Community Voices
Page 6
Much To Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving in Grain Valley by Mayor Mike Todd, City of Grain Valley
I hope this edition of Valley News finds you and your family well this Thanksgiving Holiday. We have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving in Grain Valley. Grain Valley continues to be an amazing place to live and our kids continue to thrive in one of the best school districts in the state. I know I am thankful for having had the opportunity to grow up here and to now have the opportunity to be raising my kids here. As many of you know, I also am an elementary school teacher. As I was writing this, I wanted to make sure to include some words for thought this Holiday Season. I think one
of my students nailed it with a poem she wrote: T is for being THANKFUL U is for UNITED Families R is for REMEMBERIING those not with us K is for KINDESS to each other E is for EVERYONE getting full on Thanksgiving Day Y is for YIPPEE for my mom’s famous turkey I hope that everyone can join me and my family on November 29th as we light up the Mayor’s Christmas tree, City Hall, and Main Street. The Holiday Festival is one of my family’s favorite events of the year, and we look forward to seeing everyone in attendance. In the past our event has been warm, cold, wet, and dry. But it’s always a
great way to kick off the holiday season in Grain Valley. Join us in Armstrong Park and enjoy hot chocolate, cookies, and music from our Grain Valley elementary honor choirs. Our choirs always do an amazing job ringing in the season in style. Don’t forget to check out the Grain Valley Assistance Council Angel Tree. This is a great opportunity to give back to our community and to those in need and to make someone’s holiday a bit brighter in Grain Valley. A little elf also told me that there will be some special guests in attendance as well for kids of all ages to visit! I want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season from all of us at the City of Grain Valley.
Issues of The Broadcaster, available at the Grain Valley Historical Society. each of the four classes, the women’s basketball team, and the men’s basketball team. The Historical Society received the 1936 and 1938 yearbooks from Barbara Wilkinson whose father, Noel Wilkinson was a principal, teacher, and coach at Grain Valley from 1930 to 1938. The first page of the 1938 Student states it is the second yearbook of GVHS. I wonder if the Great Depression had any influence on the absence of a publication in 1937. I’m also curious as to why only two sports are recognized in both books; men’s and women’s basketball. There is no mention of football that was started in 1923 or baseball, which is mentioned in first issue of The Broadcaster. In 1963 The Broadcaster got a new
The Grain Valley Historical Society Museum, located at 510 Main Street, is open Wednesdays from 10am— 10am —3pm and by appointment. Visit the Historical Society’ Society’s website, www.grainvalleyhistory.com, and follow the Society on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@grainvalleyhistory).
Please include your full name and a contact phone # for verification purposes. Valley News gladly accepts announcements of anniversaries, births, college graduations, engagements, weddings, and obituaries. There is no charge for text only listings. listings Additional celebration announcements are welcome (Eagle Scout, military graduations and honors, milestone birthdays, etc.). Facebook, Twitter, Instagram:
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by Marcia Napier Grain Valley Historical Society
of Education, the faculty, the classes, a list of alumni beginning with the Class of 1909 and an activities section. The book included eight 3” x 5” photographs of the building, the faculty,
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Looking Back: The Broadcaster If you were around Grain Valley between 1937 and 1960, you would have read the school newspaper, The Broadcaster. In the archives at the Grain Valley Historical Society there are two copies of the first edition printed 81 years ago on October 1, 1937. Here is an excerpt from the first edition. “The juniors and Seniors met a week ago last Wednesday, September 22, to elect a staff for the new school paper under the direction of Superintendent Farley. Six students make up the staff consisting of Editor - Pauline McQuerry, Assistant, Editor - Bob Jenkins, Literary Editor Erma Baumgardner, Advertising Manager - Mary Edna Costigan, Business Manager - Rhoda Lea Tesch, and Sports Editor Earlene Smith.” The article goes on to state, “The staff met on the following day to decide upon what course to follow. The paper is to be in booklet form and is to be called THE BROADCASTER. It will broadcast the news from G.V.H.S. It is to be published monthly for nine months at fifty cents per school year.” The previous year, 1936, Grain Valley High School published the first yearbook. Titled simply, The Student, it was compiled by Inter-Collegiate Press of Kansas City. The yearbook consists of 52 pages that appear to be printed on a typewriter and copied on a mimeograph machine. The contents include the Board
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name, The Eagles Cry. Yours truly was the editor during the 1963-64 school year. Our English teacher, Mary Harper, was our newspaper sponsor and Kathy Snow, the commerce teacher, helped with the production. It was still typed on manual typewriters (we had two electric typewriters which we all fought to use) with messy old purple ink and printed on the mimeograph machine. I remember staying late on several Thursdays to get the paper finished for Friday distribution. In the issue dated January 29, 1943, Miss Erma Baumgardner was listed as the faculty
advisor. During the 1960s-70s, Erma Baumgardner Doty was once again the newspaper sponsor at GVHS. Not surprisingly, GVHS no longer has a weekly or bi-weekly school newspaper. GVTV, the student operated TV station puts out a weekly program which students can access on their phones and computers. In recent years, The Talon has been a quarterly publication for students and the Eagle’s View, is a magazine published and mailed to all patrons of the Grain Valley R-5 School District.
