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closeKids corner: History, hallways cherished during school’s 55th birthday
Harbor Heights welcomes back former principals
Hugh McMillan
Kids corner
It was almost like a Fourth of July celebration. There were so many notables, former principals, former students and a crush of current supporters.
They were savoring Harbor Heights Elementary School’s 55th birthday celebration.
In the school’s “Hefner Hall,” principal Mary Godwin-Austen invited everyone to “stroll down memory lane — or hallways — and recall how, 55 years ago in the small fishing community of Gig Harbor, a new school, Harbor Heights, opened its doors for the first time.”
A memorabilia table shared photos, T-shirts, yearbooks and a plethora of school artifacts.
Harbor Heights Circus Club members waved brightly colored ribbons as they greeted guests in the parking lot, and they swirled about on stilts, unicycles, Pogo sticks and skateboards, performing a variety of stunts.
Fifth-grader Lindsey Stakset said the Circus Club kids are a group of fourth- and fifth-graders who come to school at 8 a.m. on Fridays to do circus things get ready for the Maritime Gig Festival parade.
Each guest received an attractive program outlined with the school mascot, “Orca,” and a brief, detailed history of Harbor Heights.
“Student Council put a huge effort on posters and mapped out everything we were going to do,” said Jack Nordi, Student Council president. “This taught me if you want something to happen, you work hard and you can make it happen.”
Nordi thanked Student Council representatives Ethan Finch and Emily Davis, Joe Kaldestad, Joe Hayes of the Circus Club and Cari Anderson of the choir for helping to “make it happen.”
“(The day) confirmed for me that Gig Harbor is a great place to live and work,” Godwin-Austen said. “There were so many people I connected with; it was really fun!”
Past principals Gary Williamson, Steve Aspden, Dave Trochim, Roy Okomoto, Wendy Alexander and Leslie Rose spoke. Williamson compiled the school’s history.
The school’s first principal, Stan Dahl, and Dave Southwick, both deceased, also were recognized.
Gig Harbor Mayor Chuck Hunter and Peninsula School District Superintendent Terry Bouck shared encouraging words, and a special alumnus, former Seattle Seahawks receiver Paul Skansi, reminisced on his Harbor Heights experiences.
Student Ethan Finch said he liked having Mrs. Rose and all the other former principals at the ceremony.
“I liked having the mayor there to hear about how the school has grown from 200 kids to 600 kids,” Finch said.
“It was interesting listening to them. They knew a lot more than me about the past of our school,” student Joe Kaldestad said. “In the yearbooks, I saw my teacher, Mr. McClelland, when it was his first year at (Harbor Heights), and he looked a lot different.
“That was one of the first times Circus Club got to perform a routine, and it was really fun!” Kaldestad added.
Joe Hays said greeting everyone was fun.
“I liked reading all the yearbooks, seeing all the people from the past,” he said.
“It was special having Paul Skansi talk about his teacher, Mr. Leverett,” Jack Nordi said, “and people in the audience started to cry remembering about him and how he died.”
Dr. Vince Leverett, a former student and Gig Harbor physician, said, “I’ll never forget the smell of freshly waxed floors and immaculate classrooms. I got a great education in a fun learning environment and, some of my best friends today are my old Harbor Heights classmates.”
Student Cari Anderson said it was great to have a representative from the museum to learn about the artifacts from the schools that will be there.
Teacher Susan Elston recalled how she taught second and third grades at the original Harbor Heights on Grandview Street from 1973-78.
“It was in the days when most Gig Harbor family names ended in ‘ich” and fished for a living,” she said. “I remember lunch when kids would open up cans of sardines and share with the whole class. It lingered.”
Student Emily Davis said she learned a lot about the old Harbor Heights, “like it was where City Hall is now.”
Joan Storkman, a school social worker and birthday planning committee chair, said what made the 55th birthday celebration special was the students’ performing — the Circus Club, choir, Recorder Club and the Student Council leading the flag salute, and how they and honored the rich history of the school.
“Posters in the hallway told us a lot about our school, like it used to be grades one through six,” student Emily Davis said.
Lemonade and a decorated cake that read “Happy Birthday, Harbor Heights” were shared by all to close out the ceremonies before student-guided tours of the facility began.
The cake was all gone before I got to it. Shucks!
But other than that, it was a great day!