VERNON — The Vernon Gymnasium has always been a special place to Dan Stark, so it’s no surprise that he wants to return it to its former glory.
Thanks to a $40,000 grant administered by the Indiana Pacers, Stark’s hope of turning the gym back into the center of the town’s community activity is taking form.
“You should see my schedule book. Before COVID, there was hardly an empty day,” Stark said. “There was always a ball game, a meeting, a wedding or just people hanging out here.”
Twenty-one nonprofits, including Friends of Historic Vernon, were awarded with All-Star Legacy Grants of up to $50,000 in February of 2020. The grantees, representing 18 counties, were chosen from 182 applicants from across Indiana. The 21 projects are estimated to impact 90,000 youth statewide.
Repairs to Vernon’s gym included re-sanding, staining and re- sealing the floor in addition to replacing backboards and hoops.
Five years after Vernon High School was built in 1923, the gymnasium was constructed next to it.
The school served the community until 1965 when all county high schools were consolidated into Jennings County High School. Vernon High School was eventually destroyed, but the gymnasium never went down.
“This building stood empty for a long time and it was falling apart, but Mike Rodgers led efforts to save it,” Stark said. “People had good memories about this place and everybody got together to save the building and keep it useful.
In addition to running his own real estate business, Stark, 71, has taken care of the old gymnasium building for the last 25 years. He mops the floors, cleans the restrooms and watches over the alumni room where all the memorabilia from the gymnasium’s glory days are stored.
Stark grew up just across the street from the school complex with his parents, Gaylord and Treva (Hughey), and siblings, Dick and Patty.
“I guess it is kind of personal,” Stark said. “My parents and my grandparents all graduated from high school and my sister did too.”
In addition to opening up the gymnasium, Stark said there are plans to use the fields next to the school for youth athletics.
“We’ve worked out the details of an agreement with the Muscatatuck Soccer Club that will let the club have exclusive use of the baseball field,” Stark said. “And we have all kinds of other activities ready to go inside if we can just get the governor’s OK to open up. It will be more work for me but that is just the way I like it.”
