Grossmont High School Online

GHS Museum Museum
 

The GHS Museum’s First Year

October 2009 is the one-year anniversary of the GHS Museum.  What an exciting year it has been! 

 Last year, half of the Grossmont High School student body (over 1,000 students) visited the Museum during their school day.  First, the ninth grade students came to the Museum during their Math classes ; then, the seniors visited during their English classes.  The students spent the period becoming familiar with Grossmont High School’s remarkable eighty-nine year old history.  During the class period, the students were broken into three groups; Lynn and I and the students’ teacher each led one group through the Museum in a treasure hunt assignment. We had many exciting moments when students discovered one of their family members in the Museum.  One memorable moment was when a ninth grade student returned after school the same day with his grandfather, a 1940’s graduate, to share the Museum with him.

 In addition, we have had hundreds of community members, GHS and district staff, and alumni visit the Museum.  Our oldest known alumni, Eugene Vacher, Class of 1927, visited last March.  Several alumni groups have visited as well; most recently the Class of 1959 celebrated their 50^th Reunion with a visit to the Museum before a Friday night football game, where they were introduced.  

An unexpected use of the Museum has been the frequent requests for research.  We have been contacted by people researching their family members, looking for verification of graduation dates; by historians researching books to be published; by District staff seeking information about Grossmont High School’s and the GUHS District’s past, and by alumni wanting to reconnect to their high school memories.

This year, we will continue to share the Museum with Grossmont High School’s student body, including this year’s ninth, eleventh, and twelfth grade classes.  Also this year, because the students were excited to see the photographs of Gus and Gertie in the Museum, GHS will again have a mascot, Gertie. 

We continue to receive frequent donations of amazing GHS memorabilia. For example, recently Duane Jackson, Class of 1950, gave the Museum a 1940’s leather football helmet he wore, and Gary Dorman, Class of 1962, and grandson of beloved Red Robe Choir director, Merle Donahue, donated five boxes of Mrs. Donahue’s memorabilia.  The boxes contain wonderful treasures such as phonograph records, scrapbooks, photographs, and even a red robe.  With all the amazing memorabilia we have received, we are currently searching for a larger, and, hopefully historic, space on campus to house the Museum.

We hope to see you soon at the GHS Museum.  As you plan ahead for next year, please save Saturday, September 18, 2010, and join us as we celebrate Grossmont High School’s 90^th Birthday with a multiclass reunion and a community picnic in the quad!  Please come to share your Grossmont High School memories and to see the wonderful changes taking place on campus.

Grand Opening

Friday, October 17, 2008, the Grossmont High School staff, community, and alumni celebrated the opening of the Grossmont High School Museum. We are delighted that so many people joined us to appreciate the wonderful 88 year-old history of Grossmont High School. During the evening, it was exciting to hear graduates from different decades share their Grossmont High School memories with other graduates.

The ribbon cutting was done by our oldest alumni in attendance, Class of 1936 graduate, Ellsworth Riker, and the youngest student at Grossmont, Athena Scott, Class of 2012. Also, we were able to register visiting alumni thanks to Paul and Donna Miller, Class of 1966, and Janine Burch, Class of 1965. We are so delighted that Paul Miller has volunteered to become our Alumni Coordinator. Be sure to check our Alumni website for current information about your class. We want to especially thank the alumni who brought memorabilia to donate the night of the Grand Opening.

Museum History

This dream began in 1997 wth the 75th anniversary celebration of Grossmont High School. Social Science teacher, Bruce Davidson, realized the importance of acknowledging our rich history as a school. For 5 years, until 2001 when he retired from teaching, he gathered and stored Grossmont High memorabilia, hoping for a place to display it to the public, with the support of Principal Bill Ashman. From 2001-2003, Sharon Nye, Library Tech, guarded them, and since 2003, Marilyn Morse, our Library Tech, volunteered to carry on this tradition. When Connie Baer, Class of 1965 and retired GHS English teacher and her sister Lynn Baer, Class of 1969, retired, they volunteered to work to create the Grossmont High School Museum.

Starting in November, on Wednesdays, the Museum is being used as a part of ninth grade orientation through the students’ math classes. Second semester, we will share the museum with the seniors through their English classes. In two years, hopefully, all Grossmont High students will have had a chance to experience the wonders of Grossmont High’s history.