ROCKLEDGE, Fla. – History was uncovered at a Central Florida high school.
Construction workers renovating Rockledge High School’s cafeteria discovered murals painted by students more than 50 years ago behind the walls.
“I was just floored when I saw them because it was like finding a time capsule. There were pictures of football players, books, art and there was surfing,” said Leslie Shinault, the Rockledge High School media specialist. “The paint was in remarkable condition.”
Shinault’s connection with Rockledge High School, located in Brevard County, goes well beyond her long-standing career teaching at the school.
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“I’m a fourth generation student here. My mother went to this school and graduated in 1956 when it was Cocoa High. I graduated in 1979 and my kids went here,” Shinault said.
What you may not know is that the campus sits in the former Cocoa High School building that opened in 1952.
Cocoa High School 1962 (Copyright 2023 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)
The murals were painted in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s on the original concrete walls in the cafeteria. The colors of the football uniforms represent the Cocoa Tigers.
“They have on orange uniforms with black letters. Not sure who the opponent was in the painting, but you can definitely tell it was Cocoa High. The stadium isn’t really recognizable. It’s not McClarty Stadium we host games in now,” Shinault said.
Taking a closer look, she noticed the paintings are signed and dated.
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Murals discovered behind walls inside Rockledge High cafeteria during summer renovations. (Copyright 2023 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)
Ron Shepherd ‘69′ appears under several of the paintings.
“We found another mural behind the trophy cases that was painted by Eddy Jonas,” Shinault said.
She pulled out old yearbooks from the library to do a little research on the former students. Both Shepherd and Jonas have passed away, but photos in the yearbooks give insight into student life in the ‘60s and ‘70s.
“In (Jonas’) mural, you can see it was painted a year or two after they integrated the school. You can see there’s a Black student painted in the mural,” Shinault said. “Jonas made a career out of art which was unusual. He graduated what was Cocoa High at the time and went to Florida State University, majoring in fine arts.”
Yearbook photo of Eddy Jonas. (Copyright 2023 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)
Jonas was an internationally well-known sculptor and painter who created the FSU bronze sportsmanship statue and the student statues standing in Landis Fountain on campus.
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Shinault is encouraging current and former students to dig into the history of their school and the students who used to walk the halls. The old Cocoa High yearbooks reflects U.S. history.
“(The year) 1967 was the first year Cocoa High was desegregated, and they hired their first Black administrator in 1986,” Shinault said. “It’s also noticeable, the timeframe was around the Vietnam era, so a lot of the students in these yearbooks either went to college, or they were drafted into the military and served in Vietnam. It’s really fascinating to see history come alive. To be part of it and actually see it on display through the yearbooks and murals on the wall. It’s kind of humbling.”
As for the murals, construction has continued and crews framed up new drywall in front of the original structure, but made sure the paintings remained untouched.
Photos of the murals were shared on social media and some people were wondering if the murals would be cut out, but some administrators said there was little conversation about that due to the size of the murals and the fact that they are on the concrete structure so it would probably take a lot of time and money.
Do you recognize any of the former students in this story or keep in touch with their families? Did you attend Cocoa High school before it became Rockledge High? We’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments section below.
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INSIDER TIP: News 6 Anchor Crystal Moyer graduated from Rockledge High School in 2008. Shinault was her English teacher freshman year.
You can listen to every episode of Florida’s Fourth Estate in the media player below:
Copyright 2023 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.
Western Carolina Catamounts (2-2) at Florida State Seminoles (6-1)
Tallahassee, Florida; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST
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BOTTOM LINE: Western Carolina plays Florida State after Cord Stansberry scored 20 points in Western Carolina’s 82-69 loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The Seminoles are 3-1 on their home court. Florida State is 5-1 when it wins the turnover battle and averages 12.4 turnovers per game.
Western Carolina finished 11-8 in SoCon action and 10-6 on the road a season ago. The Catamounts averaged 11.3 assists per game on 28.2 made field goals last season.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
It’s been a good couple weeks for the Florida Gators.
First, they take down No. 22 LSU, 27-16, with a bend but don’t break approach. Then, they follow that up by upsetting No. 9 Ole Miss, 24-17. With that latter win, heads really began to turn. It was one thing to put up fights against Tennessee and Georgia, but now, they’re beginning to take down these formidable opponents.
The analysts are starting to talk them up. ESPN’s College Gameday analyst Kirk Herbstreit is ready to hand head coach Billy Napier the award for coach of the year. He made sure to include that he thinks quarterback DJ Lagway is going to be something special.
