A local landmark in need of your help

By Brian Freeman
2008 Senior Class President
Wheat Ridge High School

Every year around the country, the senior class of graduating high school students is simultaneously charged with the tasks of guarding the traditions of the institution it represents and pushing the frontiers to make progress for the school. Finding meaningful new frontiers for a school can be a little difficult at times. And keeping a tradition alive in this day and age can sometimes prove to be very challenging, to say the least. First, it has to be a tradition worth preserving and perpetuating. Second, it has to inspire those who would be entrusted with the task of keeping the tradition alive. Third, it becomes all the more important when the tradition that is trying to be preserved actually represents the frontier of progress for the school. The Senior Class of 2008 at Wheat Ridge High School has just such an opportunity that meets all of those criteria on its hands this year, and we are turning to our fantastic Farmer alumni and wonderfully supportive community for help.

If you have been by the front of Wheat Ridge High School lately, you know that we have been undergoing some badly needed improvements to our school site. While the vast majority of the changes have been wonderfully positive and have truly improved our school, one sad and inevitable occurrence happened. The giant concrete "WR" landmark that graced the entrance of the school at the front of the circle drive had to be destroyed to make way for a new parking lot. It was far too heavy and cumbersome to relocate and would not have survived the move, so the decision to break it up and haul it away was made. It had stood for nearly50 years since the school had been relocated from 38th Avenue and Reed Street to its current location at 32nd Avenue and Holland Street in 1958. Many a picture had been taken with it as the background, and it became a very visible symbol of both academic and athletic excellence at Wheat Ridge High School. Its loss could be felt in the heart of every Farmer, young and old.

Perhaps more than any other high school in Jefferson County, Wheat Ridge High School is steeped in tradition. From the time the doors were opened in 1896, a high standard was expected of the Farmerswho attended the school. Everyone is most familiar with the incredible athletic success that has been earned over the years, and the unparalleled academic success has been the envy of other Colorado high schools. What is lesser-known but equally as important is the incredibly rich activities that have also been a cornerstone to our school over the years. We continue to have a marching band, jazz band, and orchestra that set the bar for other schools. Our vocal music programs, boasting the sensational Wheat Ridge Singers, are the models for other high school programs. Everywhere you look, from the excellent speech and debate team to the top-notch drama program to the fabulous products turned out by our skilled art and computer students, Wheat Ridge has taken a backseat to no one. One look at our Student Senate, Key Club, and National Honor Society is proof that the students of Wheat Ridge High School will, in fact, uphold and further the tradition of excellence that has been handed down to us by our Farmer predecessors.

So, now the time has come to bring the "WR" monument back, as a way of honoring all that has gone before us, and all that we will leave to future classes. As the Senior Class of 2008, we are spearheading this project, but it is a huge task. The original monument was a gift of the class of 1961, the first graduating class from WRHS that had attended their entire high school career at the new location. To restore their legacy, and to add our efforts to theirs, we are going to need the generosity of our alumni, our community members, and good folks everywhere to make the replacement of this monument a reality. Several thousand dollars must be raised in order to landscape the area, build the forms and pour the concrete. Architects have already begun the design portion of the project and, even though we are still short of our goal monetarily, interest in our endeavor has begun to increase. Since we aired our original appeal on the 5 p.m. edition of 9News on Feb. 16, people have been wondering how they can help. Checks in any amount can be made out to "WRHS Senate," and those donations can be sent to the following address:

WR Monument Fund
Wheat Ridge High School
9505 West 32nd Avenue
Wheat Ridge, CO
80033