Preston High School staff are attempting to bring the past to life and need help from the community to do it.
Teachers Jennifer Campbell and Jessica Malboeuf are leading a team searching for artifacts from the school's history to put on display for a project being dubbed the "decade lockers."
With its 100th anniversary still just over a decade away, they wanted to get the celebration started early.
"We found a lot of students here are multi-generational," Campbell said.
"We've seen other schools do this for reunions but we didn't want to wait. We're going to start the project now and let the students enjoy it."
Located right next to the hall of fame wall, the lockers will be framed out by a tech class and filled with historical memorabilia encased behind plexy glass. A Grade 12 Society, Challenges and Change class will be curating items and researching the context around them.
Every three or four lockers represent a different decade beginning in 1934 when the school opened and runs into the future to the 2030s. The displays are permanent and intended to continue on as the years pass.
Malboeuf credits a former staff member, Laura Bart, for keeping a detailed set of records that gave them a starting point.
"We've got filing cabinets under the stage that are dated and have folders from 1934, 1935 and on," she said.
"It goes all the way up to the 2010s. We just started going through these things and found incredible stuff."
So far, the pair have helped collect everything from obscure items like a PHS Panther mascot head from the 1980s and an old cheerleading outfit to several black and white photos of the school and staff from years gone by. One person even reached out saying they had their 1977 prom ticket.
More importantly, Malboeuf said she's hoping the project motivates current students to learn the rich history of the school and begin to leave their own legacy for those who follow.
"Ultimately, this is for them," Malboeuf said.
"It's an opportunity for them to learn more about how society has changed and maybe where we're headed. I hope they look at it and feel a lot of pride and curiosity. Hopefully it inspires them to do more learning on their own. We want them to feel like this is a place they belong."
It's an important message, especially as the students attempt to put the pandemic and the loss of the traditional high school experience in the past.
"During Covid, everyone felt that loss of community," Campbell said.
"We're starting to see them get excited again. We have incredible students in the building that want to constantly be doing something cool."
While the staff have several items collected, they're hoping the community and graduates look around to see what they have to donate. Everything from old team uniforms and spirit wear to books and awards are welcome.
As a special nod to those who donate, items will be marked with the name of the person and the year in which they attended.
"We're a community school," Campbell said.
"We want them to feel that even though they aren't at Preston anymore, it's forever their school."
Anyone interested in donating an item can contact the school at 519-653-2367 to arrange drop off.
