I love the “Farmers” mascot! Granite High was closed in 2009, and despite efforts to make it a historic landmark, it looked like part of the property may have become a Walmart. Instead, though, what stands there now is what looks to be a pretty awesome library. And not only is it a library, but it also serves as a museum of sorts to the school that stood there before, showing artifacts from the school’s days and even including some references to the school in the library’s design. It seems to be very much in the spirit of this project, and if I’m ever in that area, I’d like to visit.

A four-minute video about the library’s opening is here:

See more designs from the Granite set here.

The nicknames keep getting better—”Beetdiggers!” And look at that logo!

A Jordan alumnus was astronaut Don Lind, who took flight on the Challenger in April 1985 with a Jordan High banner. Lind managed a project to photograph the aurora borealis from space, resulting in this picture:

The o-ring problem that eventually led to the Challenger disaster was found to have almost been an issue with Lind’s flight. In a NASA oral history, he mentioned that he was told, “You came within three-tenths of one second of dying.”

See more designs from the Jordan set here.

USA Gymnastics calls former Manti student Kalon Ludvigson “the most decorated trampoline & tumbling athlete in USA Gymnastics history,” and who am I to disagree? Tragically, Ludvigson was paralyzed below the waist at the age of 25 while performing a tumbling pass at a gymnastics camp. He was honored in 2022, though, with the Robert Miller Spirit of the Flame Award, highlighting his spirit and perseverance.

See more designs from the Manti set here.

I’m sure we’re all in this together with our heads in the game to learn something about Salt Lake City’s East High School, shooting location of High School Musical.

What team? Leopards!

East’s “Notable Alumni” list on Wikipedia is quite something, including, among many others, Roseanne Barr; Patrick Fugit; astronauts James Irwin and Jake Garn; Richard Moll; and Elizabeth Smart.

Due to the fact that the school has a sizeable amount of homeless students, it has turned two old locker rooms into spaces with washing machines, dryers, and showers. That’s pretty cool!

See more designs from the East set here.

I took the symbols on this design from the school flag, first presented in 1955. According to South’s 1988 yearbook, the symbols represented democracy, knowledge, unity, and activity. I really liked the way it looked when I brought them together.

See more designs from the South set here.

West High is the oldest public high school in Utah, having been founded in 1890 as Salt Lake High School. It’s building dates to 1922, but it looks like there is currently a debate about whether to renovate or replace that building. A group called Preservation Utah is leading the charge to preserve the building. In their materials, I read an interesting history of the school and building, and enjoyed a reference to a statement published in the local newspaper upon the building’s completion in 1922. The statement was very complimentary of students’ efforts in getting the building built, and concluded:

These young people are long gone, and I don’t know the ins and outs of whether or not its realistic to preserve the building. But I still hope for their memories’ sake, something can be done to preserve the history.

See more designs from the West set here.

Kaukauna graduate Red Smith played in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers, and played and coached both professional football and baseball.

But Red Smith made it to Major League Baseball for just one, single, solitary inning, playing catcher for the New York Giants against the Philadelphia Phillies on May 31, 1927. He never even made it to the plate. I would say it was a real-life Moonlight Graham story, except for Moonlight Graham was real.

On June 1, the New York Times had the story of the game, a 13-4 rout won by the Giants. Smith didn’t figure into the article, although you can see him in the box score. Times reporter Richards Vidmer laid the scene:

A couple columns to the left in the Times that day was a similarly descriptive tale of what happened when the poor Philadelphia Athletics ran into the 1927 New York Yankees, who I have heard good things about:

Babe Ruth hit two home runs in a doubleheader that day—”You should have seen the second one. It cleared the right-field fence a foot inside the foul line, soared over a two-story house across the street and when last seen by deponent it was headed for the North Philadelphia Station—out on a spree to see life.”

I think I’m going to start saying, “And if you don’t believe me, ask Cornelius McGillicuddy!”

See more designs from the Kaukauna set here.

It seems like having large letters set on hillsides or mountainsides is a big deal in Utah, so much so that there is an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to “List of hillside letters in Utah.” Curiously not listed among the EIGHTY-SEVEN hillside letters there is the illuminated L of Logan High School. It’s lit three times a year, and has been since at least 1971. I loved the idea of depicting it on a shirt.

See more designs from the Logan set here.

If there’s a sale, get a New York Times digital subscription. I really enjoyed using it for the research for the Red Smith entry this week.

Reddy Kilowatt is the famous mascot of…..electricity? He appears in many forms, and is frequently featured in school yearbook ads. Every week I’ll take a look at a Reddy I’ve found in my research. This week’s Reddy came from a 1942 ad for the Carolina Power and Light Company.

See you next week! Tell your friends! And if you don’t believe me, ask Cornelius McGillicuddy!