Memories for sale

Princeton High School (PHS) was built in the late 1950's seeing its first graduating class step from the doors in the spring of 1959.

In the fall of 2013, Princeton Community Middle School (PCMS) students walked into the newly-constructed 6-12 campus of both PCMS and PHS. The next fall, that of 2014, saw high school students start their new era in the new PHS at 100 Viking Way, across the street from the old school.

This spring will see the start of demolition of that old school. It will have survived nearly but not quite sixty years, seeing probably fifty-thousand students pass through its halls over the years.

And what's left is for sale via an online auction through the services of Penny Worley Auctioneers.

Here are some of the highlights as I skim through the pages. (All of these comments were made on a snow day last week, 2/18. Prices, at least, probably should be updated before posting.)

The two most valuable items are a pair of vending machines (178 and 179) . Currently going for $400 each. I had no idea that Princeton owned those. I assumed they were all leased or just put there for a cut of the profits.

The remaining contents of my classroom are up for purchase as lot 1855. If anybody's curious, I can sign anything in there to increase the value.

The auctioneers do have a sense of humor, or at least the person writing the descriptions does. Check out this lot (1323) of 'footballs (partially deflated-Patriots style)".

I can't remember whether I got a 'silver' Viking pin or not, but this lot of pins (1579) certainly seems like something we should have moved across the street with us.

Above the memorial pond - in a courtyard that our students weren't allowed to even see for the last five or so years of the school's existence but where thousands of students ate lunch over the decades and which had a plaque honoring our fallen Vikings like Kelly Freeman to whom the pond was once dedicated (I've no idea whether the pond was dedicated to someone who was forgotten before Kelly) - there once hung a Viking head medallion that was probably four or five feet in diameter. The medallion was taken down when the pond was being rehabbed a decade or so ago by Judy Maciolli (now Judy Kelly and teaching with us again). For a year or so the medallion sat and aged outside before I rolled it into my room where it sat for a while longer before I passed it along to our tech folks who rebuilt the sign and trimmed the head from the medallion. Lot 1153 is all that seems to have survived of that medallion. That makes me really sad, though I have to admit that I passed it along and didn't follow it enough to complain.

Lot 566 is the only one that really tempts me to dive into the bidding. That would look pretty sweet hanging in...on my...next to...

I have no idea where I would hang a four-foot Viking head that doesn't even follow the branding guidelines.

So, does anybody want to buy my memories?