Should Salem honor the State Championships from Andrew Lewis in signage at Salem Stadium? For those who don't know Andrew Lewis was the high school for the city of Salem before Salem High School was built. The name changed but it's really the same high school. Currently there is no signage for Andrew Lewis State Championships. I think they should but willing to hear arguments to the contrary.
What do you guys and gals think?
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Andrew Lewis never played in Salem Stadium. The attendance zones for Andrew Lewis and Salem have varied over the years, especially complicated by the history of Glenvar High School. Also don't forget that Andrew Lewis was segregated until the 1960s. It's not incorrect to call Salem the most direct successor to Andrew Lewis, but it's a stretch to call them the same school. Should the Salem High School gym also have banners for championships won by Andrew Lewis, GW Carver, and the pre-1930s Salem High School?
Most schools have had their lines changed a little over the years. And yes I would support hanging basketball banners in the gym, just make them blue and white, same thing at the stadium.
And Carver kids came from all over the country. And to my knowledge had no state championships in football, but did have state runner-up in basketball
I would support plaques, whether at Salem High or Salem Stadium, for each predecessor school (Old SHS, Lewis, Carver) recognizing state champions or other significant teams. I think that banners in the gym should be reserved for the current Salem High teams only.
I would say "No", for all the reasons numb3rs said. Primarily because it is a big stretch to call them the same school. A new chapter was begun when Lewis and Glenvar joined to form Salem High in 1977. Andrew Lewis still exists in its old building as a middle school. I feel any memorabilia from its days as a high school belongs on display at the middle school. If, back in '77, they had kept the Andrew Lewis name and just moved to a new building, without adding the Glenvar people, I would agree with you. Kind of a shame, because I think there's at least one Salem High in every state of the union; there was only one Andrew Lewis. But that's all water that's long since passed under the bridge.
My brother graduated from AL, and though he has gone to plenty of Salem sporting events in the past, he has made it clear he in no way views Salem as his alma mater.
Incidentally, for two years I rented a house near the Salem Civic Center, on the ridge on Carolina Avenue. In the back yard was a depression by a tree stump that marked Lewis's original burial place. He was disinterred and reburied in East Hill sometime around the turn of the 20th century. I knew none of that when I first moved in there. My elderly neighbor told me, and I later read verification.
Your question raises an interesting point. What happens to all the trophies, banners, team photos, etc. from schools that just close, or are absorbed into other schools? I'm thinking of places such as Clifton Forge, that went in to Alleghany County, and Fieldale-Collinsville and Laurel Park that were absorbed by Bassett and Magna Vista, respectively. Alleghany changed their mascot from Colts to Mountaineers to honor Clifton Forge, and I think both Bassett and MV added one color from the defunct schools to their colors. But.....what becomes of all the stuff? There must be hundreds of such now-defunct schools around the state.
I was saddened and shocked to discover that Salem's former AD - not the esteemed Mr. King - had basically thrown out many of the trophies won in the early years of Salem High, and even some old Lewis ones. Two or three boxes of discarded trophies, many of them broken, were found just stuffed into the back of a storage space in the auxiliary gym at Salem a couple of decades ago. Most of them were then scattered on the wind, and I'm afraid that's generally what's happened to the AL memorabilia. You can probably find it on mantelpieces in a hundred different dens around the valley.
I haven't been in Salem's gym in several years, but I don't think there are even any Salem state banners hanging there anymore, are there?
My brother graduated from AL, and though he has gone to plenty of Salem sporting events in the past, he has made it clear he in no way views Salem as his alma mater.
Incidentally, for two years I rented a house near the Salem Civic Center, on the ridge on Carolina Avenue. In the back yard was a depression by a tree stump that marked Lewis's original burial place. He was disinterred and reburied in East Hill sometime around the turn of the 20th century. I knew none of that when I first moved in there. My elderly neighbor told me, and I later read verification.
Your question raises an interesting point. What happens to all the trophies, banners, team photos, etc. from schools that just close, or are absorbed into other schools? I'm thinking of places such as Clifton Forge, that went in to Alleghany County, and Fieldale-Collinsville and Laurel Park that were absorbed by Bassett and Magna Vista, respectively. Alleghany changed their mascot from Colts to Mountaineers to honor Clifton Forge, and I think both Bassett and MV added one color from the defunct schools to their colors. But.....what becomes of all the stuff? There must be hundreds of such now-defunct schools around the state.
I was saddened and shocked to discover that Salem's former AD - not the esteemed Mr. King - had basically thrown out many of the trophies won in the early years of Salem High, and even some old Lewis ones. Two or three boxes of discarded trophies, many of them broken, were found just stuffed into the back of a storage space in the auxiliary gym at Salem a couple of decades ago. Most of them were then scattered on the wind, and I'm afraid that's generally what's happened to the AL memorabilia. You can probably find it on mantelpieces in a hundred different dens around the valley.
I haven't been in Salem's gym in several years, but I don't think there are even any Salem state banners hanging there anymore, are there?
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I think the best place for signage of championships would be at the respective field of play (Kiwanis Field) AL or GW Carver, or perhaps the Salem Museum.
I like the Salem Museum idea. I don't think they have a space there devoted to Lewis and Carver, but there should be.
I was in the hallowed halls on College Avenue this evening. Such Lewis trophies as have been donated are in the display cases in the front hall, and it's not much - a tiny fraction of all the trophies ever won by the school's teams. The two state football title trophies from '62 and '64 are there, in a case by themselves. Most of the rest are golf (including the state championship cup from '77, won the last week AL was a high school) and track. I think all of those were donated by the person who found those boxes in the auxiliary gym at SHS. There are also a few other team photos and mementos from the high school days, such as an old drum major's uniform and a couple of game balls from contests played in the thirties.
