The following snippet from GW history is from the class of '65 (when we were sophomores), specifically https://www.gwclassof65.com/do-you-remember.html. More GW history (memories) can found at their website (https://www.gwclassof65.com/)., e.g. these by Chuck Counts, GW Class of 1965 Historian:
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[From Matt Wells (https://www.gwclassof65.com/uploads/1/1/6/8/11682185/gwjolgrnginthistory.pdf):]
“It¹s ironic because, as I remember, those of us that absconded with the George Washington Jolly Green Giant were more interested in ropes and climbing and all things alpine; not necessarily school spirit. We had little interest in school sports. We were drawn toward the higher elevations west of Denver and found our excitement rock climbing in Eldorado Canyon or skiing off some peak near the Continental Divide. We had friends at other Denver high schools, and I think that we really viewed school spirit as anathema. Later, when Dr. Holland asked us why we thought it necessary to do such a thing, I recall using that stock adolescent phrase, "I don¹t know, it seemed like a good idea at the time." As I think about it now, I believe that same quip could just as easily have been used by our government to explain American involvement in Southeast Asia.
There were four of us who decided to take the Giant from his storage berth (somewhere near the GW auditorium). The plan was to keep him safely hidden before replacing him atop a high brick wall at school. The styrofoam statue weighed very little but was rather awkward because of its size. I worked on Saturday with Gary Tippit,Tom Terrell, and Denver East¹s Bill Burgin to cut out eighteen footprints from sticky-back green paper. The next evening, we loaded some ropes, descending devices, and the Giant into a truck and drove up Alameda to George Washington. We had little trouble ascending the building and raising the Giant to the top of the wall. We anchored the eight-foot-tall mascot at the edge of the wall and rappelled to the ground, placing the sticky footprints to appear as if the Giant had ascended the wall. We pulled our ropes down, gathered our equipment, then assembled at the truck, and drove to our homes. I think we all felt some odd sense of detached accomplishment. No big deal. That's how it was. However, we faced some administrative music that following Monday.
I haven¹t heard from, or of, Tom Terrell in more than thirty-five years. He was always interested in travel and cultural exploration. May he still be traveling. My dear friend Gary Tippit was killed in a methane explosion, while working in a deep shaft near Sheridan, Wyoming. He was twenty-three when he died. To this day I hold his memory, as I hold the memory of others who left my life before we could share in other adventures. Bill Burgin is an architect in Jamestown, Rhode Island. We stay in contact by e-mail and speak frequently on the telephone.
I have had my revenge for high school injustice, real or imagined. After thirty years of employment on many continents and in the most spectacular mountain ranges of the world, I find myself employed as a secondary teacher at Wood River High School in Hailey, Idaho. I am the ESL(English Second Language) Department Director and teach the newcomer Hispanohablantes and an occasional Russian or East Asian student my variety of English. I have a sixteen-year-old son, who attends the school where his dad teaches and a nifty loving wife.
Sometimes I reflect, and it seems as if I am a survivor. While life was uncertain when I was eighteen, I can¹t honestly say that it's any more certain today. The thing I can say, however, is that youth has tremendous resilience, strong confidence, and will. I see this every day in my son and in my students, and I am doing my best to learn from them in preparation for the future.
I'm sorry that I will not be at the 40th Reunion. I'll be shaking the kinks out of some saddle-weary joints and doing my best to stay dry in the north Mongolian rain.
