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Springstead High has big new bird on campus
By ROBERT KING © St. Petersburg Times, published May 23, 2001 SPRING HILL -- For 21 years, Archibald the wooden eagle has stood alone at attention in front of Springstead High School, serving as the school's mascot and occasional target of abuse for rival schools. Now, he's got company. The school unveiled a new eagle Tuesday that is bigger, more realistic and -- unlike his 51/2-foot tall predecessor -- actually appears to be in flight. The new eagle has a 24-foot wingspan and appears to be coming in for a landing, with its nose and tail feathers angling downward. Unlike Archibald, who stands on 21/2-foot tall rock platform, the new bird will be mounted about 15 feet above the ground on a steel pole. That concept -- high above the ground with wings spread -- has Superintendent John Sanders somewhat worried about whether the new eagle might take flight during a big storm. A school district engineer will examine the bird to make sure it won't leave its perch, most likely near the school signpost next to Mariner Boulevard. Two of the teachers who supervised the project -- Steve Barton and James Bush -- say they're confident this bird won't fly. Both are pilots, and Bush even has built some planes. They say the eagle's landing pose means the bird would take a nose dive if it ever left its perch. But, with it set to be anchored in 2,000 pounds of concrete, they say it will stay put. Aerodynamics aside, the new eagle just is Springstead's latest effort to improve the appearance of its campus. In the past two years, students have been involved in several landscaping projects. This year's senior class is buying a new sign for the school's front. "As an assistant principal, I didn't feel the school's appearance reflected what was going on inside," said Springstead principal Dot Dodge, who took over the school two years ago. The design for the eagle, chosen by a student vote, was conceived by senior Eric Bresser, a student in Susan McManus' art class, which put forth several designs. It was built -- from shaping its steel frame, adding its foam and fiberglass layers, and applying 30 gallons of Bondo to give it contours -- by students in Steve Knowlton's construction technology class, with some significant help from Barton and Bush. "We learned a lot of different things while working on it," junior Bradley Montero said. Chief among them were how to weld and use the Bondo. The students were confident that the new eagle is stormproof, but they are less certain that it is Bearproof. "I'm worried more about Central than a hurricane," said sophomore James Gauvin, referring to Springstead's arch rival. They blame Central students for much of the abuse levied against Archibald over the years, including a couple of rearranged beaks and other bumps and bruises. Archibald has been guarding Springstead's entrance since he was presented to the school by the class of 1980. Initially, Dodge wanted to retire Archibald and move him to another part of the campus. "The kids say he was too peaceful," Dodge said. But alumni who have grown fond of the old, if somewhat stoic, eagle let it be known that Archibald should stay. For protection, officials hope to keep a video camera trained on the new bird and grease the pole that it will sit on. They also declined to reveal how much the new eagle weighs so as to keep would-be bird-nappers guessing.
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