Chicago high school marks its 'Senn-tennial'

Senn High School on Chicago’s North Side.

There are bound to be a lot of great stories swapped when Chicago’s venerable Senn High School marks it’s “Senntennial” 100^th birthday Saturday at Navy Pier. An estimated 800 alumni and guests are expected in the Grand Ballroom, but only one former student who attended the school’s 50^th anniversary in 1963 is hoping to be present for the 100^th this coming weekend.

Wilmette resident Walter Sobel, who celebrated his own 100^th birthday this past summer (or as he puts it, “The 61^st anniversary of my 39^th birthday!”) is a member of Senn’s Class of 1930. The noted architect actually was an instructor at Navy Pier when it was the original UIC campus, before becoming Chicago’s No. 1 tourist attraction.

†Another Senn student was the late Clayton Moore, a member of the school’s Class of 1932, before heading to Hollywood where he reigned for years as that Old West champion of law and order as the longtime star of “The Lone Ranger,” from 1949-57. Moore’s exploits will be remembered Saturday as part of the school’s historical presentation at the Saturday gala.