BY DAN NEWMAN
Staff Writer
Despite its history of athletic accomplishments, including state titles and All-American performances, Middletown High School South doesn’t have a place to show off the Eagles’ success over the years.
That’s about to change due to the work of South officials, parents and graduates.
The Eagles Hall of Fame idea has been brought up in the past but will now finally get off the ground, with supporters hoping for an initial inauguration ceremony in September.
“Others have got involved in the past, but nobody ever got the bull by the horns until now,” Jim Cody, a co-organizer said. “The establishment of this organization will truly be a labor of love and a collective effort of many dedicated members of the community.”
At an initial meeting last week, members of the district and community decided to get the ball rolling on the project, which, according to some with knowledge of the project, is long overdue.
“Something like this has been a long time coming,” Principal Mark Kelly said. “I think it’s great that we have a group of parents that are doing the legwork in order to get this project to become a reality.”
Dennis Pino, a member of the Middletown South Touchdown Club and co-organizer of the project, says that it’s overdue for a Hall of Fame, which will include more than just football greats of the past.
“I’ve heard too many times that High School South does not have a Hall of Fame for our athletes,” Pino said. “This is for the kids and what they have done here. We want to preserve South’s athletic history, not just what the football team has done.”
The Hall of Fame is slated to be built near the football office, which is located close to the school’s gymnasium.
“It’ll be encased in the wall over there, and so some of the lockers will have to be removed from that area. We have permission to take them out, and then once that is done, putting everything together for the Hall of Fame will get started,” Cody said.
Kelly said that there should not be much of a disruption at the school, being that most of the work will be done while students are on summer break.
“The construction and the overall process will not have much of an effect on things around here,” Kelly said. “We will just have to redistribute those students whose lockers have been taken away. Other than that, there are a few logistical things, but it should not be a big deal.”
The only concern at this point is to make sure that the wall behind the lockers is intact.
“We need to make sure not to damage the integrity of the wall. It’s a must that it is safe in order to start construction,” said Pino, an Aberdeen Township construction official.
While some in town are afraid of another situation reminiscent of last summer’s construction delays at the outdoor athletic facility at South, Pino said those problems are a thing of the past and will not have any effect on the project at hand.
“We have permission from Mark Kelly to get this going. We don’t need permits or anything like that,” Pino said. “This is what the public has wanted to see for a while, and now they’ll get it.”
Cody noted that the initial construction costs will run about $20,000, which will come from private donations.
An organizational meeting will be on Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. at the school.
“All members of the community are encouraged and invited to come and participate,” Cody said. “We want everybody’s input on this project because we want to do what’s best for all involved in this town.”