Whale of a Tale: Highlands School replacing iconic sculpture

Chips of sky-blue paint sprinkled the Highlands Elementary lawn recently as nine workers spent five hours chopping the school's wooden whale sculpture to the ground.

What they found inside were six rotted telephone poles, plenty of concrete and carpenter ants spewing from the frame.

Though only stumps now remain, school officials say what's left is something bigger: the excitement of seeing the school's new, indestructible whale mascot take shape next school year.

The now-demolished sculpture was installed outside the Naperville school at 525 S. Brainard St. in 1997.

"When this whale was built ... (the students) are all alumni now," Principal Susan Stuckey said. "Our kids now feel this sense of connectiveness and think 'this is the whale that was built when I was in school.'"

In October, designer Victoria Fuller will begin creating the new whale with a sounder infrastructure made of three layers of colored concrete. Though the creature still will be shown as if protruding from the water, the head and tail will be closer to one another than before. The glass eyeballs were saved from the original sculpture and will be used in the newer version.

Fifth-graders will contribute to the project, too, by molding creatures that will be embedded into the sea from which the whale emerges. That aspect of the project will begin after Labor Day.

Before the whale was torn down, though, more than 800 people attended the school's annual end-of-year barbecue to write going away messages in black Sharpie.

"I'm so sad! and hurry up, Make the 'wale'!" Grace Raquel wrote on the sculpture.

The original whale was created in 1997 by sculptor Joe LaMantia, who was given the task of making a replica of the school's mascot. However, the project proved to be too large for one man to handle in the two-week residency the school had paid for.

Community members began to offer any recyclable material and manpower they could. Whether it is was carrying materials for LaMantia, holding the wood while he sawed or bringing him lunch, everyone wanted to help.

The structure was completed and quickly became a part of the school's identity. Stuckey said she always hears parents telling their children they will "meet them by the whale."

Though she is sad to see the school's iconic sculpture torn down, she said she's excited about the new one.

"Don't worry," she said. "Another one's coming."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Adopting the whale </p>

<p class="News">The origin of why Highland Elementary School calls itself "A Whale of a School" began on a somber note.</p>

<p class="News">It began when a fourth-grade student, Chad Melzer, passed away from cancer and the community created a fund in his name. Using teacher John Beehler's suggestion, the money in the fund was used to purchase several whales from sculptor John Perry that are now displayed in the Naperville school's library resource center.</p>

<p class="News">The school then hosted a contest to come up with a new slogan. Fifth-grader Kim Daffinee won with the idea: "Highlands Is a Whale of a School."</p>