[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 127 (Friday, July 29, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E810]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF HUNTINGTON HIGH SCHOOL IN 
                         NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA

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                     HON. ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 29, 2022

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Huntington High School on the anniversary of its founding more than 100 
years ago.
  Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Huntington High School was opened 
in 1920 as the first public high school for African-American youth in 
the city of Newport News. The school was named in honor of Collis 
Potter Huntington, founder of the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry 
Dock Company and a developer of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, which 
he helped bring to Newport News.
  Huntington High School began as a class of just 52 students with one 
teacher in a small room at John Marshall Elementary School. The school 
eventually moved to its own four-room building on 18th Street in 
Newport News. The school continued to expand adding four additional 
rooms, making the structure two stories high. Huntington High School's 
growth eventually required additional staff as well as the construction 
of a new campus on Orcutt Avenue that was completed in 1936. Additions 
were made to that new building in 1945, 1947, and 1949.
  Huntington's ``Mighty Vikings'' excelled in academics, sports, and 
music and helped earn Huntington a reputation as one of the most 
outstanding schools in Virginia. The spirited marching bands were 
renowned for their famous ``Viking Call,'' which could be heard 
throughout the neighborhood. The 48th and final class graduated in 
1971, ending Huntington High School's five decades of fostering 
community hope, unity, and pride. It's proud name and tradition 
continued on as an intermediate school for eighth and ninth grades, and 
in 1981 the school's storied building on Orcutt Avenue became 
Huntington Middle School, serving students in sixth through eighth 
grade.
  Madam Speaker, as the Newport News community gathers to celebrate 
over 100 years since Huntington's founding, I want to congratulate the 
alumni of this historic school and the work they have done to serve the 
City of Newport News and the greater Hampton Roads community.

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