Speaking of Green Anchors ...
by Tom M. Sailor, BHS'66

I have a confession to make.    I do not have to worry about the statute of limitations  because I confessed to my crime shortly after the event and spent my two days in Mr. Wilman's office along with a few others. 

It all started the weekend before the anchor game  my senior year.  I got wind that Duke Wilson, the student body President, was looking for volunteers to sculpt "BHS" in Sosa Hill.  I of course jumped at the opportunity as did a total of 12 students, mostly patriotic seniors, but including a couple of juniors. 

We climbed the hill Saturday morning and spent the entire day expertly carving the school initials.  A few people almost bled to death from saw grass injuries, but that's another story.  When we finished our duty we came down covered with mud and blood and went away proud of our artistic accomplishment.

The next morning I was awakened by a call from one of my fellow patriots who in terror and dismay related to me that the BHS initials had been vandalized and replaced by CZC.  We met late that Sunday to discuss possible remedies, but were unable to come up with viable ideas and besides that -- our injuries were too great, the blood loss had taken its toll from the first attempt.  So we went home that night crushed, but angry for revenge.

The following morning when we arrived at school to find freshly green painted anchors on our sidewalks that was the last straw.  Duke called an emergency meeting of the patriots and we came up with a plan for revenge.  By Tuesday morning we had printed up a couple hundred flyers with patriotic BHS slogans on them,  plus I had purchased a can of red spray paint.  Five or six of the original patriots drove over to the College during lunch hour and put the flyers in every mail slot and locker, on every wall (including the bathrooms), and under every door that we could find.  On the way out I mentioned that I had a can of red spray paint, but the group voted not to vandalize and deface the sidewalks like the college crew had done. 

Just then as we were walking past the windows to the College office the most ingenious thought struck me.  Instead of doing damage that would require sandblasting to remove, why not put the paint somewhere where it would only show until shortly after the game the following weekend?  So -- I painted large BHS letters in the lawn.

Unfortunately, we had been seen and before we got back to school, Mr. Knick was on the lookout for us.  As we arrived back at school, we were apprehended and taken directly to the Principal's office.  That was the only time that I ever saw Mr. Wilman display anger; although he did agree that by spray painting the lawn, instead of the building or the sidewalk, that we had not done permanent damage.  I took responsibility for the paint idea, but everyone else stood behind me and the six of us spent the rest of that day and the following day in his office.

Toward the end of the second day Mr. Wilman came in to the office where we were dutifully serving our sentences.  With a snicker in his voice, he announced that the initials had been removed by CZC grounds keepers using machetes. Unfortunately, those grounds keepers, taking their jobs to heart, had done such a good job of removing the red paint from the grass that they had actually left our BHS initials carved in the lawn!

The College Dean was furious and had called Mr. Wilman demanding reparations.  Now -- I can't say that I actually know this for a fact, but word has it that Mr. Wilman offered to buy the Dean a box of grass seed before he hung up and then broke into laughter.

By the way, that anchor game is the only game that BHS won that year, 7 to 6. And, I made a 99 yard kickoff return for the wining touchdown.  Our morale was never higher and I can't remember ever feeling prouder to be a member of the team.

Presented by CZBrats
November 3, 1998