August 9, 2025, was the date of the initial gathering of the Golden Mules, an alumni organization for all Alamo Heights graduates of more than fifty years (on or before 1975).

The reunion began with a guided tour of some of the completed portions of the high school campus, all of which has undergone major renovation with the passage of a $173 million bond package in 2022. This year’s tour included the STEM building with its new shop. But this is not the shop we knew in the 60s. Rather, this is a rocketry lab where students build and test rocket designs. Students in this class have traveled as far as White Sands, New Mexico, to test their creations.

The tour included the fashion design school and the culinary arts department (this is definitely NOT Mrs. Carroll's Home Ec cottage). We then visited the Mule Dome, a first-class athletic facility that opens, at its east entrance, directly to the completely renovated football field with its massive electronic scoreboard, track, and larger bleachers.

The Mule Dome includes basketball and volleyball courts, a weight room, and separate locker facilities for each sport.

All of the original classroom buildings have been demolished and are now planned for completion by September 2026, at which time another Golden Mules reunion is scheduled with a tour of the entire new facility.

During the brunch in The Oaks, which is the renovated cafeteria, now sunlit and open to an outside view of the campus, we were treated to a talk by our own Paul Foerster, who delivered a retrospective of his fifty years of teaching at the high school.

The most represented class in attendance was the Class of ’64, with the oldest graduate coming from the class of 1948.

Here are a few photos from that day.

The construction crane dominates the area. We were in front of the west entrance to the Mule Dome, facing what will be the main building. I estimated that location to be roughly where the east doors of the central wing used to be.

 

The entrance to the Mile Dome is impressive!

The weight room

 

An interior view of the rocket shop.

Paul Foerster speaking to the assembled group - (Sorry, Paul, I caught you just as you were looking down at your notes)

Exciting things are happening at our old alma mater. If you are interested, you can take advantage of next year's Golden Mules reunion. If you're not contacted by the school at the latest by next spring, let me know, and I can post contact information for you to get on the mailing list.

 

Bill