Speaking of the Jolly Green Giant, you may or may not have heard this song from the sixties:
The Jolly Green Giant lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
(written and performed by the Kingsmen)
“In the valley of the jolly (ho, ho, ho)
Heard about the Jolly Green Giant (potatoes)
He's so big and mean (artichoke hearts)
He stands in his valley with his hands on his hips
And then he hits you with a can of beans
He lives down in his valley (brussels sprouts)
The cat stands tall and green (spinach)
Well, he ain't no prize, and there's no women his size
And that's why the cat's so mean
One day he left his valley pad
I mean to say this cat was mad
Now listen 'round he wasn't gone long
And then he ran into an Amazon
Now this changed his whole complexion (broccoli)
You have never seen such a beautiful sight (corn)
he looked at her and she looked at him
And she almost passed out from fright
He looked at her thought, "What a dilly"
He touched her once, she slapped him silly
This was something he'd never sensed
He looked at her and she commenced
"Now listen, pal, this ain't no fluke
I can't see goin' with no big green kook"
You've heard about the Jolly Green Giant (eggplant)
Don't let his troubles cross your mind (celery stalks)
He couldn't get Sally, so went back to his valley
The cat was color-blind
Carrots
Snap peas”
Source: LyricFind - Songwriters: Dewey Terry, Don Harris, Lynn William Easton
See also youtube, e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFMylkzT0JE
Here's the text of Chuck Counts's document from the "Do You Remeber" page of the Class of '65 website:
THE SAGA OF THE JOLLY GREEN GIANT
An historical account 1964-2006
By Chuck Counts, GW Class of 1965 Historian
Based on information from the pages of The Surveyor, the school newspaper, the Jolly Green Giant appeared during the fall of 1964. In the November 13, 1964 issue, in an exclusive column, the Surveyor announced that during an all school assembly, the student body was given the option of choosing a patriot or a Green Giant for the school mascot. The Giant won out 1350 to 950. The Giant option also included the addition of a school flag and the Alma Mater, both chosen later in the school year.
Although the association of the Jolly Green Giant and the class of 65 was short, there were many shared adventures during this brief period of time. The Giant's large stature and the strains of "The Jolly Green Giant" song by the Kingsmen
made him a hit at many school functions. (Although no evidence has surfaced showing that the Jolly Green Giant song hit the air waves before the fall of 1964, in my perfect world, the Giant and the song arrived together.)
The Giant's stature also made him the target of our "rivals" and even fellow Patriots. The most infamous adventure took place during the night of Sunday January 27, 1965. Sometime during the night, under cover of darkness, the Giant, aided by a group of students, ascended the West wall of the auditorium, leaving a trail of foot prints marking his "path". On Monday morning, much to the delight of the returning student body, the Jolly Green Giant stood on top of the auditorium, greeting the returning students and faculty. The administration took a dim view of the whole affair, and the students involved in the adventure received a harsh penalty for their actions. (See Matt Wells' account of this episode elsewhere on this web site.) As luck would have it, the Giant's student "pals" got the last laugh, because the foot prints became the inspiration for a long enduring symbol of George Washington and can be seen at school, even today.
As time passed, the popularity of the Giant as a mascot seemed to wane. By the 1980's, the Patriot had supplanted the Giant as the school mascot, and the not so Jolly Green Giant was rarely seen. In this case, Dr. Holland got the last laugh.
The JGG, showing his age, was relegated to numerous storage spaces around the school. During 1995, 30 years after the Jolly Green Giant's most famous adventure, a group of students decided to recreate the event. Once again, the Giant stood "feet above the rest". This time, the students fared well, but the Giant was further damaged in a rough descent. For almost another decade, the Giant resided in a storeroom in the student council classroom. About 40 years after his arrival, the Jolly Green Giant finally left George Washington in a "Jolly Green Dumpster". We hope he is looking down on us from that Valley in the sky. HO HO HO!!
EPILOGUE
A clone of the Jolly Green Giant has been lovingly restored by Sandee Ely and Janice Lane. He is now under the care of the Class of 65 and makes appearances at various functions.THANKS
Truly Callaway made available her bound volume of the Surveyors published from 1962-1965. Amanda Schmidt, the current Surveyor faculty advisor made the Surveyor archives (sadly incomplete) available. Amanda, a GW graduate
from the IB program(class of 1995) and the current IB counselor, reminded me of the 1995 incident. Gerry Wennberg provided information concerning the Jolly Green Giant song. Any additional information would be much welcomed and
appreciated!
FYI
The famous foot prints on the auditorium wall were not the first time a foot was associated with GW. A new sports column titled "Athlete's Feat” appeared in the January 17,1963 Surveyor. In the February 21, 1963 edition of the Surveyor, Andee Samelson(class of 64), the Surveyor art editor, added feet to the column header. The column last appeared in May of that year. Although I believe that these feet were not the inspiration for the "famous" GW symbol, it is certainly interesting.