A record book from 1917 to 1920 was among the treasures found in the vault beneath the gym at the Wallowa school.

WALLOWA — No one knew what would be found hiding in the back of the old vault beneath the gym on the Wallowa school campus.

It wasn’t until planning in preparation for building a new gym began last winter that the vault was explored and revealed its stash of 120-year-old gems — original documents from the Wallowa and Lostine school districts. The documents included building blueprints, school records dating back to 1904, attendance records from the 1930s and 1940s, minutes from school board meetings and student grades. Most of the records are handwritten, some in elegant, cursive penmanship — the kind not seen or taught anymore.

Wallowa School District Superintendent Tammy Jones called it “history uncovered.” She admitted officials didn’t know all that was in the vault until they started digging. She said the documents include records from the whole area. She said they include original bonds that “look like tickets with the amounts printed on them. Budgets. School board meeting (minutes and agendas).”

A new vault is included in the seismic rehabilitation grant and bond for capital projects. These funds are paying for the seismic retrofitting and remodeling in the gym, including new bleachers, locker rooms and a 4,200-square-foot addition that will house a fitness room, a new entry, and common space along with an elevator that will improve access to the high school.

The current gym, complete with its vault space, was built in 1949, after the original gym burned down in 1948.

Old students’ records were not the only things found during the deconstruction of the gym. Programs, notes, toys and candy wrappers were found under the bleachers. Hidden behind trophies on the top shelf of an trophy case was Terry Crenshaw’s ponytail, cut off by teammates after they won the state football championship.

The original records are too bulky to be scanned and stored digitally. Many are in large ledgers, and are also delicate due to age and need to be handled with care. The records will be stored in totes while the new vault is being built.

Asked if the records would be made public, for people wanting to do research or working on a genealogical project, Jones said school officials “would probably be able to accommodate that.”

Jones said the remodeled gym complex will be completed “sometime this fall. The storm on Aug. 11 set the project back a little bit.”

Construction of the new addition will begin this fall, with the bulk of the work taking place next summer and potentially into the following school year, Jones said.

The old records will be well protected by the new vault. It will have several layers of concrete and firewall construction. The location is without windows. The dimensions of the vault room are approximately 20-by-10-by-12 feet, enough space to hold many more years of Wallowa’s school history.