Walls that talk: 1939 yearbook discovered in East Knox Junior/Senior High School

HOWARD – As maintenance crews prepared for the demolition of the East Knox Junior/Senior High School, they discovered a secret hidden inside the plaster walls.

A 1939 yearbook was embedded in the wall, hidden behind a plaque, East Knox Local School District Superintendent Steve Larcomb told the Mount Vernon News.

Maintenance crews were cutting the plaque out of the wall when they spotted the yearbook, which was called The Bridge, Larbomb said.

“Nobody knew about it,” Larcomb said. “We would never have found it until the building was demolished or somebody removed the plaque. It was an incredible find.”

Inside the yearbook was a letter from the school board, signed by the superintendent, explaining why passage of a bond issue for the school construction was a wise decision. The bond issue was approved by 78% of voters, then-Superintendent J.E. Nesbit noted in large handwriting on the letter.

Construction of the Howard School, as it was named at the time, cost $38,000 in local funds which were matched by federal dollars, Larcomb said.

“The building was constructed for a little over $76,000 back in the day,” he said.

Fast forward to 2019, when voters approved a $19 million bond referendum to construct a new school.

The yearbook was in great condition, shielded from the elements inside the wall of an interior hallway, Larcomb noted.   

Some people remember that a time capsule was also placed somewhere in the school building, although it has not yet been located.

“We’re going to be looking for that when we get to the demo portion,” Larcomb said. “It’s like a treasure hunt.”

The 1939 yearbook, meanwhile, might be placed in a time capsule in the new building, which is scheduled to be completed by September 2022.

The original 1939 Howard School was expanded; with additions in 1948, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1994 and 1995; as the community grew.

Parts of the school were never air-conditioned.

“If two classrooms plug in a fan at the same time, we would blow the circuit breaker,"  Larcomb told the News earlier this year. “We’ve had days when it got up in the mid-nineties in some of those classrooms on the third floor. We would either have to move students or provide them water or do both.”

The 1994 addition will be maintained, and the school system will also bring in modular classrooms while construction on the new building is underway.