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And at that same time the fouindation was laid at the northwest edge of town for the new Whitney High School, which received its first students in 1921. For more than two decades thereafter, the Mustangs of Whitney High competed in athletic contests while initially flying red and white colors, a comination later chanaged to blue and white. Both girls and boys played basketball at the beginning. Resident old-timers recall the limited space of the gymnasium. Players would have to jostle uncomplaining specators to find a spot from which to make an inbounds pass. The spectators considered themselves lucky to be inside the arena’s standing room only area.
An outstanding feature of the Whitney High School was the high quality of the school newspaper, sometimes called the “Shunga,” the Sioux Indian name for mustang. The newspaper wove itself into a blanket that warmed the community through its unmatched coverage of events and people in a wide area.
Whether going on to become ranchers, farmers, business people or entering a profession, graduates of Whitney High took more than a diploma with them: they had a sound education, invaluable in later life, thanks to the efforts of the entire Whitney community.
Perhaps the key to understanding the people of Whitney and the reliable graduates from their small high school can be found in the title of the Whitney High School song, “Faithful and Truehearted.” No more important quality has been found in the curriculum of any high school, regardless of size.
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