"You've got traditions and things going back 100 years for both (of) the schools, and literally thousands and thousands of alumni that went to Jordan High School, and there's a bond ... that keeps them all together and gives them a common link to their past," Crump said.

In 1957, the schools' rivalry hardened. The school district divided Jordan's student body at the Jordan River, sending the west side to Bingham and the community into an uproar, Crump said. Many parents refused to let their children register at Bingham, and some led a boycott on the first day of school.

Cooler heads soon prevailed, and the old Jordan kids and parents embraced their new school, Crump said.

Remaining Beetdiggers' pride, if anything, deepened.

"When you go to a social in Draper now, the kids go to Alta. But the conversation's about Jordan, even now," said Caralee Backus Skinner, Jordan Class of 1961. "I think it's just like a family, a bond that you have, and you're proud of that lineage of being a Beetdigger."

So it's only natural that S. Glen Watts has spent the past 13 years dreaming up a centennial party for his alma mater.

The Alumni Association president was watching a Utah-filmed movie — he forgets the title — where a school's 100-year celebration was held at the state Capitol.

"I thought, you know what? If we had a 100-year celebration, we should do some wonderful (thing) ... not just a picnic in the park," Watts said.

A committee was set up, with alumni overseeing different decades of the school's history, booking entertainment, getting the party word out. Skinner and her husband, Barry Skinner, worked to gather all the classic cars. Last week, all were in line, except for 1942-to-1945-era Army Jeeps or other military vehicles (no automobiles were made during World War II). The school has a new archives of memorabilia from way back when.

The centennial celebration work has become a sort of "field of dreams": Build it, and they will come.

And coming they are. Some 6,000 tickets were sold as of a week ago, Watts said. People have checked in, saying they're crossing the country in their motor homes, renting buses for the trip from St. George, buying airline tickets.

"We have guys looking for their high school sweethearts ... asking, is such-and-such going to be there?" said Watts, who graduated in 1963. "One couple will celebrate their anniversary there. We'll also have a 'meet and greet' for all the veterans who served in the military.

"The ride getting to this point has been fantastic."