Are the legends of Bigfoot and Lochness Monster and a host of other legendary creatures real? Did the epics of Odysseus, Gilgamesh and other literary heroes actually happen?

Millions of people believe these and other legends across the globe. These undying folklores remain for generations: stories and journeys of sadness, despair, hope, happiness and humor.

?Art is and always was, at the service of man,? Chinua Achebe, author said. ?Our ancestor created their myths and legends and told their stories for a human purpose.?

Achebe explains how all, good stories should have a purpose. As in Achebe?s stories, campus faculty and students have created their own cultural significance.

In the 1990s a Central Valley Christian custodian made a large flag to wave incessantly at football games.

?The football boys did not like the custodian,? Scott Callisch, P.E. teacher, said. ?Once he made the mistake of putting the flag down and our boys took it and put it in back of their charter bus.

?Later CVC officials called the school to ask Mr. [Gary] Schultz [principal] about it. I think they ended up having to call the bus company to get the flag back. Next year at the volleyball semifinal playoffs against CVC, the flag incident helped hype the big game.?

Because of the previous chaos, Principal Schultz requested the opposing team not to bring the flag, but one person showed up with a flag guarded by football players.

?They looked like secret service agents,? Callisch said. ?They set down the flag behind their bleachers, which is know to be against the Peoples Church kitchen. I saw a hand slowly reach from the kitchen, grab the flag and silently leave with it; I think the culprit was Mike Neal [current boys? varsity basketball coach].

A year or two later students from Immanuel arrived on campus with a flag and ran with it during the basketball game.

?They would run around the gym with it a couple times,? Callisch said. ?Then a quieter kid named David Olson [?01] tackled the student and wrestled with him to get the flag. Seeing this Mr. Schultz ran out to stop them and before long the both bleachers were cleared. This all happened before the game started. So you can see our school has quite a history with flags.?

Tom McEntee, drama and Bible teacher, has been working on campus for six years. McEntee believes a legendary student named Carlos Moran, ?02, gave an unforgettable performance during his senior trip.

?The funniest student was Carlos,? McEntee said. ?I got to go on the senior trip when Carlos and his friends began a project digging out a playground. During these four hours, he lead his friends singing negro-spiritual songs; this was legendary.?

Angela Rice, ?00, was a legendary tennis player all four of her high school years.

?During Rice?s sophomore year, she played on the championship team to win our first Valley Championship,? George Freeman, tennis coach said. ?She won the fourth point playing doubles and in the West Sierra League Tournament, she was the No. 1 player; she is legend.?

A different type of legend focuses on leaders that have prevailed through difficult times. Superintendent, Tim Wilkins believes this is true about Principal Schultz.

?Mr. Schultz first came to interview to teach seventh and eighth grade,? Wilkins said. ?He was a principle at a Minnesota school and this was curious to me. He felt called to be a teacher here; this impressed me.?

Over the course of several years, Principal Schultz became known as Papa on campus. This originated because his son, Chris, while a high school student would call his father, Papa. This caught on to his close friends and has since become a moniker for faculty and all the students.

?The history goes back 26 years,? Wilkins said. ?A historic happening occurred during Mr. Schultz?s second year of teaching on campus. When we moved to the current campus, Mr. Schultz literally became high school principal overnight. It became clear why God sent him here.?

While untold stories remain yet unprinted, The Feather welcomes letters or anecdotes documenting these tales and would like to publish them in future online editions. Readers can use the Contact button in the right Resources menu bar to send the editors an e-mail your story.

For further information on the legend of ?Papa? Schultz, read Corey Maxey?s article ?More than just principal? published on Nov. 28 on this paper.