Dennis Trainor (left) and Mike Krause of Cordova High School’s Class of 1965 work to restore the recently found Cordova Spirit Shield. Photo courtesy of April Dobbs Krause

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - If Cordova High School has a Holy Grail, a restored 3-foot by 2-foot Spirit Shield might be it.

Created after the school opened in the fall of 1963, the Spirit Shield is awarded annually to the class that best exemplifies school spirit. Etched onto the Shield in old English script is the year and grad class. Inscriptions begin in 1964-65 then mysteriously stop in 1984-85, leaving a nearly 38-year gap from when the Shield first went missing.

Legend had it that a couple of students hid the Shield in the false ceiling of the old Little Theatre on campus. Another rumor suggested it found residence in someone’s garage.

But this story has more twists than an Indiana Jones movie.

Since 2016, Terry Behrens (Cordova ’73 alumna), CHS Alumni’s Super Sleuth was on the case faster than a Nancy Grace unsolved crime and it wasn’t long before the Shield was atop the CHS Alumni Most Wanted List. A hurricane of emails involving former students followed, which provided valuable clues that eventually helped solve the mystery.

In the years since, Cordova High School has undergone significant structural changes. Classrooms were altered, often changed locations while others were added. Material and other items got moved around. Stuff got lost or misplaced. Including the Shield.

This year, Behrens renewed her search and launched several social media inquiries. A few clues pointed to the Shield’s guardian, Josh Creeger (Cordova ’93 alumnus) who for most of the last 23 years has served as CHS Activities Director.

Back in 2012, the Shield was initially found after several students brought it to Creeger’s attention. One of those students, Mark Anthony Sohl, was a student government activities commissioner who at the time helped oversee Homecoming planning activities. At the urging of the late Wendy Reed (Cordova ’68 alumna) Sohl found the Shield in a student government storage container. The Shield made a brief appearance at the 2012 Homecoming game, and it later hung for a period of time in the student government room. Mystery solved, right?

Not so fast.

The Shield went missing again, the victim of additional movement of materials, supplies and other activity equipment due to more on-campus overhauls. Creeger himself has moved six times in the last 18 years and admittedly some items get lost or misplaced.

Creeger was there in 2012 and remembers when the Shield was found the first time. “I had never heard about it until students brought it to my attention. Because we’ve moved rooms a lot on campus, classrooms have changed and various items are placed in storage containers,” recalls Creeger.

Last month, Creeger and homecoming planners wanted to include the Class of 1965 as part of tonight’s 60th Anniversary festivities, and the Shield once again came up in conversation. “If you find it, we will be glad to restore and polish it,” ’65 alumnus Dennis Trainor told Creeger. “Our class gave birth to Cordova High School.”

Shortly thereafter, Creeger and a few students traipsed through an old storage container looking for other items. Lo and behold, sandwiched in between several other items, was the Spirit Shield. A bit tarnished, but no worse for wear.

Cordova’s version of the Holy Grail had been found. Again.

Trainor and fellow ’65 alum Mike Krause went to work. Trainor is a retired respiratory therapist, but in his spare time makes Adirondack Chairs and other types of furniture. He has a backyard garage converted into a workshop that is adorned with signage and accoutrements reflective of his life, from Cordova High School to the US Navy and Marines and beyond. It was here that the two men used a metal polisher and some good, old-fashioned elbow grease to breathe new life into the nearly 60-year-old artifact. They completed the work in less than three hours.

“Ours (1965) was the first graduating class. We gave birth to Cordova High School, so we were only too happy to restore the shield,” says Trainor. “I’m glad they found it.”

“Mike had the right tools and polishing materials. He and Dennis really spiffed it up,” says Mike’s wife, April Dobbs Krause, also a Class of ’65 alumna. “It really looks sharp.”

The newly-reconditioned Spirit Shield will make an appearance at tonight’s 60th Anniversary Cordova Homecoming Game – anticipated to attract quite a large number of alumni, many of whom will no doubt fondly reflect on a time long ago at the new kid on the block back in the 1960s, Cordova High School.

Some Cordova High Alumni groups are hoping the Spirit Shield finds permanent residence at the Cordova High School trophy case at City Hall for all to see and enjoy, while others may want the Shield to remain on campus. But this year, many hands contributed to finding and refurbishing a true treasure that is part of Cordova High School’s storied history.

Mike Marando is a 1973 Cordova High School Alumnus and current Chair of the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame.

The nearly 60-year-old artifact was lost for 38 years after various school renovations and the class moves on campus left its whereabouts unknown. Photo courtesy of April Dobbs Krause

The recently found Cordova High School Spirit Shield was polished back to its original splendor, reflecting the high school’s spirit and rich history. Photo courtesy of April Dobbs Krause