“Can a guy with a team that will finish 7-5 win the coach of the year award? He should!!” Herbstreit said in a tweet. “Billy Napier and [the Florida Gators, after being 4-5 and losing two straight, have beaten LSU and Ole Miss. So impressive to see this fight from the Gators and their fans after having a tough year. And, oh yeah, DJ Lagway is the REAL DEAL!”
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Big Cat from Barstool Sports jumped on X (formerly Twitter) and said, “The Florida Gators may need a playoff berth.”
Now, that can be written off as two guys getting excited, but key writers are noticing too. Florida received votes in the latest AP Poll.
Brian Brian Fonesca of the NJ.com/Star-Ledger and Ian Kress of WLNS-TV (a CBS affiliate in Lansing, Michigan) ranked them No. 25. David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press ranked them No. 24. It’s only four points, but they’re the only five-loss team to receive votes.
Unofficially, they’re ranked No. 33 in the country. If they had beaten Tennessee or Georgia to have that slightly better 7-4 record, could very well be in the top 25 right now. It’s hard to vote for a 6-5 team, that’s totally fair, but the willingness to do so by a handful of writers is a good starting point. If they win out, including a quality bowl win, to finish 8-5, finishing ranked is realistic.
Those who are signing on now are seeing what could be on the horizon in 2025. This is how they are playing now. This team might have won eight or nine games had this been yearlong. Wait until they play the portal some more this summer to bring in more talent, Napier gets that offensive coordinator and Lagway comes in with nearly a year of play under his belt.
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The Florida Gators have put the country on notice. They gave Napier the time to rebuild after Dan Mullen’s collapse, and that time is beginning to pay off.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida players eager to celebrate their latest victory, the one that made them bowl eligible for the first time in two years, found a suitable prop on the sideline.
Ole Miss left behind its basketball hoop, which the Rebels use to salute big plays during games.
The Gators set it up, grabbed some footballs and held their own dunk contest near the end zone. It provided an apt stage — perfect for showcasing finishing moves — after they closed out another ranked opponent.
Florida (6-5, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) dominated the second half for the second consecutive week and got to party in the Swamp following a 24-17 victory over then-ninth-ranked Mississippi on Saturday.
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Not only did the Gators knock the Rebels (8-3, 4-3) out of the College Football Playoff picture, they won their fourth consecutive home game and raised expectations for coach Billy Napier’s fourth season in Gainesville.
And the manner in which they accomplished it mattered. Napier has been preaching about “finishing,” something that had mostly eluded the Gators in the past two years.
Florida lost four games in 2023 after leading in the second half, including three — against Arkansas, Missouri and Florida State — in the fourth quarter.
Florida quarterback DJ Lagway (2) and teammates Trikweze Bridges (7), Aidan Mizell (11) and Jadan Baugh (13) celebrate their 24-17 win against Mississippi in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Gainesville, Fla. Credit: AP/Phelan M. Ebenhack
And no one following the program has forgotten how close the Gators were to upsetting Tennessee and Georgia earlier this season, losing 23-17 to the Volunteers in overtime and fading against the Bulldogs after being tied at 20 with five minutes to play.
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Napier hoped all those gut punches would ultimately lead to something better, and they finally did — with late-game knockouts against LSU and Mississippi.
“Eventually you get sick of that,” receiver Chimere Dike said. “To be able to get these last two wins is huge for our team and our program. I’m proud of the resilience the guys showed, the way that we performed.”
Florida held Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin’s high-scoring offense to three points in the second half. The Rebels turned the ball over twice — interceptions by Bryce Thornton on the final two drives — punted twice and got stuffed on another fourth-down run.
Florida defensive back Bryce Thornton (18) intercepts a pass on Mississippi’s final drive during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Gainesville, Fla. Credit: AP/Phelan M. Ebenhack
“I thought we were better on both sides up front, and short-yardage defense is a big component,” Napier said. “Those are identity plays. I think we had guys step up and make plays.”
Added defensive tackle Cam Jackson said: “Everybody just pinned their ears back. That was great.”
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It was reminiscent of the previous week against then-No. 21 LSU. Florida held the Tigers to six points in the second half and forced a fumble, a punt and a turnover on downs in a 27-16 victory.
“We just all came together and wanted to change how Florida was looked at,” Thornton said. “That’s the biggest thing with us, just trying to show everybody that we can do it.”
The Gators ended the afternoon showing off their basketball moves.
Cornerback Trikweze Bridges, receiver Marcus Burke, defensive end Justus Boone, tight end Tony Livingston and linebacker Shemar James delivered monster dunks. Aidan Mizell passed a football between his leg in midair before his slam, and fellow receiver Elijhah Badger bounced it off the backboard before rousing teammates and fans with his finish.
“Belief is the most powerful thing in the world,” Napier said. “At some point there, midseason, we figured (that) out and we started to believe. Look, we can play with any team in the country.”
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