Trip down memory lane: New museum in Connellsville highlights Coker era
Kelly Tunney | Herald-Standard
From left, Glenna Hughes and Ginny McDowell, both Connellsville Cokers and graduates of the Connellsville High School on Fairview Avenue, reminisce about skirting the rules in high school, as Angie Hamman, coordinator of the Cokers museum, listens.
Kelly Tunney | Herald-Standard
From left, Pat Graham of Connellsville; Angie Hamman, coordinator for the Cokers Museum; 11-year-old Emily Snyder of Scottdale; Dorothy McGann of Connellsville and Arthur McGann of Connellsville cut the ceremonial ribbon to open the Cokers Museum in the Connellsville Community Center, formerly the Connellsville High School.
Glenna Hughes’ eyes dart over the page searching among black and white photos. While looking for her graduating class, she reminisces while turning the pages of this tome that holds precious memories of Friday night football games, slow dances with high school sweethearts and candid photos of inside jokes long forgotten.
Pointing to a photo on the page, she remarks and laughs at how her hair looked and how young everyone seemed.
Just like Hughes, many others were gathered to reminisce about their time as a Connellsville Coker.
People met last weekend at the Connellsville Community Center during the grand opening of The Connellsville Coker Museum and Visitor Center.
The museum, which is located in a room of the former Connellsville High School, is filled with memorabilia spanning decades.
Built in 1916, the high school was home to the Connellsville Cokers until 1966. The class of 1956 was the last to graduate from the high school. The building was then converted into a junior high until 1966. This is when the school became part of the Connellsville Area School District and the orange and black Cokers were transformed into the blue and white Falcons.
Orange and black football and cheerleading uniforms hang on the wall showing their evolution and the size of the players. Three different student desks sit in the room to showcase how much they have changed over time. Yearbooks, class photos, a felt tiger statue (the mascot for the Cokers), buttons and other treasures are a testament to what it meant to be a Coker.
While all the memorabilia is special to Angie Hamman, organizer of the museum, one particular piece of history stands out.
“One of my favorites is the Johnny Lujak handwritten note,” she said while gesturing to the wall.
In a frame is a magazine cover of Lujak, the 1947 Heisman Trophy winner, and a note saying, “Hope what is enclosed will aid your cause.”
While plenty of artifacts adorn the room, Hamman says there is even more memorabilia to display in the future in a second room.
Hamman said the goal is to set up the second room like a classroom from the period of when the school was first opened.
While the museum has a lot of items, they are always open to receiving more, and Hamman is encouraging anyone who wishes to donate to call her at 724-812-2303 to make a contribution.
“This Coker Museum has been a labor of love,” Hamman said during the cutting of the ribbon for the museum. “This is for all of you Cokers.”
Even though the crowd gathered Friday consisted mainly of people reminiscing of their time as a Coker, Hughes also hopes that younger generations will visit the museum and share in its appreciation.
“I think those who are Falcons now should take a look at this (museum) and see that we aren’t that different,” she said.