Kitchel had its moment


Why this stone is curious depends on your origins.
It's from the non-descript, really tiny hard to find and outlandish town called Kitchel, Indiana, about 3 miles north of Liberty just off U.S. 27 (eastern Indiana.)

The school has been closed for years, yet the gym still stands, mocking time, glaring back at the future. The place was once the playground of the Kitchel Cowboys, a high school team from Harrison Township. This monument boasts that the Cowboys won the Connersville Sectional in 1942 and again in 1943.

I have no idea about this team, why it was successful for those two years or how bad/good it was afterward. I recall the last years of Kitchel. They had maybe 80 students, played the game with enthusiasm, and like everyone else, got beat in the sectional.

Except those two years. I can speculate why the gym still stands and probably none of it is connected to those '42-'43 teams. Then again, who knows?

For a snapshot in time, the Cowboys ruled.

Never throw away your memories.

EDIT: I have since learned (2015) that both sectional championships, victories over Connersville, were double-overtime wins, Kitchel winning by 1 point each time. In those days, the second overtime was "sudden death." That meant Connersville had taken a 1-point lead in both games. The first 2 points wins in sudden death, according to the rule of that era.

Thrilling. I wish I could have seen that.

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