By Pat Maurer
Correspondent
After several years of hard work, the Farwell High School hosted a Ribbon Cutting and Rededication Ceremony on Friday, December 9th to reopen the renovated “auxiliary gym” –the old gym, which is located near the Administration offices behind the old entrance to the high school on the south side of the building.
The project, which included “a new HVAC system that provides both heating and cooling, removal of the old systemthat now provides the ability to play two volleyball games at one time, new pads, and most notably, the complete sand and resurfacing of the original parquet floor.”
Along with hosting the ceremony, Farwell High School wanted to give a nod to the past when the “old gym” was brand new.
In 1964, the very first game was played in that “old” gym. The basketball team who played that night was coached by Coach Lyle Berry. The team consisted of 9 players: Larry Esterline, Craig Bedard, Steve Grim, Dennis Schaar, James Martin, Darell McIntyre, Robert Henry, John Iserhoth, and Dun Shank.
Farwell Superintendent Steven Scoville said, “On Friday night, we invited Larry Esterline, member of the 1964 team; Raini and Remi Sponseller, girls varsity team captains; Austin Lake, boys varsity team captain; Joe Maxey, President of the FAS Board of Education; the Farwell Area Schools Pep and Alumni Band; and community members to come and celebrate with us as we officially reopened the newly renovated auxiliary gym.”
The majority of the funding for the project came from 2019 bond money and the improvements were done by Johnson Controls.
After the ceremony, two back-to-back games were played on the once-again beautiful floor. Both the Varsity Girls and the Varsity Boys’ games were the first played in the renovated gym.
Scoville said, “Thank you to everyone who came out to support the game and made the night possible. We couldn’t have done it without you.”