Newport School Department invites people to take home pieces of Rogers High School History
It’s the beginning of the end for Rogers High School’s 66-year-old gymnasium, a fixture in the childhoods and adulthoods of many Newporters. However, the school department is taking steps to honor its legacy and give nostalgic residents one last chance to say goodbye.
“It’s very apparent that people hold this gym very near and dear to their hearts,” School Committee Chair Rebecca Bolan said. “People have a lot of fond memories of playing there and being a part of Rogers High School, so we wanted people to be able to go in and reminisce one more time and see it one more time before we start a new chapter, a new exciting chapter mind you, with new memories.”
The school department has to clear out of the gymnasium by April 1 so the demolition team can prepare to take down the structure and make way for the new Rogers High School gymnasium. In the early days of the school building project, there was an attempt to find ways to keep the gym, as many people have such fond memories of the space, but Bolan said there are several reasons it has to go, including the need for functioning heaters and compliance with modern Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.
The school department is hosting a "Farewell to Rogers Gym” open house in the gym on Saturday, March 9 from 3 to 6 p.m. where people can come and reminisce about their memories of the space, enjoy refreshments prepared by students from the Newport Area Career and Technical Center’s culinary program and purchase merchandise developed by students from NACTC’s advertising, design and new media program, the money from which will go back into funding the NACTC program itself.
Visitors will also have opportunities to take home their own piece of Rogers High School history. Students from NACTC’s construction technology program worked to remove the gym’s maple floorboards and prepare them for purchase. A standard single floorboard will go for $15 and customized double floor boards will go for $25.
Additionally, the NACTC construction technology students have been dismantling the gym’s wooden bleachers and plan to use the materials in their projects. The program’s effort to reuse the materials was highlighted by the Rhode Island Department of Education in a Facebook post in late February.
“Primarily made of Doug Fir and Pine with heavy steel brackets, removing the bleachers is a labor of love,” NACTC College and Career Readiness Coordinator Kerry Clarke was quoted in the post. “With guidance from their instructors, the students have been putting their knowledge and skills to the test with enthusiasm and excitement to be a part of a special project that celebrates the past and creates space for the future.”
As the school is clearing out the gymnasium’s storage, the open house will also feature items from Rogers's history, including old uniforms and jerseys from years gone by. Bolan said visitors will be able to take some of these items home with them with an optional donation. Revenue from the donations will go toward the Athletic Department’s general fund as they prepare for an expensive upcoming year. Without the use of their gym, the Athletics Department will have to bus students around to other schools to make use of their gyms.. The banners hanging in the gymnasium will be removed and cleaned for display in the new gym, Bolan said.
The alumni association will also be bringing stacks of Rogers High School yearbooks from over the decades and offering them for sale.
Bolan said the team putting together the event originally considered hosting it as a fundraiser for the school building project, which still needs to secure several million dollars in funding to be finished. However, Bolan said they wanted this event to be accessible to everyone.
“Later on we may do some kind of fundraising effort, but right now, this is so everyone in the community can enjoy this,” Bolan said.
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Rogers gym open house precedes upcoming demolition
