Saint Peter Public Schools

It has been more than 27 years since a tornado devastated a large portion of the St. Peter community, and a recent conversation with interim Saint Peter Superintendent Dr. Jeff Olson brought back some memories of how Saint Peter Public Schools were affected by that storm.

What prompted the conversation were some photos Dr. Olson recently found, as he is gearing up to switch back into retirement mode. The photos dated back to mid-August 1999 when the new music wing at the former Saint Peter High School and Middle School building (current SPMS building) was opened in time for the 1999-2000 school year. That area had to be replaced due to damage sustained during the infamous tornado.

In the photos, Dr. Olson and then-school board member Keith Wenner can be seen helping out during the installation of the time capsule as part of the cornerstone of the new music wing. Former KRBI-Radio icon, the late Bruce Davis, is also shown in some of the photos covering the event. 

During our conversation, Dr. Olson was trying to recall what the contents of the time capsule were. A quick text to St. Peter Chamber Executive Director Ed Lee, who was the managing editor of the St. Peter Herald at the time of the tornado and helped cover the time capsule/corner stone installation, and a trip to the St. Peter Herald office to view their archives helped solve that mystery!

Shown above and below are some photos from August 1999 when Dr. Olson and Keith Wenner installed the time capsule into the cornerstone space of the “new” music suite, a current photo of what the cornerstone looks like, and some shots from the 1998 SPHS Yearbook (The Peterian) of what the damage and recovery process looked like. 

According to the August 26, 1999 issue of the St. Peter Herald, the following are the contents of the time capsule, which is to be opened in August 2099:

1. "Gone With the Wind" t-shirt
2. Architectural plans for the SPHS/MS music suite
3. “Facing Change” book about loss and change for teens
4. 1998-98 US West telephone book
5. Youth Frontiers Respect Retreat Follow-Up notebook
6. 1996-97 South Elementary & North Intermediate Yearbook
7. 1998 Peterian - SPMS/SPHS Yearbook
8. Letters from then-State Senator John Hottinger and then-State Representative Julie Storm regarding proposed legislation for additional funding for SPPS concerning tornado damage
9. A District 508 graduation requirements brochure
10. “Twist of Fate” book
11. Second edition of “Twist of Fate” book
12. Copies of the 1998 St. Peter Heralds (April 2nd and April 30th)
13. Copies of the 1999 St. Peter Heralds (March 25th and Aug. 12th)
14. Copy of the supplement to the St. Peter Herald (Jan. 28, 1999) regarding SPMS & SPMS co-curricular activities
15. A South Central Tornado Outreach Project brochure
16. 1998 seventh-grade Courage Retreat survey
17. April 1998 senior retreat handouts
18. Puzzle pieces
19. A candle and tea-lights
20. Copy of the Mankato Free Press (Aug. 17, 1999)

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The following was taken from 1998-1999 SPHS Yearbook (The Peterian):

“March 29, 1998, caused over $8 million of repair work to the St. Peter Schools, damaged 2,000 homes, destroyed more than 150 homes, and knocked down an estimated 17,000 trees. Six months later, 150 staff members and 1,000 students returned to the St. Peter High School building for another year of teaching and learning. 

Brighter rooms welcomed bright faces in the school, as every classroom window was replaced with larger windows. Most of the classrooms, with the exception of those untouched during the storm, had tile floors to replace carpeting, not to mention new and updated supplies to replace those lost the year before. Two new music suites were in the making the entire year in hopes of being ready for students by the 1999-2000 school year. 

However, the materialistic recovery process could not compare to the emotional recovery that the students, staff, and entire community of St. Peter went through. Friends regularly checked up on other friends to find out the progress of homes being rebuilt, and when emotions fell down, quick hugs and smiles with reassurance could be found. Although the building was physically different on September 1, 1998, compared to the year before the storm, it had come a long way in the recovery process. And so did the people inside of it.” - Annie Potts



Above, how the cornerstone looks today on the exterior of the SPMS music wing.