Sullivan East giving away pieces of its history

BLUFF CITY — The basketball court at Sullivan East had been a constant presence for all 58 years of the school's existence. That will soon change with the current installation of a new basketball court surface in what has been known as the Patriot Palace or Dyer Dome in recent years. "It was needed," Sullivan East boys basketball coach Brandon Barnes said. "We are looking forward to it. We are going to miss that floor. It was kind of a classic floor, but it is good, it is going to be good for the new guys now getting to play on something new. This season they can say, 'we were the first to play on this one' so it is going to be better." That doesn't mean the old court will go to waste. Pieces of that court, measuring four feet by four feet — which has been called Mickey Forrester Court in recent years — is now available to anyone free of charge, and they are currently available under the awning behind the school at the school bus entrance. "They have been really coming and they are getting it for so many different reasons," said Sullivan East principal Andy Hare, who said around 200 of the 400 available pieces remain. "Some people are redoing a floor, it is going to be their floor in the basement. They are making countertops out of it, a lot of tables, clocks, gifts for family members, backgrounds for pictures, picture frames. "There are just so many creative ideas that I have heard about. I can't wait to see them all." Installed when the school first opened during the 1968-69 school year, Hare said the time had come to replace the floor, a project that is currently in progress and should be ready within the next two weeks. He said the new court will be "beautiful", adding that it will be more of a traditional surface since parquet is now hard to find. "The gym was the last part that was finished so they got to play on it late that year," said Hare, a 1994 graduate of Sullivan East. "That floor has been there 58 years, and it had been refinished several times and that is what led us to this. "I loved our floor, the parquet wood was just amazing, but it had gotten where we had buffed it and sanded it and refinished it so much that it couldn't take anymore. We would end up at the sub-flooring in some places so it was time. We wanted to make sure that anybody that wanted to share a piece of that had a memory here they could keep." Barnes knows all about owning a piece of history, having retrieved his own part of the gym floor at the old Dickie Warren Dome when it was replaced at the former Sullivan Central High School. "It is a good thing. I went and got my piece from there," Barnes said. "It is kind of special knowing that now you have got this piece, you were on there, all the sweat and everything else that so many have put on there, you have got a little piece of that. That is special." Hare said the hope is that all pieces will be claimed by the end of this week, but they will be available longer if needed to meet the demand. They are free, although Hare added that the school will accept donations to assist with other school projects. Hare added help might be needed since they are have, and added the need for a vehicle to accommodate that size. "I was talking to a gentlemen who got some and he said, 'I don't know which section of floor I got, but I guarantee I walked on it at some point as a student or something here', and that is true," said Hare, who said the pieces were available as long as the gate to the school are open... "Of course we wanted our alumni and our people and fans of our community to have first dibs, but anybody that wants this court, a piece of the old court, they are welcome to it," he added. "Somebody may have had the game of their life here and they deserve to have that momento of that experience. This is just the people's court." The new gym floor is just part of many enhancements for the Sullivan East campus in recent years, from new and renovated classrooms to a new football field and turf for the baseball and softball fields, a project that was funded by former Patriots' baseball coach John McKamey, a local trend that has become common in Bluff City. "These kids deserve that, they deserve to have a top of the line facility," Hare said. "It wasn't just one group or one person that did this, this was a combined effort of the Board of Education, members of the school and members of the community..." That gym floor has seen plenty in nearly six decades at Sullivan East, from basketball, volleyball and wrestling to concerts, classrooms, graduations, community gatherings and so much more. "It has seen it all. It has seen the best of times and it has been there for people when we have hurts, when we have had disappointments and we have had tragedies, that is where people get counseled and consoled in there," said Hare, who added that Sullivan East will have a new Patriot logo, replacing the old logo that was similar to that used by the New England Patriots. "It is also a place of ultimate celebration too with graduation, championships. "It has been there for a lot for 58 years and this next floor, it is going to be provide the same experiences for us. It is going to be the host for a lot of celebration."