Kewanee High School has added two new teachers this spring semester, and the new Ag teacher, Ella Cagwin, was organizing a tool supply closet when she came across a few dusty boxes. When she and some students opened those boxes, the trip down memory lane began.
Kindra Callahan, advisor for the Kewanee FFA Chapter, said inside those boxes were unclaimed plaques and awards, the oldest of which dated back to 1963-64.
“We did some brainstorming on how we could best honor these,” said Callahan. “We didn’t just want to stuff them back in a box.”
Students began to clean and organize the plaques based on designated categories, she said, and in the process several different educators and staff were drawn to the find.
“One dear friend of the Ag Program, Lori Jackson, came by and said, ‘Hey, I remember that year, that was so and so’s uncle who moved to X and now does X,’” Callahan said.
It was Jackson’s reflections that got the group thinking “how cool it would be to get these items back into the hands of the recipients,” said Callahan.
Photos of the awards, along with some background about the find was posted on the Kewanee FFA Facebook page and Callahan said the response has been great.
“We have had tremendous feedback,” she said. “Even those that maybe haven’t physically picked a plaque up, it’s been rewarding to watch the social media comments and know that people are remembering positive memories of their time in Kewanee FFA Blue Jackets,” the advisor said.
They are still hoping to return all of the awards to their rightful owners and anyone with information or who recognizes one of their own trophies or the names on one of the awards can contact Ella Cagwin at ecagwin@kcud229.org with information about the plaque they are hoping to claim.
“We have a system for tracking which plaques have been shared so we can document who may have claimed it first,” she said. “Ms. Cagwin will set up a pickup time at KHS for those redeeming their awards.”
Callahan said the experience has been a unique opportunity for the FFA members and the new teachers.
“They are learning about our history, meeting new people and sharing with great pride what our program is currently working on,” she said.
