to pay the $17,300 cost of the land. In actuality the citizens of Paden City made the final loan payment in just 24 months. The light towers for the field arrived in a most unusual way. After raising $25,000 for the lights and the towers, they came by rail car to the south end of Paden City. A general call went out, and about 400 people carried the equipment, by hand, to the field. Men would work eight to ten hours a day at local industries and then work another six hours at the field to build bleachers.

In the fall of 1951, Paden City "High School" opened its doors for the first time. in Ray Berger, one of the moving forces behind the formation of the high school, became the first principal. Townspeople took fierce pride in the fact that they finally had their own high school and that high school students in Paden City could continue their education in their own community. Citizens were also concerned about education for all students in Paden City. In 1952, more than a year before the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown vs. the Board of Education, which integrated southern schools, Paden City High School was an integrated educational institution.

The Wildcats, as Paden City students were called, had inherited their name for a semi-pro football team that had it's home in Paden City during the 1940s. They had played with such ferocity that they were given then name Wildcats - a term that endured at the new high school. In 1959, Wildcat sports teams captured the first of many crowns as they won the OVAC in both football and basketball. In the spring of 1960, in the stated basketball tournament in Morgantown, the mystique of Wildcat teams began. The fan support in Morgantown was unsurpassed. All the businesses in Paden City were closed. Even the mayor and the police chief were there.

Paden City High School exists because of the measure of support for education that was demonstrated in Paden City. People, who couldn't afford to give, sacrificed in the name of community education.

January 8, 1975, marked a dreadful day in Paden City history. Fire destroyed the 53-year old high school building. However, while the body of the building lay cremated, the determination of Paden City's citizens again came to the forefront. Churches and other institutions rallied once again and provided space for classrooms. Less than one week of classes was missed due to the fire. Rumor that the school would not be rebuilt brought such a public outcry that construction of a new school began almost immediately. On May 1, 1977, the dedication of the present Paden City High School was held.

The historical support of "The Wildcat Philosophy" identifies Paden City High School as one whose expectations for students are high. It is a school with vibrant and colorful legacy of the past and a window to the future for any who choose to attend.