At some point, every high school has to clean out its trophy case. There’s only so much space and eventually room is needed for the physical symbols of the most recent student accomplishments. But where do old trophies go when they are bumped from the hallway display?
At Wethersfield High School a huge pile of old trophies, plaques and other accumulated “hardware,” was recently found in the attic of the historic Blish Building.
Wethersfield High School junior Addison Looney, a participant in The Kewanee Voice’s Student Journalism Program, recently wrote a story revealing an apparently long-standing tradition dating back to the 40s, of seniors finding ways to sneak up to the dimly lit space and write their names on the wooden beams.
Ms. Looney’s expedition also led to another “find,” an almost forgotten trove of trophies glimmering in gold and silver in the floodlight topped with statues of athletes in action poses and two-handled victory cups. Most of the “hidden treasures” are still in the cardboard boxes in which they were carried there years ago. A closer examination revealed that most appear to be from the 1990s and early 2000’s, although there may be some from earlier years.
The collection may be the accumulation of several trophy case purges over a couple of decades. Most of the memorabilia appear to have been won by sports teams as well as band and scholastic bowl, but there may be others.
It is likely that the collection would continue to occupy the approximately 40-by-20-foot section of flooring under the south slope of the towering roof or, until someone decided they should be thrown away.
The newly reactivated Frank H. Craig Wethersfield Alumni Association may have a solution that would benefit the organization and help “clean up” the attic. The group would like to raise money to plant a tree and place a marker on the school grounds in memory of their namesake, Mr. Craig, the school’s first superintendent. Craig was responsible for planting over 280 trees on the 10-acre campus soon after the Blish Building was built in 1903.
When the group heard about the old trophies in the attic they asked Superintendent Dr. Andrew Brooks if they could hold an auction allowing anyone interested to claim a small part of the school’s past to raise money for the tree fund. Dr. Brooks gave his blessing and plans will be made to bring some or all of the trophies down from the attic, probably this fall when the weather is cooler.
They will be identified, cataloged, and cleaned, if necessary. If any trophies or plaques bear the name of a single individual, an effort will be made to return it to that person or their family. Other options are also being considered for ways to present the trophies to the public prior to an auction which would tentatively be held next fall or winter.
The project will be discussed at this year’s annual reunion which will be held Sunday, Aug. 18, at 1 p.m. in the school cafeteria.
While visiting the attic to get a better idea of what the pile of trophies looked like, members of the alumni group and Dr. Brooks discovered that this year’s seniors, apparently prompted by Addison’s article about the tradition of leaving names in the attic, decided to “sneak” up and hang a large poster board from the south roof with their signatures and “Senior Prank 2024” in big letters left behind for future generations of explorers to find on Goose Island.
