Frank Lento, a remarkable Fernie citizen always working behind the scenes. We have tried in the past to feature this man and it wasn’t until this project came up that he agreed to meet – but we could only talk about the project. Throughout the conversation snippets of past projects and achievements drifted into the conversation, swiftly followed with, “Don’t publish that.” All right, to the project which will have the town buzzing and proud within minutes of viewing.

Frank, like many of us, is Fernie Secondary School alumni. When the original high school was replaced with a new building, in 1998 adjacent to the Fernie Golf & Country Club, the design did not account for the large framed photographs of FSS graduates that previously hung along the walls of the High School. He discussed this dilemma with his friends and fellow classmates, and a puzzle was formed that he wouldn’t let go. How do we combine past with present and allow a space for the community to share and congregate?

Frank decided to approach Chernoff Architect, whom have been involved in various successful projects in Fernie, with this puzzle. With limited display area for photos in Traynor Hall, Catherine and her associate Patrick Moskow knew they had to be creative. After meeting with stakeholders, including Frank, Principal Diane Casault, and Vice Principal Bill Johnson, the were able to pinpoint the wants of all parties and put together a proposal.

The obvious challenge was space. “The mere size of the space was extremely limiting in the amount of images that could be displayed and thus how could it be added onto easily in the future? How do you take an‘old’ photograph and make it look like it belongs in a modern space,” says Catherine Chernoff.

That’s when technology played a roll. Chernoff Architect took on the massive task of scanning and inputting ALL past photographs, ensuring each one had the correct name, spelling and was from the right class. A few weeks ago I actually received a call to verify an individual from my class of 1997!

“We are sorry if something or someone is missing or incorrect, we did the best with what we had,” adds Catherine. Finding information and photos posed a challenge as well. After a lot of hard work, phone calls, and digging they compiled nearly complete documentation back to 1941 in regards to graduates, and one Men’s Class from 1936. “Finding information prior to 1950 was challenging. With great help from the community and the school itself we were able fill in the blanks completely from 1946 to present.”

In all the project includes the following: Re-doing and bringing back the curved walls, Historic Pillars (1906 – 1955, includes the first high school annual from1923 which covers the walls of the cabinet), Graphic Alumni Walls (1956 – 1998 photo displays), Interactive Touch Screen (1950 – future and beyond), Collage of Building History next to the touch screen (1906-1999), quotes engraved on aluminum on the new tackboard day to day display, new glass trophy cases, and a new Mission Statement plaque.

“The Project is really ABOUT the community and for that reason it was incredibly important to have a display that engages the community and helps promote the nostalgic comradery that is always so apparent in High School,” says Catherine.

Form the beginning the goal was for the community to have access to the display. “It needed to be a public installation that was easily accessible to those who don’t currently attend the high school. Also, it needed to be easy to read and follow, simple to navigate and be full of interesting photos depicting the years, articles and artifacts other than just grad photos, as a way of incorporating history and educating the viewer rather than just finding your picture,” she adds.

“I really enjoy how the touch screen and the wall photos play off each other. The touch screen is limited to how many photos you can see at once, but you can locate someone rather quickly, where the wall displays 3500 photos over 180 square feet and really allows you to immerse yourself into the display, and the hunt for a person is part of the game,” says Patrick, despite an incredible amount of work that went into the touch screen aspect of the project.

Catherine and Patrick are grateful for the BC School District 5, FSS, the Fernie and Area Historical Society, Mary Menduk and Mary Giuliano for help with collecting all the documents.

Talking to Frank now that the project is complete, you can see he sees the potential this project has within our community. “We’ve all been graduates and like to see our pictures on the wall, I think that’s a universal thing. You can see the history of the community through the history of education - the history of immigration through the graduates, and it’s a culture,” says Frank. “Graduates all bring gifts to the community no matter what they’ve done or who they are. The more people learn about this project the more we’ll learn. Hopefully this will encourage reunions and celebrations.”

Go visit the display at Traynor Hall in FSS. You won’t be disappointed.