Wa-Hi Boy Scout restores historic sign

Walla Walla High School freshman Michael Cornia recently unveiled his restoration project of the historic Walla Walla High School sign he completed for his Eagle Scout Service Project. Cornia spent nearly 100 hours, beginning in November, pressure washing, sanding and painting the redwood sign originally designed and built in 1983 by Mac Bledsoe with the help of then Wa-Hi football coach Shorty Bennett. Class of 1983 classmates Blaine Bennett and Scott Krivoshein organized the sign project 35 years ago for their Senior Class Project.

Cornia says he was intrigued by the sign after noticing it as a middle school student while he waited for a ride home. It was faded and showing its age, according to Cornia. Once he hauled the massive 6 foot by 12 foot sign to his house the enormity of the project surfaced. He says there were deep grooves in the wood and massive amounts of surface to sand. Once the sign was prepped, layers of paint went back on the sign. He used a boat paint product to help seal the sign for the harsh weather conditions in the Walla Walla valley. Michael says he is proud of the final product and is pleased to have helped preserve a sign deeply steeped in Blue Devil history.