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When the Sequoia High School Veterans’ Memorial was put in its place next to the Brewster Street gate in 2005, project lead Dee Eva and the Alumni Association envisioned a destination in Redwood City for the community to honor those who had died in service to our country. Indeed, over 150 names of Sequoia graduates are engraved on the memorial’s two-ton granite monument.
The memorial, like the Tea Garden or Carrington Hall, also serves as a reminder of how intertwined our school’s history is with our community and region. They also remind us how alive that history is today. The Alumni Association, for example, not only stewards the school’s legacy with its annual alumni picnics, support in the preservation of the archives, and efforts to recognize and memorialize the contributions of extraordinary staff and alumni, it also funds initiatives for staff and students with its annual Cherokee Grants. Over $5,000 was awarded this fall.
Contextualizing the 125-year history of our school, even in the most rudimentary terms, provides students, staff, and families the ability to put their day-to-day triumphs and travails into a larger context. It allows us to understand how we fit into our long and rich story – and empowers us to make history ourselves.
It gives me a thrill when I get to point out the original masonry from the original mid-19th century Hawes Estate, half-buried near the front walk. Seeing and touching this history makes activities such as indigenous land acknowledgments more than mere abstractions for students. Our time here is transitory – all the more reason to make the most of it. May we leave things better than we found them, not just for ourselves, but for future generations.
Speaking with the students who regularly enjoy their lunch at our Veterans’ Memorial and pointing out the names of fellow Sequoians who served as far back WWI, this historical through line seems to resonate (or they’re just being polite). If nothing else, I can always count on the students at the Veterans’ Memorial to throw all their trash away before they head to their afternoon class.
Have a great week!
Sean
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