◆ Shawn Merritt aids in prep of McCollum gift.
Times continue to change and traditions and activities continue to evolve with them.
One of those was on display this past week in the dark of a Thursday night as SVHS students gathered around a new creation of the welding program.
The “Light The Night” ceremony replaces the bonfire and/or the burning of the dummy.
“This project started with Rob Erickson and he had seen in Riverton they burned a big R,” said welding teacher Shawn Merritt.” “One of the driving factors was that the Fire Department was out there until one or two in the morning making sure things didn’t get out of control. They wanted something big and fast so he brought me a design of what Riverton does and said he wanted it cooler and bigger.”
The burning SV is stuffed with cardboard and appeared to be a hit with those who watched it flame up for the first time. Look for more additions next year.
“Next year we’ll add some things to it but it worked out pretty well for the first year,” Merritt said. “We’d like to add flame throwers and stuff like that. We’re planning on making it more extravagant.”
The project started out with a negative reaction from the students who felt part of their tradition was being cast aside. Merritt helped them see that they were part of a newer tradition; one that could be using their work for the next 50 years.
“We were in a time crunch so we actually got that done in a week,” he said. “There were some late hours for sure. It was neat to see the students work together on it. Some of them worked more like employees than students. I asked them to make it their own and make it so it will be part of tradition. I hope the valley will get to see more from the students with Victor [Hardesty] and I in there. The potential is there so hopefully there will be more projects like this in the future.”
• McCollum Tribute
Before the Homecoming game, the McCollum family was invited to mid-field and presented with a Marine Corps piece of art which had embellishments to honor their late son, Rylee.
Before this unique piece made it into the hands of the family, Merritt put a bit of work into it himself.
“The guy that built it out of Minnesota was a Marine and he built the original round portion of it,” Merritt stated. “He took it in and needed it shipped and by the time it got here it was bent so it looked rough. So I spent three or four hours just straightening it out. I don’t know what made me want to do it, but I wanted to do something bigger. I wanted to add that frame that wouldn’t be fixed without the flat background. The Marine colors are copper and black to make it brighter. It made it pop more.”
Merritt earned his welding and fabrication skills over a period of four years with the U.S. Air Force as he machined and welded parts for aircraft.
“Hopefully it will brighten their day a little,” he said of the gift. “There are hearts and emotions and feelings attached to this. It’s a military bond.”
