In August 2024, FHS Vice Principal Andy Walczak released his debut book, “Fremont High School 100: A Local History.” The book features sections on each decade of FHS history, alongside chapters about important aspects of FHS activities and culture, such as the Featherettes, the watermelon run and FHS athletics. 

The book was originally inspired by Walczak’s former co-worker, CHS teacher Wes Morse. The two shared a common interest in local history, and in 2018, Morse published a book about CHS history titled “Cupertino High School: The First 60 Years.” 

“[The idea was] always in the back of my mind,” Walczak said. “I love Fremont. I love doing this stuff, but the school’s 40 years older than Cupertino. [It] would be twice as long [a] project.”

Around 10 years ago, Walczak decided to take on the project, aiming to finish near FHS’ 100th year — the 2023-24 school year. Walczak sifted through scrapbooks and newspapers, including the Sunnyvale Standard, and FHS’ student paper. He also interviewed various alumni about their years at FHS, many of whom later bought the book. One of these alumni was FHS PE teacher, Jason Townsend, who gave his perspective on FHS athletics. 

“Athletics is a huge part of my life, and I was really fortunate to be part of a good basketball team,” Townsend said. “One of the big chapters in there was about [the FHS] basketball team, so I had a lot of quotes and information about that stuff.”

After its publication, Townsend and other alumni bought the book, even those who are no longer in the FHS area. 

“I blasted it on Facebook for all the old people,” Walczak said. “People email me. They come by. I’ve been shipping books. I think I’ve shipped up to […] eight states or nine states. I’m almost up to double-digit states.”

Walczak is hopeful about the book’s popularity, although he wants to remain realistic with the number of copies he prints. 

“Originally, I [planned on printing] 400 copies and whenever people can buy, I can sell them,” Walczak said. “But I [ended up] getting 250 [copies], [to] get realistic about how many I can sell easily.”

FHS has evolved over the years. Initially, FHS had approximately 100 students, and the surrounding land was mostly orchards. Gradually, the area grew more suburban. In recent years, more engineers and tech workers have moved to the FHS area, and the school’s population has increased to over 2,200 students. 

“[The world is] always changing,” Walczak said. “But I think there’s one sort of constant. The school is always constant.”

While school activities have remained the same, each year offering a comprehensive set of activities including marching band, performing arts, athletics and clubs, since its founding in 1923, the students that compose the school are constantly changing. Each decade is distinct and has its own place in Walczak’s book. 

“The senior pranks from the 70s is a whole chapter,” Walczak said. “Nobody was in charge of the kids in the 70s. They were just doing whatever the heck they wanted.”

As the students changed over the years, the ideas and opinions they shared in the school’s newspaper, formerly known as “The Chief,” have also shifted. Walczak included snippets of newspaper articles after each decade covered in the book, which reflect the ideas and attitudes of students in each era.

“The 50s, it was very happy-go-lucky,” Walczak said. “[The] 70s got really cynical. [In] my era, the 90s, we were just smart asses. Now [student journalists] are so serious, tackling all these different international and national events.”

One difficulty that Walczak faced was the organization of the book. While the book is mostly chronological, there are aspects of FHS that have existed for its entirety, and required their own chapters that had to be strategically placed throughout. 

“How do we string these together so they kind of make sense?” Walczak said. “Where do you put the student government chapter? Where do you put the Featherettes chapter? Where do you put the school paper chapter?”

Overall, alumni were impressed by the attention to detail in the book. Documenting a hundred years of history took time and effort, and many former FHS students have bought the book or reached out to reminisce with Walzack about their time at FHS.  

“The level of research that Mr. Walczak put into that book is pretty astounding,” Amy Gibson, FHS alum and current FHS English teacher, said. “It’s the true definition of a labor of love.” 

Gibson and her family have bought multiple copies of the book. She shared that her interest stemmed from her long-standing connection to this school.

“My uncle actually taught [at FHS] for many, many years,” Gibson said. “I have a lot of different kind[s] of connections to Fremont, but it was less as a teacher and more as an alum that I bought this book.”

Gibson explained that when she was in high school, the city and environment were different than they are right now. Since the book chronicles FHS from 1924 to 2024, the school has witnessed several landmark changes, from the time of Sunnyale’s orchards to the Vietnam War. When looking through the book, Gibson focused first on the parts that involved her high school experiences and events that occurred during that time.  

“I knew there were places I was involved in the book,” Gibson said. “My senior year, a friend of mine and I participated in jello wrestling, which was referenced in the book […] I also went down a rabbit hole of some history that shaped the Fremont I was a student at.”

Townsend also reflected upon impactful moments in FHS history that were encapsulated in the book, including the closure of Sunnyvale High School, which not only changed FHS’ student population but also the perception of the school. He stated that Sunnyvale High School’s closure resonates with students, even today.  

“Anybody who goes to Fremont, certainly in that time period, was affected by the closure of Sunnyvale High and how it changed [FHS],” Townsend said. “So if you’ve ever heard, ‘Fremont’s unsafe, it’s a ghetto school,’ you’re affected [by this part of FHS history].”

Gibson shared that her favorite part of the book was where Walczak listed who he believed were the best football players for each position over the years. One of Gibson’s former students was chosen as best linebacker, which was a pleasant surprise and resulted in their reconnection.

“I didn’t realize that Mr. Walzak had chosen Sam,” Gibson said. “That was a cool surprise. I took a picture of it, texted it to Sam, and he had no idea. I looked at things that shaped the Fremont that I attended, and then references to my own students.”

Ultimately, Gibson reflected that throughout the century, the community formed at FHS connects every student that attended the school together. 

“This school is such a deep part of this city, with such a rich history,” Gibson said. “Although this school is different from when Walzcak and I went here, it’s also the same in the sense that FHS is a special place. You don’t truly understand that unless you are part of Fremont.”