Editor’s Note: The following is a proclamation approved by Tryon Town Council during its Sept. 17 meeting declaring Sat., Oct. 12, 2013 as the Day of the Tiger in honor of the Tryon High School class reunion.

Day of the Tiger Proclamation:

Whereas, in 1885, the first public school was established in the Town of Tryon; and

Whereas, in 1906, the original school was moved into a new building (currently Tryon Town Hall); and

Whereas, in 1923, the old school building was sold and a new school built on the site of the current Tryon Elementary School; and

Whereas, in 1928, a new auditorium was constructed for the school; and

Whereas, in 1935, a gymnasium was also completed; and

Whereas, in 1947, a grade was added when Stearns High School in Columbus, North Carolina was closed; and

Whereas, in 1952, the high school moved into a new building, the football field received lighting and 1,000 new bleacher seats were installed; and

Whereas, in 1957, the high school addition was competed along with a cafeteria on the second floor and a new gymnasium; and

Whereas, in 1965, Embury School was closed and Tryon Schools were Desegregated; and

Whereas, in the mid-1960s, Mr. and Mrs. Willis E. Kuhn donated land on Harmon Field Road for a new high school; and

Whereas, in September 1968, students moved into the new high school (now the Harmon Field Community Center and Tryon Arts and Crafts); and

Whereas, in 1968, the new school was dedicated in living memory to the Kuhns and the new open-air gymnasium was dedicated to the memory of Colin McKenzie Tennant Jr.; and

Whereas, in 1983, Arthur Farwell funded the Arthur and Elizabeth Farwell Computer Science and Mathematics Center; and

Whereas, in 1974, kindergarten was added as an optional grade; and

Whereas, from 1885 through 1992, the faculty and staff of Tryon Schools strived to provide a level of excellence in education to thousands of students; and

Whereas, in 1992, the final class to complete their education at Tryon Schools accepted their diplomas and began their lives as adults; and

Whereas, in 1992, “The Last Hurrah” was held to bring together all alumni from Tryon High School in celebration of faculty and friends and in appreciation for a school that would no longer be in existence; and

Whereas, in 2012, a group of former Tryon High School students came together with classmates and friends for a reunion which sparked an interest in all who attended to reconnect with those unable to attend; and

Whereas, 2013 marks the 128th anniversary of the beginning of Tryon Schools; and

Whereas, a group of former Tryon School students have worked together over the past nine months to contact and bring together classmates and faculty from near and far for a whole school reunion on Saturday October 12, 2013;

And now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Mayor of the Town of Tryon, North Carolina, do hereby proclaim Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013 to be the DAY OF THE TIGER for the Town of Tryon.