One must wonder what kind of car Woodrow graduate Carroll Shelby will ride in while serving as grand marshall for the Woodrow Wilson High School 80th anniversary gala parade.

Shelby, class of 1940, won the 1959 Le Mans, among other racing titles, and probably is best known for designing the Shelby Cobra. 

Saturday, April 25, Woodrow celebrates 80 years of service as one of Dallas' oldest and most recognized schools. A parade kicks off the day's festivities, including reunions, a Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and dinner at Eddie Deen's Ranch.

The celebration centers on the significant contributions of Woodrow through the accomplishments of its student body and alumni during the past 80 years.

In April 1927 at the cornerstone-laying ceremony, Woodrow Wilson's second daughter, Jessie, included a piece of her wedding cake in the cornerstone in memory of her father, the 28th president of the United States and the school's namesake. Noted Dallas architect Mark Lemmon continued building on this cornerstone until he unveiled his Elizabethan-style school in 1928.

The school was the fifth high school in Dallas and was the most expensive to build. Woodrow boasted a gymnasium with a full glass wall, and the best-lighted and best-equipped auditorium in the district, complete with orchestra pit and theater organ, according to the 1928 Dallas Morning News.

The school also featured the largest eating area in Dallas, located on the third floor and serviced by an elevator. The Dallas Times Herald hailed the school as "a rare spectacle from afar."

Woodrow is known for many "firsts" in the area — one of which being the first school to stage a full-scale Broadway-style musical, "Oklahoma!" It also is the only high school in town that goes by its first name.

Woodrow had a reputation for spectacular musicals, and in 2007 swept the North Texas Cappie Awards with "Fiddler on the Roof" — the 50th anniversary of musical productions at the school.

Woodrow is listed as a Historical Landmark and is registered at the Texas Historical Commision.

Woodrow alumni have gone on to lead cities, save lives, win Olympic gold medals, head universities, serve in Austin and Washington, D.C., found landmark businesses, and come back to serve as Woodrow principal.

The school is also the first public school in the United States to produce two Heisman Trophy winners, Tim Brown and Davey O'Brien. Other professional sports figures include NFL players Bill Forester and Herschel Forester, professional golfer and Masters Tournament winner Ralph Guldahl , and NBA players Alton Lister and Anthony Randolph, among others.

Race car driver and auto designer Carroll Shelby is just one of the notable alumni to walk through the halls of Woodrow. The list is a "Who's Who" of development, government, and sports in Texas and around the nation, including familiar names such as real estate mogul Trammell Crow, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Tom Phillips, Neiman Marcus' Lawrence Marcus, and "Super Handyman" Al Carrell — all members of Woodrow Wilson's Hall of Fame.

And this year's Hall of Fame inductees are no exception to the standard set in previous years. Beginning at 12:30 p.m. in the auditorium, a Hall of Fame presentation will honor 20 alumni who have contributed to society in a variety of ways.

Inductees include Ed Bentley, chairman of the board and CEO of Republic National Bank; Elizabeth Cupples Blessing, second woman elected to Dallas City Council; Alan Bromberg, professor at SMU law school; Bob English, founder of English Bros.; Neil "Skip" Fletcher, co-owner of Fletcher Corny Dog; Lawrence Good, distinguished architect; Bob Goodrich, television sports producer; Tracy Hiser Harding, staff member for the State Department in Jakarta, Indonesia; Phil Johnson, professional dancer; Larry Karl III, coach and member of National Wrestling Hall of Fame; William Lewis Lester, painter; John Paul McCrumbly, NFL football player; Mariano Martinez, restaurateur; Steve Miller, musician; Danielle Drury Petters, J. L. Long Middle School principal and international fashion model; Marjorie Hardwick Schramel; acclaimed ballerina; Inez Sookma, military staff member for NATO; Barbara Galleher Tonry, gymnast and coach; Ruth Allen Vail, Woodrow Wilson High School principal; Larry Wright, author, screenwriter, playwright, and staff writer for the New Yorker.

The ceremony will be preceded at 9:30 a.m. by a pep rally. The event will officially kick off at the Wells Fargo building. The parade begins at 10 a.m. from the same location and will end at the high school. Classrooms will open at 10 a.m. for reunions followed by the Hall of Fame Presentation.

Eddie Deen's Ranch in downtown will host and Alumni Band Round-Up Party and Smart Car Raffle beginning at 7 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by dance bands comprised of Woodrow alumni members from graduating classes of 1967 through 2005. Bands such as Wes Niles and the Texas Skeeters perform throughout the night.

Advance admission is $35 and can be purchased at the school's Web site. Tickets will be sold at the door for $45 and include a full barbecue spread. A cash bar will be available.

Join the Woodrow Wilson Alumni Association for an additional $10. Proceeds raise money for the new International Baccalaureate Degree Program at Woodrow.

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