Evansville History

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From the beginning of the 20th Century the city of Evansville has been growing in southern Indiana. As a result of the growth F.J. Reitz High School was born on the West side of Evansville along the banks of the mighty Ohio River. History was in the making and witnessed at F.J. Reitz through the years. My mother and my-self have witnessed the very making of history while attending F.J. Reitz along with many others of Evansville Indiana. {draw:frame} {draw:frame} At the beginning of the 20thcentury Evansville had only one high school, Evansville High School, located in the down town area. With the West side seeing much of the city’s growth there was a demand for a new high school on that side of Evansville. The Evansville Centennial…show more content…
That same year excavators noticed a retaining wall was needed on the East side of the school to support all of the weight it put on the hill. Before the school was built Forest Hills had been home to one of many mining operations in the area. After the school had been built it was discovered the mining shaft weakened the hill greatly. As a result of this retaining wall being needed the Reitz Bowl was born. Foresight by a school member noted that with some small changes a football stadium could be made also. The Reitz Bowl is arguably one of the great natural stadiums in the nation. This year of 1921 Reitz began varsity footballplay. Reitz’s school colors were originally orange and purple. With a mistake in the ordering of football jersey colors, Reitz gave its orange and purple colors to Lincoln High School at the time. They would then choose to take the colors of navy and silver. The reason behind this choice of colors is that Reitz High School sits on the Mason-Dixon Line. The colors of the North and South from the Civil War are blue and…show more content…
With a 26 million dollar project, Reitz celebrated its 80th anniversary in 1998 with its whole new look that makes it the largest and most advanced high school structure in Evansville. In 2003 a brand new sound system was added to the Reitz bowl that is used in some college football stadiums today. In 2007 the Reitz bowl got new paint and railings to give it a brand new look. {draw:frame} In 2007 the Iraq War was still being fought. At Reitz we felt the effects of the war first hand with the death of soldier whom was very close in the Reitz Community. Marine Srgt. Brock Baab was a Reitz wrestling coach, big supporter of Reitz, and a father of a fellow classmate. During my Senioryear at Reitz the football team went undefeated with a record of 15-0 and won Reitz’s first official State Title. In 2008 Reitz would receive a new digital score board for the Bowl. The very next year the Reitz Bowl would also receive state of the art artificial turf. Reitz football is the most winning program in Indiana with a record of 622-248-29.

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