A BRIEF HISTORY OF ST. CLOUD TECH HIGH SCHOOL (By Bruce Mohs)

The history of St. Cloud Tech High School (pre-1917 thru 2025) is an important and relevant part of the history of St. Cloud and Central MN. However, what remains continuous throughout the school’s history over the course of time are the stories and legacies of its students (33,000+), its administrators, faculties, counselors, coaches, and non-licensed staff; its classrooms, curriculums, and academic, athletic, art and activity programs; its buildings & venues where teaching and learning has taken place for over the past century and will continue thru this century.

These personal and professional stories and legacies of excellence and achievement are described & catalogued throughout the one-hundred eight years (1917-2025) of collections including yearbooks, school newspapers, framed photographs, and trophies & awards. These collections are gathered, stored, arranged, exhibited and securely showcased within the Tech High School ‘Tiger Den’. All of these records and mementos are archived for past, present, and future students and educators. And these historical documents will provide an opportunity for Tech Alumni and their guests to come to the ‘Tiger Den’ (individually or collectively), and reminisce, reflect and remember a great High School (and their time in it) which has served many great students and educators for over one-hundred years throughout the many great neighborhoods and communities within our city.

PRINCIPALS
The cumulative history of a great school is influenced greatly by the purposeful leadership of its building administrators. They steadfastly steer the student body and faculty of a great school to remain focused on the written mission and values of the school. They are the final decision makers of all matters associated with the methods, resources, staffing and safety of the students, educators and community members that are in and around the school and its disparate and distinct educational venues. The building principals of Tech High School, from 1917 to the present, were: Elizabeth Clark (1917-1947), Frank J. Herda (1947-1964), Paul Kinney (1964-1969), Chuck Sell (1969-1983), Wally Pretzer (1983-1991), Gayla Holmgren (1991-1996), Ed Johnson (1996-1999), Roger Ziemann (1999-2014), Adam Holm (2014-2015), Charlie Eisenreich (2015-2020), Jason Harris (2020-2023), and Molly Kensy (2023-present).

BUILDINGS
When speaking about the “teaching and learning resources” needed for quality education, the conversation regularly and recurrently centers around curriculums, books, materials, supplies, equipment and the likes. Of course, all of these items are necessary and important, and need to be available & accessible for both students and educators.
But equally as important, significant, and consequential are the buildings, venues, locations, and sites that safely provide and educationally meet and deliver the needs of all students as they transition from pre-school to elementary school, to middle-school, and (in the fullness of time) graduate from high school. The historical buildings of Tech High School were: Union School (post Civil War-1917); South Building (1917-2019), sold to City of St. Cloud, restored as City Hall); North Building (1938-2019), sold to City of St. Cloud, restored as City Hall); Cafeteria & H.B. Gough Technical Wing (1958-2019), sold to City of St. Cloud, demolished); West Wing Administration & Classrooms, first two floors (1963-2019), sold to City of St. Cloud, demolished); West Wing Administration & Classrooms, third floor (1965-2019), sold to City of St. Cloud, demolished); Gymnasium & Swimming Pool (1975-2019), sold to City of St. Cloud, demolished); Clark Field (1938-2019), sold to City of St. Cloud (to be developed as a public park); New Tech High School & Athletic Campuses (2019-present).

During parts of two Millennia, the 20th and 21st Centuries, and 10.5 Decades (from 1917-2019), the history and legacy of St. Cloud Tech High School’s students and faculty have been serving and supporting our Nation and its Allies during wars, conflicts, strifes, and historically changing social movements. Some of these historical movements have been:
Wars: World War I, World War II, Korean War, Cold War, Cuban Crisis, Vietnamese War, Gulf War, War in Iraq, War in Afghanistan, and The Syrian War.
Domestic and Global Civil Wars and Social Movements: The Stock Market Crash and The Great Depression, Free Speech and Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Suffrage ‘Right To Vote’ Movement, Anti-War Movement, LGBTQ Movement, Environmental Justice Movement, Disability Rights Movement, Racial Justice Movement, Reproductive Justice Movement, and multi-nationalism Global Movements (The Arab-Israeli War, The Indo-Pakistani War, The Congo Crisis, South Africa Apartheid Movement, The Libyan Civil War, The Somalian Civil War, and The Guatemalan-El Salvadoran War.

More information about St. Cloud Tech and the St. Cloud Tech Alumni Association at https://stcloudtechalumni.org/