Roar Lions Roar Charleston High School, A Pictorial History (West Virginia)

Originally published in 1988, this is a pictorial history of Charleston High School. A lovely history with photos on every page. Stan Cohen and Richard Andre are regarded as two of the city’s best historians, and proud alumni of Charleston High School. Their loving detail and painstaking work to put this together results in a treat for readers..

From the first graduating class of 1879 till CHS was replaced with a new school built in 1989, Charleston High School was an integral part of life in Charleston. The book starts in the earliest days of planning for the school, includes interesting architectural information on the splendid building, and takes each decade and lovingly illustrates the history of the school.

Numerous often previously unpublished photos are on every page. Includes images of memorabilia, sporting events, bands, famous people that attended, and a host of other subjects that will bring back memories of the golden era of high school in Charleston.

Since Charleston is the capital city of West Virginia, Charleston High School was for most of the 20th century the premier high school of the state. The contributions, not only to the state but also the nation, made by thousands of CHS graduates is beyond measure.

In every field of life, from the workaday world to the highest levels of science, business and entertainment, CHS alumni have made their mark.

When Charleston High was founded, the horse and buggy was the major means of transport; the telephone was little more than a novelty, the Wright Brothers had just gained a perilous grasp on the miracle of flight, and the majority of the nation’s homes were lit by oil lamps.

As CHS passes into history, it will have existed for about 86 years–not a long life for a major institution but those years were the richest in American history–from horse and buggy to the moon.

A great writer once said that nothing is dead so long as it is remembered. It is our hope that this book will carry memories of Vharleston High School to future generations. Page by page the reader will return to yesterday–the bright eyes and smiles of classmates will appear as they were long ago. The gray mists of time will fade away, and for awhile at least, it will be 1928 or 1948 or perhaps 1978.

Put away the cares of the day, and drift back with us tot he and of memories.

Stan Cohen was born in the old Mountain State Memorial Hospital at the corner of Virginia and Morris streets, now the Capitol City Nursing Home. He attended the Mercer Grade School and Thomas Jefferson Junior High School, and graduated from Charleston High School in 1955.

After receiving his degree in geology from West Virginia University in 1961, he spent six months working for an oil company in Charleston. In 1961, he heeded Horace Greeley’s advice to “go west” and got a job in Montana with the U.S. Forest service. He also spent two summers working in Alaska as a geologist. IN 1963, he got involved in the downhill ski business in Montana, where he worked for the next eleven years. He was also the first director of the Fort Missoula Historical park in Missoula, Montana.

In 1976, the publication of his first book, The Civil War in West Virginia: A pictorial History, launched his company, Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, which has offices in Montana and Charleston.  Since that time, the company has become a worldwide business that has published more than 90 books, 36 of which the author has written. He currently produces books and videotapes out his Charleston office part of the year, and lives the rest of his time in Missoula, Montana with his wife, Anne. He travels around the world pursuing World War Two topics, and spends his leisure time skiing, collecting antique automobiles, and paper ephemera. His major West Virginia publication is Kanawha County Images.

Richard Andre was born and raised in Charleston, the son of Bernard E. Andre, a member of the first Charleston High School graduating class of 1906. Andre attended Kanawha Grade School, Roosevelt Junior High School and graduated from Charleston High School in 1958.

He was a  mortgage banker for 12 years in Charleston and he currently manages his own investments and real estate. An avid student of local and military history, Andre has written article son history for Wonderful West Virginia, Goldenseal, and several other national publications. He was the research associate on Kanawha County Images.