George Edward Gebhardt (Class of 1933): Gebhardt was born in 1915 and was class president during his time at North Bend High School. He also won the Coos County extemporary speaking contest and was selected Outstanding Senior Boy. He earned a degree as a geological engineer from Colorado School of Mines and served in the U.S. Army during World War II, earning the rank of captain in an engineering battalion. He was an engineer in the oil fields of Texas until returning to Coos Bay in 1947 as a restaurant owner. By 1951 he was sole owner of the Top Hat Drive Inn, which he ran with his wife, Kay, for 17 years. He then worked in the real estate industry until 1980. He was a member of the Lions Club for more than 45 years and was the key person in creating the North Bend Alumni Directory. The North Bend School Board awarded him its Unsung Hero Award and the city of North Bend named him Citizen of the Year in 2006 for his work on a successful fundraising project to rebuild the city’s municipal pool. Gebhardt still lives in the Bay Area.

Cliff Saxton: Saxton came to North Bend in 1957 as the varsity football coach and led the team for eight seasons, posting a record of 45 wins, 24 losses and three ties. The Bulldogs had three consecutive 7-2 records and were contenders for the district titles. Heart problems stopped his coaching career and he served two years as athletics and activities director before moving to the Salem area. He worked at McNary High School for six years and then finished his career as athletic director at Sprague High School. He lives in Keizer with his wife, LaRene. Saxton grew up in Portland, graduating from Jefferson High School, and was an All-American football player at college. Before coming to North Bend, he also coached at Shedd High School and at Siuslaw High School.

James C. Ulum: Dr. Ulum served as North Bend’s superintendent of schools from 1970 to 1993 and is remembered as one of the finest administrators the district has known. During his tenure, he led the construction of the gym and founded the North Bend Scholarship Fund. He also supported nationally recognized professional technical programs and maintained the quality of North Bend’s schools during one of the state’s toughest economic times. He loved kids and attended athletic events, concerts and plays to support the students. He also served as president of the Chamber of Commerce and was involved in numerous service organizations. The Confederation of Oregon School Administrators, the foremost state organization of school administrators, was formed at Dr. Ulum’s house and he served as one of its distinguished presidents.

Rick Wetherell: Wetherell was born in Pendleton and raised in the Eastern Oregon communities of Echo, Arlington and Hermiston, graduating from Hermiston High School before earning an education degree from Eastern Oregon University. He completed graduate work at Oregon State University and Portland State University before beginning a 40-year career teaching and coaching in North Bend in 1965. He taught English, speech and forensics and coached football, basketball and baseball at the varsity and subvarsity levels. He logged more than 300,000 miles driving the school vans. He was named Oregon Teacher of the Year in 1995 and Assistant Coach of the Year by the Oregon Coaches Association in 2005. Outside of the schools, he was elected to the North Bend City Council in 1997 and has been the city’s mayor since 2002. He is currently superintendent, principal and teacher at Kingsview Christian School.

Tom Younker (Class of 1959): Younker was an outstanding three-sport athlete at North Bend High School. His senior year, he received the Bryant Cup as outstanding football player and was team captain and received the Dean Crowell Award as outstanding basketball player. In baseball, he had a perfect 9-0 pitching record and hit .460 his senior year. He went on to earn four varsity letters in football and baseball at Linfield College. In football, he was a three-time all-conference player and second-team NAIA All-American selection. In baseball, he was a four-time all-conference pick and second-team NAIA All-American as a senior. He also received NAIA All-Academic honors as a junior. He played baseball in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization for one year before returning to Linfield to earn his master’s degree. He then taught physical education, science and math for 30 years in North Bend while coaching football, basketball and baseball. He led the girls basketball team to eight state tournament appearances and one district title.