100 years at Analy

When Allen and Verna Nelson were teenage sweethearts at Analy High School in 1948, gasoline cost about 20 cents a gallon.

"I remember going to the station and putting down a one dollar bill and getting five gallons," said Allen Nelson, one of several thousand alums who attended Analy High School's 100-year anniversary bash at the campus Saturday.

Nelson, who participated in a car show that was part of the celebration, brought along a 1934 Ford Coupe identical to the one he purchased as a senior for $200. An old black-and-white photo propped next to the running board shows Nelson, his hair combed back, sitting behind the wheel of the original coupe. His wife, Verna, sitting next to him, can be seen in the background.

Memories such as these, recalled with countless smiles and laughter, dominated the centennial, a daylong event that featured something for grads of all ages who attended the Sebastopol high school.

Near the car show, a band played blues and rock music while hundreds gathered at a beer garden on Bonnardel Avenue. All over the campus, small yellow fliers announced "mini-reunions" taking place in various classrooms for graduating classes.

On Karlson Field, Analy grads gathered beneath numerous white tents, each hosting alumni from specific decades and periods.

"This event is wonderful," said Leona Jones Kneale, a 98-year-old Santa Rosa resident who graduated from Analy in 1930. "Some people are reacquainting themselves, and they're glad to see that they're still alive."

A little after 7:20 p.m., all the alumni were ordered to take a seat in the south bleachers for a group photo. It was a massive undertaking that involved a photographer high atop a mechanical boom who repeated exasperated commands over a bullhorn.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we had 5,000 people here today," said Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Jim Bertoli, an alumnus and the son of a former educator and school board member.

"This has been unbelievable. We are having so much fun," he said.

Margaret Finn, the mother of Analy graduate Jonathan Finn-Gamino, said the school gave her son the education he needed. Finn-Gamino will attend Harvard University in the fall to study physics and political science. "It's a great school with excellent teachers and very supportive administration," she said.

As expected, alumni who played on Analy's 1958 football team gathered to recall their legendary undefeated season, the only such season in the school's history.

"It's a milestone for the school," said Louis Sanchietti, a 1959 grad who played on the 1958 football team.

Just before he took the stage with his teammates of that era, Sanchietti struggled with the right words to describe what Analy and the Sebastopol community gave him.

"How do I say it?" he said. "We've had a good life here."You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com.