To preserve the history and promote the 'Tino spirit that he loves so much, Morse has written a book Cupertino High School: A History, which highlights the traditions, events and people that have been key in the institution's 45-year history.

The 146-page book, which features more than 400 pictures, will be released in mid-May.

To others, the Cupertino native might have lived an ordinary childhood in a typical neighborhood of the town. But to Morse, living within the boundaries of Cupertino High School, the place where all of his wonderful memories rest, was neither ordinary nor typical.

"Cupertino High was the heart of the city. It was unlike any other place. Being the oldest high school in the city, in the late '50s and the '60s, this was the meeting place, the center where everyone socialized, where all the excitement was," remembers Morse, who is also a yearbook and newspaper advisor as well as an athletic coach at the school.

People gathered to cheer on their favorite powder puff team on Pioneer Day, which the school organized each year to celebrate the school and bring the community together.

That was what Morse calls the "Golden Age" of the school.

Although the school might have lost some of its splendor from yesteryears, many of its rich traditions live on.

"It's always been an excellent school," says Morse, who believes his school has not gotten the credit it truly deserves in the community. "For over four decades Cupertino High has continued to thrive and rank among the top high schools in the state. Some of our programs rank among the best in the nation. I disagree with the popular misconception that we're not as good as some of our neighboring schools."

To celebrate its many accomplishments, Morse documented the school's people and events in five sections—"CHS over the Years," "Leadership," "Traditions," "Athletics" and "A Lighthearted Look at CHS."

In the section "CHS Over the Years," Morse gives an overview of each decade since the school opened in 1958.

Some of the interesting stories one can find in the decade of the 1980s include the school's near-closure in 1985 due to declining enrollment as well as the arson of the science building in 1986.

"I was a sophomore when the science building caught on fire one night," Morse said. "Around midnight, someone set fire to the building. They never solved it, and the person responsible for it got away."

Under the "Leadership" section, Morse devotes pages to introducing past and present leaders in school administration, faculty and the student body who have helped to shape Cupertino High.

For example, the school's first principal—George Fernandez—played an instrumental role in the construction of Cupertino High.

"He came from Fremont High School to help promote a bond measure to construct Cupertino High. At that time, when Cupertino had just became a city, the community really wanted its own high school. George was very successful," Morse says.

In the section Morse calls "Tradition"—one of the longest and most interesting sections of the book—one learns that the 'Tino marching band played for three former U.S. presidents—Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, and the 'Tino drill team was once ranked first in the nation.

"This part of the book covers a lot of the fun events at Cupertino High," Morse explains. "People can read about a lot of interesting stuff, like the history of Pioneer Day."

According to Morse, Pioneer Day, which included a parade and a powder puff football game, was more than an annual celebration of the school.

"The whole community participated in Pioneer Day. It was more of a community event. It started when the city of Cupertino was just established, and it played a major role in giving the newly formed city an identity. Unfortunately, the event died in the early 1980s," Morse says.

Like other institutions that have been around for awhile, the history of Cupertino High reflects the frame of mind and attitudes of the wider world through different time periods.

For example, some pictures in the book from the 1960s and '70s depict the turmoil during the Vietnam War.

"We have a wall on campus, a war memorial that has 11 names of former Pioneers who were killed in the Vietnam War," says Morse, who prays that he will not have to add any more names to the wall when the current situation with Iraq is over.

Athletics is the topic of the fourth chapter of his book.

As a coach himself, Morse cannot be more proud of the accomplishments the Pioneers have achieved throughout the years, and in this section, he describes each athletic program as well as lists all the league and section championships.

"It has everything about sports—our excellent coaches and programs," he says. "There's another misconception that Cupertino High has not been strong in sports. Many don't know that we are number one in our school district in the total number of boys' titles."

Cupertino's wrestling program has won 20 league championships in the school's 44 years of existence, an accomplishment unmatched by any other area school.

Morse includes other interesting facts in this section—Kurt Rambis, a Cupertino alum, played for the Los Angeles Lakers, and John Hencken, another former Pioneer, is an Olympic gold medalist.

The final section, "A Lighthearted Look at CHS," is filled with entertaining pictures, drawings and writings by students, faculty and Floye Jackson, a secretary in the 1960s and '70s who kept a journal filled with interesting daily observations.

"Floye had an amazing sense of humor," Morse says. "She wrote down random stuff, the fun and silly things. For example, on March 26, 1971, she wrote, 'Ice cream man was arrested across the street for selling pot.' And on Jan. 17, 1972, she recorded a phone call from a parent who said, 'I am so mad. A student just brought my son home. Somebody stole his pants.' She was just real quick and witty."

Although the content of the book is very diverse, Morse says a lot of it is about Bill Boggie, a longtime teacher at Cupertino High who is also known as "Mr. Cupertino."

"Bill has been teaching at the school since 1962 and has done a lot to preserve the history here. The book is a lot about what he has done. He's a big asset to the school and the community," Morse says.

In its first edition, Morse plans to produce and sell 250 copies at $25 per book and donate some of the money to the school to sponsor history-related projects. Morse is publishing the book himself through his newly established business Morse40 Publishing.

Morse dedicates his book "to those who provide opportunities for others—teachers and coaches."

For more information about Morse or his book, visit www.morse40.com.