Looking Back: SpongeBob Wasn’t the First

by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society

     While it may have been one of the finest productions I’ve seen at Grain Valley High School, it certainly wasn’t the first. I cannot tell you when that first production was, but I can tell you it was at least 91 years ago, if not longer. My parents graduated in 1932 and I don’t recall my mother ever talking about being in any musical program. I know for sure my father would not have been allowed, except maybe on the stage crew. They don’t make buckets big enough to carry his tune!

932 May Festival
Elementary Musical
             
              The photo above includes the 1932 May Festival cast, probably the entire elementary school. It is on display at the Historical Society Museum along with some more recent musical programs. In our photo file I also found the cast from the 1948 Spring Festival.
 
 

1948 Spring Festival
     The SpongeBob cast was nearly as large, well maybe not quite! Once again, the cast included the entire elementary School. I counted about 160 students. I think there were at least that many elementary age students in the audience on Saturday night. In fact, if the entire town of Grain Valley had shown up for the 1948 Festival, they would still have been about two hundred shy of filling the theater.
     And SpongeBob ran for three nights!
             
     Visit the Historical Society Museum on Wednesdays. We are opened from 10 AM – 3 PM. We have tons of fun photos and artifacts about our town.