By Steve Pedego
In 1945, the war in Europe was ending. Sports events were picking up in popularity. Jim Francis, one of the football coaches at Modesto High formed an athletic club called the Regs, short for the Regulars.
The Fraternities and the Sororities were important social elements in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. Many of these were high school clubs and some were civic clubs. One of the leading boys’ clubs was the Regs, for “the Regulars”. The Uptown Boys were always nicely dressed and fashionable. Some of these clubs were neighborhood clubs and were tougher, like the Airport Gang and the Dukes. The Patricians and the Nigans were the leading girls’ clubs. These clubs had organized events and get-togethers and even organized formal events around New Year’s Eve, along with some of the boy’s clubs.
The Regs were the prominent club as Modesto High was the prominent school until Downey opened. Over the years, the Regs and MHS drifted apart and by the end of 1958, MHS had dropped all adult supervision as the Regs were drinking and had large events and parties. At the end of each school year, the Regs would use their dues money to hold an all-night party at the reservoir called the Regs Annual. The 1960 Annual was visited by 13 sheriff cars, they took names and reported to MHS. Great stories from that night but that was the final straw and the Regs were banned from MHS and no patches on the jackets were allowed at school, but it was a still a Regs jacket.
The Regs were active for 22 straight years and played a vital part of the cultural socializing in the 50s and 60s. It is great that some of these civic sororities are still present in Modesto today doing community service and events, such as Omega Nu.
