The North Bend High School Hall of Fame celebrates its 10th year on Friday, with the induction of five men who helped enhance the opportunities for students in the school district.

The 10th class will push the number of members of the Hall of Fame to more than 50. The induction ceremony will start about 5:30 p.m., following a social that starts 30 minutes earlier in the school’s gymnasium. It will end in time for the new inductees to be part of a parade prior to the Bulldogs’ homecoming football game against South Umpqua.

This year’s class includes retired teachers and coaches Rick Wetherell, Tom Younker and Cliff Saxton, as well as former Superintendent Jim Ulum and Class of 1933 graduate George Gebhardt.

Gebhardt was a leader in his class at North Bend and later the developer and longtime director of the North Bend Alumni Association. He also was an active member of the Lions Club for more than 45 years and was honored as the city of North Bend’s Citizen of the Year in 2006 for his work with a successful fundraising project to rebuild the municipal pool.

Wetherell was an outstanding teacher and coach for many years at North Bend and was recognized as Oregon Teacher of the Year in 1985. He coached football, basketball and baseball for more than 30 years and is currently North Bend’s mayor.

Younker graduated from North Bend in 1959 and was an outstanding three-sport athlete for the Bulldogs and later a standout athlete at Linfield College, earning NAIA All-American honors in baseball as a senior. At North Bend, he taught physical education, science and math and coached in the football, basketball and baseball programs, leading the girls basketball team to the state tournament a number of times.

Saxton came to North Bend as the varsity football coach in 1957. From that year to 1964, the Bulldogs went 45-24-3. He was athletic director in North Bend for two years before moving on to the Salem area, and he finished a 33-year career in education as athletic director for Sprague High School.

Ulum, who is deceased, was North Bend’s superintendent from 1970 to 1993. He led the construction of North Bend’s gym, founded the North Bend Scholarship fund and implemented a number of model programs in the schools. He also maintained his support for teachers and education during one of the district’s toughest economic times.

The hall of fame ceremony is free to attend, though people must pay to watch the football game. The general admission price is $5 for adults and $3 for students.