KDS Celebrates 100 Years
On Saturday, February 24 the Gunter Mountain Community held a day-long celebration to commemorate KDS DAR School's Centennial anniversary. Many people attended the event including members of the community, KDS alumni, faculty, staff, and students. Various activities were scheduled throughout the day and food trucks were on hand to provide a variety of delicious options.
The day began with a Pancake Breakfast sponsored by the High School Softball Team in the Lunchroom. The High School Track and Field Team sponsored the Brrrthday Bash 5K Run/Walk with more than 100 people participating, both in-person and virtually.
The High School Art Department held a Craft Show in the Doris Pike White Gymnasium which included more than 30 vendors. The special day included a showcase of classic cars on display in the center campus parking lot. Campus tours were also given throughout the day, and the KDS .
Other events included a Cake Walk sponsored by the high school band, a Soup Supper sponsored by the high school family and consumer sciences department, and BINGO sponsored by the elementary school PTO. The middle school peer helper students provided music featuring various hits throughout the decades and held a karaoke contest. Children also enjoyed an inflatable slide and bouncy house.
Performances by local artists and KDS graduates took place in Becker-Horton Hall that evening. A special reunion performance by the Sutphin Family Cloggers capped off the evening and brought a memorable close to the Community Centennial Celebration day of events.
On Monday, February 26, 2024, the 100th anniversary of the opening of Kate Duncan Smith DAR School, a special celebration was held with students, faculty, and staff on campus. Everyone was gifted a commemorative t-shirt - Elementary School in red; Middle School in blue; and High School in white - to wear for a campus-wide photo taken by a drone. Students were welcomed to the Lunchroom with festive 100th birthday decorations and photo wall, and everyone celebrated with birthday cake!
KDS DAR School celebrates 100 years of education, history, patriotism, and tradition with its new video titled
"A Dream Realized".
KDS 100th Dedication Day
More than 650 members of the Daughters of the American Revolution from across the country traveled to Grant, Ala., on October 2-4 to participate in the 100th Dedication Day activities of Kate Duncan Smith DAR School.
A Welcome Reception held in Becker-Horton Hall, the school’s iconic vertical log gymnasium, on Wednesday evening, featured a video message from Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, a performance by the Sutphin Family Cloggers, and a visit from Kate Duncan Smith herself.
The DAR members arrived on campus on Thursday morning in a processional led by riders on horseback carrying a U.S. Flag, a law enforcement escort, and two Ford Model T’s, reminiscent of the first Dedication Day in 1924. Many distinguished guests attended the festivities including President General of the DAR, Pamela Rouse Wright of Texas; National School Chair, Dawn Lemongello of Florida; Honorary President General, Lynn Young of Texas; and Alabama State Regent, Malinda Williams of Birmingham.
Thursday’s activities saw guests taking tours of the historic campus, participating in community service projects, reading to elementary school students, planting seeds in the greenhouse, visiting the museum, and watching a performance of the 6th grade Junior American Citizens Club. During the evening, attendees enjoyed a 1920’s-themed, formal gala at Marshall County R.S.V.P. That evening, United States Representative Robert Aderholt presented the school with a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol and a commendation stating the school’s 100th Anniversary was observed in the Congressional Record.
The focal point of the annual festivities was the traditional Dedication Day Program on Friday, October 4, in the Burkey Center Gymnasium. Thirty states and/or organizations dedicated gifts given to the school during the past year, and a program entitled “A Centennial Story: 100 Years of KDS DAR School” featured students representing various milestones of the past century. State Senator Wes Kitchens and State Representative Jeana Ross were in attendance for the Dedication Day ceremony.
Governor Kay Ivey extends her heartfelt greetings and congratulations to KDS School on the remarkable achievement of reaching its centennial milestone.
Centennial Campus Commons Dedication
The Centennial Campus Commons is our gift to the school in celebration of its 100th Anniversary. This terraced greenspace in the heart of the historic campus will serve as a gathering place for the school and the community well into the future.
This project will unite our campus and our community by focusing on shared experience, strengthening our connection to our history, and serving as a reminder of how the past shaped us to inform our present and mold our future.
The project was funded through the generosity of the Daughters of the American Revolution, KDS alumni, students, faculty and staff, friends, and community donors.
Thank you to everyone who made this day possible.
