Gegan 
Gegan Elementary, a now thriving community of learning, began construction in 1963. Initially, the project was plagued by delays. Firstly, the laborers on the million-dollar project endured countless days fraught by icy winds and slopes of snow. However, despite the harsh weather, they persisted; over two hundred children depended on their success, after all. The children, eagerly awaiting their new classrooms, were temporarily dispersed throughout the town in rooms at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, other elementary schools, and the Fox Valley Coop building. Unfortunately, fifteen days before Gegan was scheduled to open for its first classes, a fire broke out on the second floor. Despite this setback, the resilient community of laborers came together again to clean up the debris and swiftly repair the damages. Consequently, the opening of Gegan was delayed by only two and a half days. In addition to its triumph over early challenges, Gegan is notable for being the first school in the district to be built with air conditioning, a theater-art center, and chalkboards that spanned from floor to ceiling. Additionally, it is evident that the architects valued literacy, as Gegan school was the first in the district to have carpeted reading pits and a library, which held over $10,000 worth in books. Once the project was completed in 1968, a celebratory ceremony was held in which the superintendent of the district, M.J Gegan, sealed a leaded cornerstone the students had curated for the occasion. The cornerstone, like a time capsule, contains a set of  1967 coins, student artwork and articles, a school calendar from 1967-68, and more, all of which will illustrate Gegan’s place in Menasha’s history for future generations.