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In 1971, Sibley High School moved to Mendota Heights and became Henry Sibley High School. The move left behind the sprawling campus in the heart of West St. Paul, though the connections would last decades longer.
We’ll explore the history of West St. Paul schools in a 7-part series as part of our member drive, so stay tuned for more.
The Schools
What started as Sibley Junior High School in 1936 turned into the sprawling Sibley High School campus in the 1950s, adding Frances M. Grass Junior High in 1960 and eventually being torn down for Heritage E-STEM Middle School. But in 1971, the high school moved to Mendota Heights and became Henry Sibley High School (in 2021 the school board renamed it Two Rivers High School).
Henry Sibley High School
By the late 1960s, the halls of Sibley High School were crowded. There were more students than lockers, larger class sizes, and math classes were pushed to Grass Junior High. A 1968 study forecast extended days or split shifts to accommodate the growing numbers—necessitating a new, larger school. Voters approved a $7.985 million bond for a new high school in 1968 (along with a $575,000 bond for a swimming pool at Grass).
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Superintendent Russell Anderson championed the new Henry Sibley High School (now known as Two Rivers). Anderson was insistent on naming the school Henry Sibley to differentiate it from the neighboring Simley High School in Inver Grove Heights. He went so far as to instruct staff to contact local newspapers when they referred to the school simply as “Sibley” in box scores.
“That was his pride and joy. He wanted that high school and he wanted it located in the center of the district.”
Hugh Guscetti, a guidance counselor, said in a 2007 Sun Newspaper article when Anderson died
Student reaction:
- “I suppose being 17, back then, I was thinking, Oh, sure, now they build it,” said Craig Brunschon, class of 1971, in a 2004 Sun Newspaper article about the Sibley all-class reunion. “But it was just part of the evolution of the district. I think the district has proven that we were outgrowing the facility. It made it interesting realizing we were the last seniors that were going to graduate from the building.”
- “I think I would have preferred to spend my last year of high school in the old building,” said Judy (Hughes) Johnson, class of 1972, in the Sun Newspaper. “It had character. The new building was cold feeling and didn’t feel like home.”
- “The hallways at Sibley used to get so crowded that students were allowed to go outside in the fall and spring of the 1970-71 school year to move from one class to the next,” said Judy (Bostrom) Mader in the Sun Newspaper.
Teacher perspective
Three teachers started their teaching careers at Sibley in 1952 and were still teaching at Henry Sibley 25 years later in 1977—Kenneth Mestad, George Stielow, and Catherine Tussing. They were interviewed in the 1978 yearbook:
- Stielow remembers the 1952 football team he coached didn’t lose a game that season (a practice field at Two Rivers is named George Stielow Field).
- “The most difficult time to teach was in the late sixties. Things have changed for the better with the new school.” -Mestad
- “The atmosphere of the classroom hasn’t changed, but students have less time for school than they had before.” -Tussing
Back to Grass
While the ISD 197 high school moved to Mendota Heights in 1971, students kept coming back to Grass Junior High.
- Football games were still played at Matson Field across the street from Grass Junior High. Despite multiple attempts over the years, it wasn’t until 2019 when games moved to the high school and the new Warrior Field as part of the 2018 district-wide improvement projects approved by voters.
- When Henry Sibley High School opened, the bleachers in the gym weren’t complete, so the basketball team returned to the red gym at Grass.
- Many sports and activities still happened at Grass, to the point there was a regular activity bus shuttling students to Grass for practice, games, and more.
- In 1989, vandals caused more than $5 million worth of damage to Henry Sibley (primarily by exposing asbestos), forcing the school to close on March 23. High school students returned to Grass Junior High as the district implemented a split-shift schedule with high school in the morning and junior high in the afternoon.
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Mascot
While the school board changed the Henry Sibley name to Two Rivers in 2021, the Warrior mascot has seen various changes over the years.
- Origins: There are various stories for the source of the Warriors name. Robert Kuehn’s A History of West St. Paul points to the many West St. Paul students who attended Humboldt High School prior to 1952 with their “Indians” mascot, so the name “Warriors” preserved that tradition while also making it new. Another story points to the “Flying Warriors” stationed at nearby Holman Field during World War II and beyond. Yet another story gives preference to the “Warriors” name over other options (“Cardinals” and “Rustlers”) because it meant students could put a ‘W’ on their athletic uniforms for West St. Paul.
- Native American head: The original mascot was a Native American, with a stylized depiction of a Native American’s head for the logo until the mid 1990s.
- Debate: In the late 1980s the state Board of Education recommended districts drop all Native American mascot imagery. Students voted to retain the mascot and the school board initially agreed.
- Change: As early as 1989 the school began phasing out the Native American insignia, with a more concerted effort in the early 1990s. A 1992 renaming committee welcomed student submissions, eventually choosing “Cyclones” and “Senators,” which were never adopted. By 1996, change prevailed after a push from student council. The school kept the Warrior name but changed the mascot to a griffin, a mythical part-lion-part-eagle creature.
- More change: That was short lived, and in 1999 a knight logo replaced the griffin. But change happens slowly, with the Native American logo still visible in early 2000s yearbooks and a student protest in 2005 to bring the original logo back. In 2009 the school rolled out the current logo, a Greco-Roman style warrior, with minor changes in 2021 to accommodate the name change (the “HS” on the shield became “TR”).
Latest Changes: Two Rivers High School
In addition to the new football field, the 2018 bond referendum brought a number of improvements and additions to Henry Sibley High School, including the new aquatic center (with the closing of the old pool at Heritage). In 2021 the school board renamed the school Two Rivers High School and welcomed a new principal, Al Johnson.
More to Come
Stay tuned for the next part in our seven-part series on the history of Sibley schools:
- Part 1: Overview
- Part 2: Sibley Junior High
- Part 3: Sibley High School
- Part 4: Grass Junior High School
- Part 5: Henry Sibley High School
- Part 6: Heritage Middle School
- Part 7: Demolition and What Remains
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