Rotten Potatoes

Rotten Potatoes

It was Fall 1946 at Excelsior Springs High School and the beginning of the football season. Fund-raising for all the classes depended on the two hot dog stands - a very small one on the bleacher side near the parking lot and the larger one in the middle of the major bleacher section on the other side of the field.

Every year, the four classes would take turns helping with the hot dog stands -handling the sales and bringing the food from the main building cafeteria to the stands. The profit would be shared between the high school administration and the class assigned for each game.

Each year the school would buy potatoes for the school cafeteria and store them in the area under the major bleachers leading to the hot dog stand. One year Fishing River overflowed and flooded the field as well as that storage area. After the water receded, that section was sealed off. The smaller stand would have the only food stand.

We were devastated - not only at the loss of convenience for hot dogs on the brisk, cold nights, but the loss of money to our class. About three of us - all girls - offered to remove the rotten potatoes. School officials and teachers laughed and told us we were “nuts.” We continued to press and, finally got permission. A school maintenance man removed the nailed wooden barrier on the back entrance and left immediately. We started. The smell was overwhelming.

We went in, one at a time, holding our breath, and shoveling the potatoes into buckets and running outside to another trash container. Sometimes, we would stop and throw up. We were “nuts” and definitely not laughing.

But, we removed all of them - the potatoes had been stored close to the outside entrance and there was a long distance from that entrance and area under the stands to where food was sold. Our football team was winning and winning that year - attendance really increased. All classes made good money.

Our Class of 1949 was exceptionally fortunate. Maybe not just the hot dog stand deal. We had enough money as Juniors to restore a Junior/Senior Prom tradition in 1948 which had not been held since before the War and the next year to finance our Senior Trip of three days to Kansas City.

Sometimes, you just have to get your hands dirty to finish a job and appreciate the smell of roses.

Nothing is impossible.