I am all for new things and bigger, better things, but sometimes, just sometimes, do you miss the old?
The new gym at Madison Junior High is magnificent. The whole project is much needed, as many of the facilities in the district were aging and not serving students as well as they used too. I very much supported its construction. Are you listening residents of the Clear Fork valley?
However, many of the new gyms that are built today look the same.
Today’s architects don’t have time to include those little things that we associated with certain gyms. All of the old places had their own reputations, some were true, some were probably myth.
I guess that is true about a lot of old things. Yes, it is true that when I was younger I resembled a young Mel Gibson, both in face and body. It is not true that former Clear Fork Principal Jerry Marshall once pulled me off the floor of St. John Arena for arguing a call during the Lady Colts state semi-final game against Utica. That’s my story and I’m stickling to it.
It was a bad call by the way.
I think if you took the banners off the walls, blindfolded a person, and spun them around a couple times it would be difficult for that person to identify what gym they were in.
I haven’t seen the rule book, but I think that is what they do with basketball officials before games. Some of the calls that are made would lead us to believe that.
But, don’t you miss the sauna that was the old Ontario High School gym? I mean the “House that Joe Built” is nice, but at the old place it was like 15 degrees outside and 100 degrees inside. You see it is right next to the heated pool. And yes, that was Joe turning of the temperature in the poll at halftime of the varsity game.
Now, the rumor was at the old Robert Frye Gymnasium at St. Peter’s had students who used to sit in the seats that towered over the floor and spit on opposing players. That is the rumor anyway. That probably explains why the Spartans were always so good when they played there.
The old Pete Henry Gym had the feeling of the old Boston Garden. It was great because the teams that played there were great, not because the seating was all that hot. I believe there were some seats there with “limited sight” too. But, that was Pete Henry and you knew that going in.
I also remember when the unveiled the new Pete Henry and said the tiger, or should I say tyger, that was painted on the wall was unique and the only one of its kind in the country. About a year later Seneca East High School near Attica, also nicknamed the Tigers, opened a new gym, yeah the very same tiger on the wall.
Before they renovated the gym at Clear Fork there used to be a dead spot on the floor around one of the sidelines. Many opponents tried to dribble the ball there and watched it not come back up and instead roll out of bounds. I called that a home court advantage.
As I conclude, a note to the residents of the Clear Fork School District. Isn’t it time for new facilities? Bellville Elementary was built in 1893.
I mean I was a history minor, I love history, but I don’t want to have students educated in a building hopelessly out of date.
Before they renovated the gym at Clear Fork there used to be a dead spot on the floor around one of the sidelines. Many opponents tried to dribble the ball there and watched it not come back up and instead roll out of bounds. I called that a home court advantage.
After years of toil and sweat behind radio station microphones, longtime broadcaster, Jeff Swank joined the new generation of sports followers on the web.
Swank launched his internet radio station with nothing more than some wire, a box with some knobs and switches, and an itch to do much more than just scratch the surface of everything sports.
Richland Source is proud to introduce Jeff as a writer focused on high school sports. He will contribute a weekly column and analysis of a featured game of the week from one of our area high schools.
In addition to his work at Richland Source, Jeff provides complete high school sports coverage for over 70 Ohio schools at his web site, http://www.swankonsports.net76.net/.
