Archibald Rutledge Academy - Fathom Yearbook (McClellanville, SC)

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Reaching For The Sky The Gym (Cont’d) Reaching for the sky of gifts, from $10 to rather substantial ones. Rutledge Leland joined the group and a consensus was reached that if a gym was to be built at all, work should begin at once. With ten families pledging $1000 each and co-signing a note for the balance, groundbreaking quickly followed. This fund raising effort, along with the receipt of several generously large gifts has been responsible for assuring the first step in a three phase program of construction. Bee hive of activity Closing in on completion Early preparation work was done by volunteers, including the basketball players. With the help of David Marcinak and his earth moving equipment, the septic system was moved and rough clearing was accomplished. Soon the foundation was dug and the slab was poured. Work stopped for a month while the slab cured. Excitement ran high as the first shipment of steel girders arrived. Too heavy for the little wooden bridge, the delivery trucks off-loaded at the Baptist Church parking lot. The framework sections were then moved piece by piece, as needed, to the job site. The steel skeleton rose quickly, but a period of steady winter rains brought the drying-in to a standstill. At long last, the roof and sides were up. For nearly a month of weekends and afternoons, the

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The Start Of Something Big Breaking new ground Foundation tor excellence Idea becomes reality. Raise high the roof beam. The Gym Why build a gym? Well, if you want to play basketball, you need a gym to play it in, says Tommy Duke, coach of the Pirates. Last year, the first for varsity sports at ARA, the basketball hopefuls practiced on the outdoor concrete court behind the school. This presented obvious problems, especially during rainy spells. As the sun dropped behind the pines earlier and earlier, and the evenings grew chillier and chillier, the motto of the fledgling Pirates became, If we can play them in the cold and rain, we can beat them. Last year's home games were played at Lincoln Gym. This presented scheduling problems, long waits when the gym wasn't opened on time, and since admission fees couldn't be charged, cost problems. Nevertheless, enthusiastic crowds gathered to cheer on the winless team. The idea for building a gym was born in the spring of 1987. The principals involved were Tommy Duke, Ted Dawson, Henrietta McClellan, Sarah Nell Potter and Gene Morrison. They paced oft an area where the possible gym might sit. Remarkably, the now completed gym sits nearly exactly where they conceptualized it to rise. Preliminary estimates on a structure to meet the needs of a sports program and classroom space were gotten. Sara Nell Potter and Patty McClellan sent out a letter asking for donations and pledges into a Loyalty Fund that would finance the proposed gym in early autumn. Early results were a wide range

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Masterpiece By Many Hands The Gym (Cont’d) shell of a building swarmed with volunteers hammering nails, sawing boards for bleachers, assembling light fixtures, installing gas piping and heaters, putting up conduits for electricity, sweeping up the construction litter and feeding the crews working through lunch. All this while the little ones ran through the embryonic gym shooting imaginary basketballs at the hoopless backboards. Anticipation grew as the tile arrived and the floor started taking shape. Students buzzed about the school in a frenzy of cleaning up and tried their hands at laying tile during recess. With crossed fingers, a sigh of relief and a swelling of pride the first game was held January 28th before a large crowd. Work is already underway to complete the kitchen facilities, dressing rooms, coaches room, library, four classrooms and stage. The potential for two additional classrooms is available at the stage end of the gym. Supervising, measuring, hammering, leveling, sanding, sweeping, and sawing. Laying the floor