Once upon a time the basement of the former Godwin Heights High School had a museum in it. Longtime Wyoming resident Frank Rackett had donated a portion of his large flora and fauna collection, it is stated in Godwin’s Past, the collection was more than 3,000 pieces. According to the 1945 Godwin Yearbook, “This collection of specimens has tremendous educational value and represents long hours of tedious work — the efforts of a lifetime and the handiwork of a master craftsman.”
Rackett was a longtime Godwin supporter having served on the school board form 1908 – 1947. In fact, the class of 1945 dedicated their yearbook to Rackett. Rackett became interested in taxidermy when he was a boy and gave a portion of his collection to Godwin Heights and Howard Christian Nature Center. Rackett, a lifelong bachelor, died in 1957. In one short biography, Rackett was described as a “character of local color” who “lived accompanying abandon to any pattern of conformity.”
