Trojan Honor Courtyard under construction

FAIRFIELD - Fairfield High School's proud tradition of fine arts is being honored with the creation of a courtyard south of the school's auditorium.

The project is known as the Trojan Honor Courtyard, and it's a companion project to one done a few years ago on the east side of the high school called the Trojan Honor Plaza. The courtyard will be an octagon shape with a concrete sitting wall and a brick floor. Funds for the project will come partly from selling the bricks in the courtyard, which will bear the names of those honored such as FHS graduates, teachers, coaches, district or state champions, etc. In the middle of the courtyard will be the school's logo, an image of a Trojan soldier.

The courtyard also includes a concrete bridge connecting it to the front doors of the FHS Auditorium. That bridge bears a design with the names of the school's fine arts programs: art, drama, musicals, plays, speech, its choirs such as concert and jazz, and its bands such as concert, jazz and pep.

The letters in the design are stainless steel, and were just installed Aug. 19. The bricks and the sitting wall will soon follow. Ron Hunerdosse, who has organized the project, is hopeful the courtyard can be ready by Fairfield's Homecoming football game Oct. 4.

Hunerdosse said he grew nervous as he watched Jeff Schafer and his son Joe pour concrete overtop the letters.

'I was in panic mode,” Hunerdosse said.

But they knew what they were doing. Jeff and Joe quickly grabbed a trowel to smooth the concrete so it came right up to the top of the letters without covering them. Then they sanded the letters so they stood out nicely.

Hunerdosse said he's glad to be part of this project to honor the school's history of art, music and drama. He mentioned that the Trojan Honor Plaza, which began as an idea to honor Fred Behner and James Evans with a pair of benches, ballooned into a plaza before he knew it. The community loved the idea so much that Hunerdosse was able to raise $9,000 right away. Others such as Kent Whitney and Sue Buch joined his committee. People in the area stepped up to lend a hand, such as Greg Vorhies, who donated the arch that adorns the plaza.

Though this was not necessarily his intention, the plaza has a distinct athletic theme. There are aluminum silhouettes on the east side of the high school representing all the district's sports. Hunerdosse felt that the school's outstanding fine arts students should be recognized, too, and from that was born the idea of the courtyard outside the auditorium.

The construction of the courtyard coincides with the high school doing improvements in and around its auditorium. The district replaced the concrete on the south side, and replaced the auditorium's exterior doors. The old doors taken out were the original ones from 1939.

Brandon Buch will lay the bricks in the courtyard and build the sitting wall. Creative Edge Master Shop donated the lettering and the image of the Trojan soldier as the courtyard's centerpiece medallion. Ideal Concrete donated the concrete.

Hunerdosse said he feels a responsibility to perform this service because of the role the school has played in his life.

'This was my playground. I broke into the gymnasium to play basketball when I was a kid,” he said. 'I love my town, and I have a really fond place in my heart for the school.”

Hunerdosse hopes that, by featuring a different side of the school in the courtyard, he hopes to reach a new group of people interested in purchasing bricks. Those interested in a brick can choose between two sizes: 4 by 8 inches and 8 by 8 inches. For more information, contact Hunerdosse at ron.hunerdosse@gmail.com.