news-record.com

The Summerfield gym is a real gem. Completed by Sept. 29, 1939, it was originally called the Summerfield recreation park. Plans included a lake, bathhouses and a community clubhouse.

This was a Works Progress Administration project in Guilford County; another was the gym at Allen Jay School. Some locals said WPA stood for We Poke Along.

The county commissioners voted in July 1934 to purchase 63.2 acres of land from Charles H. Willson and Joseph A. Hoskins for $2,600.

Part of the cost came from WPA funds, but the community was responsible for about 30 percent of the cost. The community was allowed to furnish labor and materials instead of all cash. Even the schoolchildren helped by bringing tobacco to be sold and by selling plants donated by Mrs. Joe Trescher.

In October 1938, Placid Bennett's fifth-grade class contributed 12 pounds of tobacco, $6.10 in cash, and $3.80 from the sale of flowers. The eighth-grade class of Mary Pinnix came in second with 11 pounds of tobacco, $6.15 in cash, and 50 cents from flowers. The entire proceeds from the Halloween Carnival in 1939 -- $114.43 -- was to be used to purchase a heating system for the new gym.

Frances Smith Long, Robert Morton and Dr. "Bill" Shields all remember the pot-bellied stoves in the gym. There was a stove at each end, enclosed by railings, for the safety of the basketball players. Morton also remembers railings in front of the bleachers.

By December 1938, the stonework on the west and north sides was completed and the stonework on the dam for the lake was almost completed.

Dewey Trogdon remembers his father telling him the rock for the gym came from the Bob Gamble farm on Pleasant Ridge Road.

Bill Gordon said his brother, Bob, was in the first grade and remembers seeing his father's truck going by the school hauling rock for the gym; he thinks Howard Pope was driving. Mildred Pope Jessup remembers her father, Howard Pope, talking about hauling rock. He and O.C. Wall, both of whom worked for R.C. Gordon, chiseled some of the rock. Wonder how many Summerfield men helped chisel rock?

When the gym was about finished, Clyde Robinson Jr. remembers asking for permission to get some of the scrap lumber. He hauled scraps home with his pony and wagon. Then he made rabbit gums from the scraps and sent some of the gums as far away as Reedy Fork Creek. He skinned the rabbits and sold them to railroad personnel for $1 each. His father told him, "Leave the heads on so the men will know they're not cats!"

Sept. 29, 1939, was a big day in Summerfield. The handsome granite gymnasium and community center was dedicated with all seats filled and many people standing. The structure was accepted on behalf of Guilford County by R. Flake Shaw, a county commissioner and Summerfield farmer. Many important people were there.

Lee A. Stafford, chairman of the ticket committee, said more than 2,000 people were expected. J.G. Long supervised the preparation of the barbecue and Brunswick stew. W.B. Stafford secured Tal Henry and his orchestra to provide music for dancing in the new gym. Between 1,000 and 1,500 people attended.

Many basketball games and other events have taken place since then. School reunions have been held in the gym. It was used during the first Summerfield Founders Day and has been used many times over the years for voting.

When the gym was built, it was for Summerfield High School, but that building was torn down in 1983. It was replaced with Summerfield Elementary School, and the gym still rings with the shouts of boys and girls at play.

Hopefully, this grand old gym will be the scene of many more basketball games and other happy events for years to come.

Gladys Scarlette is a local historian, lifelong of Summerfield resident and author of two books about Summerfield.