Missouri school district’s 60-year-old cannon stolen, still missing
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OAK GROVE, MO (KCTV/KSMO) — A school district is missing a piece of its history, one that boomed from the end zone with every touchdown on Friday nights.
For the last 60 years or so, the school has fired off a celebratory cannon after ever every Oak Grove Score.
Amber Squires and her family tote the cannon to every home game, a tradition passed on to her by her father.
She called it a part of the community, something that doesn’t truly belong to her family, or even the school.
To her, it belongs to everyone in Oak Grove.
“We’re just Oak Grove at heart,” Squires said. “It’s not just a tradition for us. There’s a lot of sentimental value there.”
Last week the barrel of the cannon was sitting in her husband’s truck when he took it in for an oil change in Oak Grove. Someone stole the truck from the mechanic where it had been sitting.
Police later found it near Salem, Mo. But the cannon wasn’t in the car.
“It was totally ransacked,” Squires said, “anything of value taken.”
Squires said the barrel is likely an irreplaceable custom part. She’s still hoping it will turn up somewhere.
“If not we’ll try and find a replacement for it,” she said. “We’re not ready for the tradition to end.”
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