Symbolic stone will go up in front of East main entrance

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Eastside Photo Archive

The advisers and officers of the senior Class of 2008 pose for a picture with the symbolic stone.

In the last couple of months, the Cherry Hill East administration has made a plan to re-establish their granite stone outside of the student main entrance. The granite stone, a gift from the class of 1987, symbolically served as welcome to the building.

The stone was removed from its original place approximately 10 years ago because it had started to lean forward, and there were concerns that it would break if kept in the same place. The stone was put in storage inside East.

However, the administration had full intentions of putting it back. According to Mrs. Radbill, “our administration was changing often back then. Over the last 10 years, there have been 3-4 different vice-principals in charge of buildings and grounds.” With vice principals changing, the concern about how to proceed with the stone — whether it be kept in storage or put back outside was not made a priority.

Radbill pushed for the return of the stone, though she did not see the change being made. Radbill supposes that it could be Mr. Papa along with the grounds administration at Central who decided to put the stone back outside. This stone is of symbolic significance to the school, and was an expensive gift from the senior class in 1987. “There [was] no need to ever remove the stone,” said Radbill, and hopefully, it will go back up soon.