The Sunnyvale Sun

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Photograph by Carien Veldpape

Bargain hunting: Dennis and Linda Moreno pick out some 1964 trophies at the Sunnyvale Historical Museum. A debate trophy, a basketball trophy and a tournament baseball trophy went home with them.

Old trophies find new shelves

By Erin Hussey

Preparing for its move to a new building, the Sunnyvale Historical Society and Museum Association recently invited alumni of the former Sunnyvale High School to take home old school trophies.

"We are trying to get everything up to museum standards," said Jeanine Staneck, director of archival collections. "Now that we are going to have a new building, it's important that we know what we have."

While museum officials had decided to keep a representation of trophies, ranging from academics to athletics, more than 50 trophies were put on display and up for grabs Dec. 3. While some were damaged--broken wings or missing figurines--others were in good condition. Some were more than five feet high.

"They said there were going to be old trophies from the old trophy case," said Dan Rodrigues, a Sunnyvale High alumnus. "In '69 there was a great track team and basketball team, so I thought we would come down and see what they had."

Rodrigues and classmate Paul Reynoso were the first ones in line to view the trophies. Reynoso took a '69 band plaque for one of his high school friends who couldn't make the event. Rodrigues walked away with a blue megaphone.

"When I saw it, I remembered my wife, who was a song girl," he said. "Their picture that year had the girls hanging on the monkey bars and the megaphones underneath the girls. So, I thought, 'Geez, that would be kind of neat to give her.' "

Viewing the trophies brought back memories for both men.

"I think, when we reflect back on it, those were some of the best times," said Reynoso, who was an active in sports throughout high school. "Those people who were on the different teams like wrestling and baseball have remained my friends. We met in junior high, then went to high school together and we still have mini-reunions."

Following their trophy browsing, Rodrigues and Reynoso met five other alums for lunch.

Not everyone, however, walked away as satisfied as Reynoso and Rodrigues.

"Some were disappointed that they didn't find ones from their year," Staneck said.

According to Staneck, when the school closed in 1992 there was an auction and garage sale where many of the school's trophies were probably sold. She said museum officials hope to donate to charity the trophies that failed to find new homes.

"Someone suggested we see if we can donate them to an organization like Special Olympics," she said. "They do no good in a storage unit."

The Sunnyvale Historical Society is looking to break ground on its new building in January. It hopes construction will be completed within 18 to 24 months.

For more information on the Sunnyvale Historical Society and Museum Association ,or how to help the museum prepare for its new building, visit www.heritageparkmuseum.org or call 408.749.0220.