SMS Alum creates St. Mary's Mini-Museum

The school museum was a large part of my Eagle Scout project. Taking a total of 85 hours between everyone, the museum explains and shows the long, rich history of St. Mary's through the items that were an actual part of its past. In each of the four cases is a time period of the school's history.

The first case begins the story with the school's history with memorabilia from its beginnings all the way through 1949. These pictures are very, very old, and interestingly many who saw the cases mistake May Crowning for a wedding just because of how formal it was back then.

The next case, showcasing the 50s, shows St. Mary's during its first few years as a high school with a wide variety of memorabilia, from a picture of its first football team to a Saint Mary's cookbook. The centerpiece is a framed newspaper article about the dedication of SMS.

The third case has the years of 1960-1979. It contains items from the height of Marian High as well as its sports teams. School newspapers, especially The Lance, were popular during this time. Also, Marian High was an athletic powerhouse during this time, with astonishing track records and a basketball team that dominated on the court. Some Marian High alumni can even find themselves in the pictures or on the back cover of one of the yearbooks.

The final case, 1980 to the present, shows St. Mary's modern history. Many familiar faces can be found in this case, notably Father Klein and a loved past principal, Mr. Kent. The case is largely about Mr. Kent on purpose; he affected the school in many ways. Many remember him through his smiling face, through watching him serve lunch with a tall chef's hat on, and seeing him around the school, brightening everyone's day, including your own. The case centerpiece is a framed picture of the St. Mary's family, with all students and staff standing in front of the new school addition. It shows that the bonds of the SMS family are strong and will continue to be strong in the coming decades, as Saint Mary's history continues to be made.

I recieved major help from Nurse Mary and Mr. Smith on this project, so they deserve a very special thank you for their efforts. The total number of people who worked on the project is 10, including Mr. Smith, Nurse Mary, Grace Pick, Julia Haarstad, Rilee Schmidt, Stephanie Liebl, Samantha Liebl, Mark Kubista, Jack Ruiter, and I. I was the head of the project and coordinated the work times and did much work myself, but by no means was it possible without the help of these people, especially Nurse Mary, who as a Marian High alum gave us very useful information and worked many hours sorting through the endless memorabilia.

Bretton Ruiter