I think that's probably about as good as it's gonna get for old Lewis stuff on public display. As I said before, whatever else survives is in private collections. I have a friend who has one of the state basketball championship trophies won by the old Salem High in the 19-teens on the mantel in his rec room. If someone at the Salem Museum wanted to take the initiative, they could try to get most of those kind of items donated temporarily for a year-long display.
It's been several years since my kids were at AL, but I remember seeing the trophies, uniforms, and footballs from memorable seasons.
Getting back to the the heart of the original question, I would still say "no" on the issue of Andrew Lewis signage at Salem Stadium. For the reasons already stated, primarily being that Lewis never played there, and IMO they really aren't the same school. As Mike said, Kiwanis Field (old Municipal Stadium for you non-citizens), as the home of the Wolverines, would be the most appropriate place for that. But now that I think about it, I don't recall there being any kind of signage up honoring the state championship teams even when Lewis was still playing there in 1976. Not even anything on the bottom of the scoreboard, etc. I could be wrong on that, so as always, I welcome corrections.
The sign board listing championships at Salem Stadium is rather small and subtle, compared to similar things you see at other stadiums. And most Salem fans never see it, unless they go out of their way to walk halfway over to the visitors' side. I took a good picture of it after the Dominion state semi last year, but happily, it's already out of date.
Any Salem/Roanoke people happen to know where G. W. Carver used to play their games? Seems like I've heard or read this before, but can't recall.
The sign board listing championships at Salem Stadium is rather small and subtle, compared to similar things you see at other stadiums. And most Salem fans never see it, unless they go out of their way to walk halfway over to the visitors' side. I took a good picture of it after the Dominion state semi last year, but happily, it's already out of date.
Any Salem/Roanoke people happen to know where G. W. Carver used to play their games? Seems like I've heard or read this before, but can't recall.
I think there should be signage celebrating those two State titles. Just separate them slightly from the Salem signs and make them Blue and white.Another question; the board in the end zone is small and thankfully crowded, How should we honor those State Championship teams (Since Stagg bowl is gone maybe under the scoreboard?)
I prefer the small, subtle sign at Salem Stadium. I'd rather not have the championships under the scoreboard. There's no need to point out what everybody knows. For each game, the focus should be on the two teams playing in the here and now, not what happened in the past.
If you mean that many persons who sit on the Salem side don't know about the sign, that's possible. However, nearly all should know about the state championships.
Frankly, I'd have Salem take down the signs near city limits showing all of the state championships by sport or activity and replace with a more understated sign with the total number of VHSL state championships that could be easily updated when necessary. The only problem would be activities that are currently recognized for non-VHSL awards.
I like the signs for the different sports at the city limits. Every visitor driving into our fair city has the opportunity to see those. And since the state banners in the gym are apparently a thing of the past, where else are state champs from the volleyball, tennis, etc. teams going to be recognized?
As for the signage at Stadium, I think that's just a matter of personal preference. I favor the more subtle, low-key approach. The only issue I see is, the current sign board is getting a bit crowded. *And if the esteemed Mr. King is lurking, the RRD championship from 2013 needs to be added.* I could see adding a second board, identical in size, shape, and color scheme, right beside the other one, that lists only the state champions and runners-up, in a slightly more prominent way than they are listed now. The original board would list the district and regional champs.
Either that, or do something completely different that no other school does. For instance, two new, shorter flagpoles could be added, one on either side of the big flagpole behind the south end zone. These new poles would feature four banners or flags each - one for each of the state title football teams. Future titles won would mean a banner added. However, as all that would cost a pretty penny, I wouldn't look for anything like state championship flagpoles anytime soon. Unless some multi-millionaire like Mike generously donates them.
I'm kind of the same way with Salem apparel, as far as the low-key approach. At this point, we have nothing to prove to anyone. I don't see any need to scream "STATE CHAMPIONS", or list all the years. So, I generally prefer shirts and caps that just say "SALEM." The name says it all.
As for the signage at Stadium, I think that's just a matter of personal preference. I favor the more subtle, low-key approach. The only issue I see is, the current sign board is getting a bit crowded. *And if the esteemed Mr. King is lurking, the RRD championship from 2013 needs to be added.* I could see adding a second board, identical in size, shape, and color scheme, right beside the other one, that lists only the state champions and runners-up, in a slightly more prominent way than they are listed now. The original board would list the district and regional champs.
Either that, or do something completely different that no other school does. For instance, two new, shorter flagpoles could be added, one on either side of the big flagpole behind the south end zone. These new poles would feature four banners or flags each - one for each of the state title football teams. Future titles won would mean a banner added. However, as all that would cost a pretty penny, I wouldn't look for anything like state championship flagpoles anytime soon. Unless some multi-millionaire like Mike generously donates them.
I'm kind of the same way with Salem apparel, as far as the low-key approach. At this point, we have nothing to prove to anyone. I don't see any need to scream "STATE CHAMPIONS", or list all the years. So, I generally prefer shirts and caps that just say "SALEM." The name says it all.
Love the flag pole idea. Could raise the flag first game of the next season. Have players that have graduated come back and do the 96, 98, 99, 2000. Etc etc. Could be a blast
I would be very careful hanging state championship banners in a gym
Why? What's the worst that could happen? It's not like the roof's going to cave.......Oh. So sorry.
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