Archive Update August 2018
by Rick Corlett
Archivist, Kearny High Historical Archive Collection
One of the primary goals of the Kearny High Historical Archives is to showcase the memorabilia in the collection, to provide students, alumni, and the general community with opportunities to view items from Kearny’s history. Kearny memorabilia has been displayed at Hall of Fame events, celebrations for Jack Winans and Birt Slater, in the main office at the school, and at the Serra Mesa Library.
It’s a requirement at Kearny’s School of Digital Media and Design that seniors complete a senior project. In the spring of 2015 DMD senior Monét Panza wanted to showcase how the knowledge and skills she had developed at Kearny supported her desire to enter the field of retail merchandising. She combined her career goals with her interest in sports to create a display for the Serra Mesa Library that focused on the history of Kearny athletics. Using items from the Kearny Historical Collection, Monét created informational displays about Kearny football, the cheer and drill teams, boys and girls basketball, softball, baseball, track and field, tennis, and wrestling. The displays included items donated to the collection by the families of Birt Slater, Evelyn Kohr, and Tim Short. In addition, several Kearny alumni, including Linda Shannon, Gene Myers, and Jinx Dickey, loaned Monét their personal Kearny memorabilia to add to the displays.
In March of 2015 the exhibit formally opened with a reception hosted by the library. The community, along with Kearny alumni, students, staff were able to explore the history of Kearny’s athletic program as represented by the actual uniforms, equipment, trophies, and game programs. Monét also provided historical context by including informational posters with the displays. The exhibit was originally scheduled to last one month, but due to the popularity of the displays, Monét’s Kearny exhibit was extended several months.
Monét was able to showcase her talents and abilities through her use of the items in the Kearny Historical Archives. The value of her efforts to present Kearny history was recognized by the Serra Mesa Library staff which led to a second exhibit later in 2015 that highlighted Kearny’s 75th anniversary.
