Bethel High School's treasures return

Just more than a year ago, Bethel High School alumni were up in arms over the case of the disappearing mascot.

Following a cleanup project at the Spanaway school before the start of the 2010-11 school year, they feared several treasured school icons – including a larger-than-life carving of a Bethel Brave – were gone forever.

Gossip spread like wildfire on Facebook and elsewhere. Alumni fretted that the Brave – along with photos of school athletes, Daffodil princesses and every graduating senior – had been tossed onto the trash heap of history. Some suggested the removal of the Brave was an attempt at political correctness.

Thirteen months ago, The News Tribune caught up with the Brave. He’d been exiled to a school district warehouse for the duration of the painting and spruce-up project, along with several other totem-like carvings and a large painting depicting a Bethel Brave on horseback.

Photographs, trophies and other memorabilia had been removed from school walls, inventoried and stored.

Officials promised that the removals were only temporary. There was never an intent to disrespect the Brave or rewrite history, they said.

A committee was appointed to plan for the return of the artifacts. And midway through the last school year, the items began making a comeback.

Today, the Bethel Brave is restored to a place of dignity. He and two tall wood carvings now preside over the indoor entryway of the school gym. He’s visible not only to passing students but to members of the community who attend sports and other events at the school.

The mural is once again hanging on a wall in a main school staircase.

New cases display Brave trophies, balls from championship games, and other school honors and awards.

But the restoration of Brave memorabilia is still a work in progress.

There are plans to purchase digital photo displays for the trophy cases. They will show student-athletes of the month, with photos rotating through a digital lineup.

And the school district’s communications office is working to digitize and standardize the old senior portraits that had previously hung throughout the school.

Some of the original photos are in pretty bad shape, said district spokeswoman Krista Carlson.

Color is fading on some of the 1970s-era photos, and jagged edges are apparent on other old pictures. Others were framed behind glass that cracked over time.

Because the photos were different sizes and not all in mint condition, the decision was made to digitally scan and copy senior pictures from old yearbooks.

“It’s a huge project,” Carlson said. “There’s 60 years of history.”

She said her office is working with an architectural firm to determine the best way to display the photos once they’re finished.

These days, Bethel High Principal Cliff Anderson shows off his school with pride. He’s a second-year principal at Bethel but a longtime employee of the district.

In addition to a schoolwide paint job, there were other restoration projects: Broken seats in the school theater have been fixed, art and music rooms remodeled, and years of grime and graffiti buffed away from school lockers in an effort to give students a brighter environment.

“I’m a believer in this place,” Anderson said.

Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635
debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com