Nostalgia tour of old Stoneham high school turns into theft investigation

STONEHAM, Mass. — The year Stoneham High School opened, the Vietnam War was raging, LBJ was president, and a million dollars was considered an awful lot of money. That was 1968.

This fall, Stoneham’s new high school will open — at a final cost of more than $200 million. It’s still under construction, right next to the old building. However once completed, the old structure will be demolished.

Before that happens, Stoneham school officials opened the hallways of the old school to alumni, for a sentimental tour of their teenage digs. That happened Tuesday night.

“We were expecting just under 200 participants who had RSVPed... and it ended up being closer to 350, 400,” said Stoneham School Superintendent David Ljungberg. M.Ed.

Ljungberg said it’s unknown whether the extras that showed up were all from Stoneham.

But at some point during the tour, somebody broke into the Athletic Training Room, which was locked to the hallway. The room contained athletic uniforms and equipment meant to be used in the fall. They were boxed up, labeled, and stacked behind a perimeter of caution tape.

“It was pretty obvious that it was not meant to be touched,” said Ljungberg.

But it was more than touched. It was ransacked.

“Based on what the Athletic Director told me this morning, when he went into the room stuff was everywhere,” the Superintendent said.

Ten Stoneham High School sports teams were affected and somewhere between $6,000-$8,000 worth of equipment was taken, according to district officials.

Ljungberg said it’s likely the thieves used an obscure back door which leads into the training room. That door was unlocked.

“You kind of have to really know your way around the building to get through there,” he said. “You have to go through theme shops and other classrooms.”

Those who initially broke in left via the more obvious hallway door — and left it open. Ljungberg said it’s possible that other tour participants may have taken this, along with the strewn nature of the equipment, as a sign it was to be disposed of. So perhaps they took it as memorabilia.

“I can’t imagine that if anyone knew that it wasn’t supposed to be taken... that they would steal it,” he said.

But Stoneham Police are now investigating the incident — given the school lost thousands of dollars in equipment. That might not seem much, given the cost of the new high school. But the road to that project’s completion has been a long, tough one — with cost overruns and many tough decisions made in order to keep construction within the budget.

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