Wildcat Athletic Endowment a key to CFHS sports

Sports has been in my blood for as long as I can remember. And maybe playing ball when I was a kid kept me out of trouble.

Athletics are alive and well in Columbia Falls, thanks — in part — to the Wildcat Athletic Endowment Association. The annual WAEA auction was the first event that I attended when I moved to town to take the managing editor's position last July. It was really an eye opener, and in a pleasant way.

I was impressed with not only the array of items up for bids during the WAEA auction, but also the number of people who attended. I knew hardly anyone there, but I soon learned who the prime time players are in Columbia Falls — in terms of making things happen and contributing their time to a worthwhile cause.

Last week, I went back to two issues of the Hungry Horse News in 1996 — published May 16 and June 13. Articles were written about the creation of WAEA. It was the brainchild of Steve Kracher. At the time, Steve was Columbia Falls High School athletic director and head football coach. He's now in the CFHS Hall of Fame.

The May 16 story said Kracher started WAEA at the beginning of the 1995-96 school year "as a safety precaution in light of shrinking school budgets. He feared that CF students will have to pay a fee to play a sport, something that was already common practice in several Montana schools. Perhaps Kracher was a prophet, given the budget crunch felt in recent years in terms of school athletics and other activities.

Pete Darling, a 1945 CFHS graduate, was quoted in the story. He spearheaded a drive — urging his fellow alumni to "pitch in" on the Association. "Maybe this money could be used down the road for a kid who can't afford a pair of sneakers or something," Pete said in the article.

Along with Darling, Roy Anders (Class of 1934), Elwyn "Mutt" Mateka (1941), Chet Hill and Alton Johnson (1945), and Bob Walton (1949) issued a challenge on behalf of CFHS graduates in the 1930s and 40s, to the alumni of the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s to support WAEA financially — for the sake of high school sports.

It's noted that Anders said his Class of '34 decided on the Wildcat to be the school's mascot.

Since only a handful of sports were offered when those named alumni went to school, they had reservations about the need for the Association. But soon they embraced the concept wholeheartedly.

Walton said, "I think it's a nice idea because the money won't be spent. For me it is a way to give back to the community. If some kid needs something down the road, they should be able to get it."

You see, only the accrued interest on endowment funds is used to support CFHS athletics. The principal, which keeps building, is untouched.

Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, girls sports were added to boys athletics. Title IX requires an equality in what's offered to boys and girls, and rightfully so. Girls should be allowed to participate in as many extracurricular activities as boys. When I graduated from high school in Wyoming, there were only boys sports. The only true connection to the teams for girls was cheerleading.

The June 13, 1996 Hungry Horse News reported that the endowment fund was continuing to grow. As of May 31, 43 people had donated $4,355 to the fund. Kracher's short-term goal was to raise $25,000 by the end of 1996.

Now in its 13th year, the Association reported recently that the principal balance is an impressive $239,000. Give credit to Kracher, Darling, Anders, Mateka, Hill, Johnson, Walton and others. They laid the groundwork for what we have in support of CFHS athletics today, helping keep Wildcat and Wildkat athletics alive for years to come.

Joe Sova is managing editor of the Hungry Horse News.