El Toro High Takes a Look Back on Its First 25 Years

El Toro High School officials broke open a wall at Charger Hall on Monday to retrieve a 1975 time capsule, only to find the letters, newspapers and yearbook inside the metal box had turned to a soggy mess.

But that did little to dampen spirits as the school kicked off a week of activities to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

School officials laid out the treasured time capsule contents on top of filing cabinets to dry for a planned display. Later Monday, the entire student body gathered on the football field to spell the school’s initials: E.T.H.S.

The activities will culminate Saturday with a community assembly featuring student-guided campus tours beginning at 2 p.m., followed by a slide show at 3 p.m. in the Don Walker Memorial Gymnasium at 25255 Toledo Way.

Meanwhile, a new time capsule with 1997-98 memorabilia will be placed back into the brick wall for 25 years.

A letter by former Principal Herman Schmidt in the 1975 time capsule almost predicted its soggy fate.

“Writing a letter to be read by someone in the future feels strange,” he wrote in the May 14, 1975, letter. “There are so many things that could happen to our society from the time this is written to when it may be read. You may not even be able to read this letter.”

More than 10,000 students have graduated from the high school, which opened in September 1973, said activities director Shelle Hill.

Information: (714) 586-6333.