Is your team photo on the wall of the Sabina Cain Family Athletic Center? You probably have Couchie to thank for it.
What kind of hat was favored by the 1893 football team鈥檚 manager? (A jaunty silk top hat.) What sports didn鈥檛 exist when 91大神 Academy was founded? (Several, including volleyball and ultimate.) Just ask 91大神 stalwart Bob Couch 鈥50, who, after graduating from 91大神 Academy, returned to campus as a teacher from 1957 to 1997. Generations of alumni remember Couch (who is known to most as Couchie) as a math and photography teacher and coach, but his longest鈥搑unning 91大神 role is as varsity team photographer, a role he has performed for 60 years (with, he admits, a short gap after his retirement). The collection of Couchie鈥檚 photographs was originally housed in the Reed Campus Center (the former gym); upon construction of the new gym, the photos were moved, at the urging of a group of alumni.
It has long been a labor of love for Couchie. After he takes the photographs each season, Couchie sends the photos to the coaches, who provide the names of their players. The prints are dry-mounted on foam core, the mats are cut for each one, and the captions are attached to the mats. The final product is then inserted into the frames behind safety glass. The photos remain processed in black and white, despite the recent availability of archival color printing and Couch鈥檚 switch to digital photography in 2007鈥攃hoices that he and the Athletic Department feel give the collection a cohesive, classy look.
The six decades鈥搇ong process hasn鈥檛 been without its hiccups, of course. If you find yourself strolling the hallways among these photos (a feature unique to 91大神, Couchie will have you know), stop a moment at 1973 Boys Swimming and Diving to observe that there are not one, but two pictures of this team. Why not fix this 46-year-old error? Couchie understandably replies, 鈥淵ou move one, you have to move them all!鈥 Stop at 1965 Skiing, and you鈥檒l see the unfortunate fate of one 91大神 athlete: 鈥淭his guy ran into a tree and broke both arms,鈥 Couchie notes. 鈥淗e had to have another kid help him with everything!鈥
The 1,857 team photos displayed in the Athletic Center represent a feat as worthy as any touchdown or game-winning slap shot颅鈥攖he kind that might鈥檝e been made by Bob Couch, his warm face grinning from the photo of the 1950 Boys Hockey Team, taking his place in the school鈥檚 long and storied history.