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
Fighting Patriots Book Available Now
I spoke with former Homewood football player Wade Kirkpatrick about the 1974 Championship team and the book he was writing about it under the pseudonym of Patrick Kirk. You can listen to the episode at...
The Mountaineer – Final Edition
During Shades Cahaba's 100th Celebration party in the fall of 2019, I met many former Shades Cahaba students, including some who attended school when it was a high school. One of those was Denny Pappas, who brought along his family. In the photo below, Dr. Pappas is...
Early Homewood Area Schools
There were many early schools in Shades Valley in the late 1800s and early 1900s. You can learn more about those on the Homewood Elementary School episode or in the book Homewood: Life of a City by Sheryl Summe. The two that I have images of are listed here. Union...
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.