A year after it was originally scheduled to be unveiled, the Carr Central High School mural was officially presented to the public Saturday.

The original ceremony, set for last October, was delayed due to Hurricane Katrina. The mural by Paducah, Ky., artist Robert Dafford, was completed in June 2005. Dafford and his crew will start work this fall on two more murals.

&#8220Wow. Robert Dafford and his crew really caught the spirit and soul of the era we grew up in,” said Ethel Pickens, a 1953 Carr Central graduate and organizer of the second Carr Central All Alumni reunion, held this weekend. &#8220I can look at that mural and remember walking up those stairs.”

About 500 people, including Carr Central graduates in town for the reunion, and public officials, attended the unveiling at the City Front floodwall.

The mural, the 19th of the downtown murals to be unveiled, shows the Cherry Street school in its prime, with a yard full of students, 1950s model cars, an oak tree in front of the building and the concrete bench made by vocational students in 1940, which now sits in front of the mural.

&#8220Getting this done has just been a remarkable journey,” said Pickens. &#8220Everyone just worked so hard.”

Former Carr graduates from 1933 through 1959 raised more than $25,000 to pay for the mural, which was about $17,000. The remaining money, Pickens said, funded a block party, held after Saturday’s unveiling.

&#8220We got such a good response from alumni wanting to help,” said Pickens. &#8220People called from all over, even some from nursing homes just to give $5. That lets you know we really take pride in our school.”

Built in 1924, Carr Central was named for John P. Carr, a Vicksburg Public School superintendent for 25 years in the early 1900s. At first, the school housed kindergarten through eighth grades and superintendent staff offices. In 1932, Carr became a high school and remained so until it was changed to a junior high in 1959. Carr closed in 1979.

Although the 82-year-old brick building still stands on Cherry Street, its broken windows and boarded doors are a far cry from what former Carr students remember. Carr was last used by students in 1989 before becoming property of the City of Vicksburg. Eight years ago, the city sold the building to Robert Rosenthal, who hopes to turn the property into an assisted living home, but has had previous applications for federal-state assistance for his project rejected.

&#8220I hope the future brings some kind of plans for this building,” said Pickens. &#8220This day has brought back such wonderful memories. And we’re going to do this every two years until there’s none of us left.”