Classes started at Shades Cahaba High School on September 19, 1920 and the school has continuously served students in Homewood for the past 100 years. This project was started to record the memories of those that attended and worked at Shades Cahaba and those that just have a great story to tell.
The Book
To celebrate the centennial of Shades Cahaba, I produced 23 podcast episodes and various blog posts covering the history of the school, the community and Homewood creating it’s own school system, all of which are in this website. I used these stories and interviews to write the book Shades Cahaba: The First 100 Years which is on sale now. Hardback, paperback and Kindle versions are available at Amazon.com. A paperback version is available at Bookshop.org and an electronic version at Apple Books.
If you are a bookstore and would like to place this book in your store, it is now available to order through IngramSpark.
Episodes
Listen to the stories told by those who went to Shades Cahaba. Teachers, students, staff and parents. The school means something a little different to each person. Visit the Episodes Page for more content.
Show Host
My name is Shawn Wright and I attend Shades Cahaba Elementary from 1970 through 1974. My first year was in Mrs. Lemmon’s 2nd grade class. Both of my children have attend Shades Cahaba and my youngest “graduated” during Shades Cahaba’s 100th year. You can find out more about me at ShawnWright.net.
Blog Posts
Shades Cahaba History in the State Archives
When I first started this project, my goal was to record simple oral histories from the men and women who attended Shades Cahaba High School. I had no plan for these recordings other than to donate them to a library for safekeeping. The oral history project turned...
Shades Cahaba book in the news
Articles about the book "Shades Cahaba: The First 100 Years" were published in local publications recently. Ingrid Schnader of the Homewood Star interviewed Shawn Wright for an article published on October 29, 2020, titled "Shades Cahaba: 100 years of history" and...
The Owl Has A Name!
From the Shades Cahaba PTO: In celebration of the 100th Birthday of our school building, the students of Shades Cahaba put their heads and research skills together to give a name to the owl that has watched over his countless students. Historian, Shawn Wright,...
The Underpass
I shot this video around 2010 with my new iPhone 4. The video was terrific back then. I shared it on the Facebook page “I went to Shades Cahaba when the main entrance was on Hollywood Blvd.” There was a tremendous response from Shades Cahaba alumni. I thought you might like to see the Underpass.