The human brain, while capable of storing many memories, is just as capable of forgetting
them.
Unless the memories become documented on concrete form, stories stored in our heads
for many years can be skewed through time in passage.
When it comes to memories of high school sports, sometimes they fall behind those of
more important memories that eventually shape one's life: the first dates, the first job, that
big vacation, the birth of children and grandchildren, etc. However, the years of school
days are a time when people start to find themselves and determine the path they would
go on for the rest of their lives.
Everyone has his or her unique story. Perhaps one, or a couple or a few of them can
inspire someone else to shoot for their goals and ambitions.
Simply telling them to others doesn't have the same level of accuracy as documenting
them down so that they can be preserved after your time on this Earth has passed –
because once that happens, the stories in your head will never come out.
Sharing the history of the game of basketball in Illinois is the mission of the new Illinois
Basketball Hall of Fame Museum, scheduled to open in 2013 in Danville. The museum will
house the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, as well as an area
dedicated to the history of the game in the Land of Lincoln.
At a recent meeting of basketball historians in Normal, IBCA Hall of Fame Chairman Bruce
Firchau stressed that the biggest way that people can truly learn about the game is
through oral histories. These can be accomplished by collecting thoughts and telling it to a
microphone hooked to a tape player, with the “record” button on.
Basketball is a game made of many open-ended processes and scenarios. How would you
like to hear about how Rockford West devised its strategy to score six points in one
second in the 1955 State Championship game against Elgin? How about what was going
through the mind of Rock Falls's Brian Vance as he threw up the game-winning three-
pointer from the top of the key in the 1999 title game against Waterloo Gibault?
How about the feeling of nerves before and celebration after little Neponset took down
Immaculate Heart of Mary of Westchester in a 1992-93 regular season girls basketball
game?
How about other memories from girls basketball, grade school basketball, college
basketball, professional basketball, Special Olympic basketball and basketball memories
from schools that are no longer in service (and this includes the southern Illinois
segregated schools)? While high school boys basketball is the most documented form of
competition in Illinois, it is not the only form. The others are just as important.
Sure, newspapers and television cameras can document such things in words, sentences
and quotes. But what is not talked about during the one-minute interview session with the
newspaper reporter on deadline is the full story. Why things worked the way they did.
But those that have played, coached and officiated the game know that basketball is more
than scoring more points than the other team. Basketball is offered at high schools and
grade schools as an extra-curricular activity, and they are meant to give students a lesson
on certain aspects of life such as winning and losing and trying your best.
Stories and memories such as these can, some way and somehow, inspire others to follow
through on their accomplishments. Such collected oral histories will be forever preserved
at the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame Museum.
But what one can find at the museum won't be limited to audio or video recordings. Of
course, the place has to be visually appealing to people.
Actual artifacts are being sought to give the museum a feel of actually being witness to the
basketball games that have been played over the years in Illinois.
Much like Cooperstown and Canton.
Months ago, Firchau provided a wish list of items that would accompany the museum.
Multimedia items include the aforementioned oral histories, films, DVDs, school song
recordings, and old audio tapes and sound recordings of basketball in Illinois. Currently,
the oldest soundbite the museum has is a radio recording of a grade school basketball
game between Harding and Serena done by legendary broadcaster Art Kimball of WLPO.
Flat items include: basketball pictures (the older the better), programs, schedules,
scorebooks, media guides, newspaper articles, scrapbooks, rule books, pennants and
banners.
Apparel items include: letter jackets, letter sweaters, the letters on such, team and
coaching blazers, old uniforms, warm-up jackets and pants, cheerleading and mascot
uniforms, referee shirts and whistles, old basketball shoes, patches, pins, and buttons.
Other items include: old basketballs, autographed basketballs, megaphones, pom poms,
trophies, school pencils and beanies.
Larger items are also being sought, and are thought to be the most disposed of over time.
Such larger items include old popcorn machines, old soda dispensers, score boards,
lockers, player's benches, and the huge cut-outs of Illinois with lights for the towns – as
used during the State Final days at Huff Gym.
Such items were not meant to be preserved for years to come. So the effort to gather it all
together is a tough task.
Obviously what artifacts have been kept are kept for a reason, mostly for personal
memories. Then there are mementos of Illinois basketball that are floating around the
world in a capacity that has nothing to do with the true historical value of the item.
Rescuing these items and putting them in a place where they can be appreciated can be
done.
Take a search through the eBay auction website and conduct a search for your school
and its nickname (ex. “Freeport Pretzels”). If there are items that look like something that
can be placed in the Museum, take a look at the item's description provided by the seller.
Somewhere on the auction block is an advertisement poster for Medart Telescopic Gym
Seats. The particular poster features the newly-built Rock Island Fieldhouse (or the “Rock
Garden” as the locals call it). At the time it was built, the placing of the bleachers was the
largest power-operated gym seat installation in the country.
Potential buyers of such posters would buy it as an addition to an advertisement
collection. But since the Fieldhouse housed so many great Rock teams over the years,
this would be a good addition to the Hall of Fame's museum collection. (The buyer asks for
$10 with shipping options).
Rescuing items from Illinois basketball lore is even more difficult if it is someone's property.
In my work with Illinois High School Glory Days, I have been in many schools, gymnasiums
and baseball diamonds that have been neglected over time. Then when the bulldozer
comes, the items are destroyed forever.
Hopefully with an increased emphasis on preserving artifacts of basketball in Illinois, there
will be more successful, safe and lawful salvage efforts to preserve high school sports
mementos across the state.
What makes places such as Cooperstown and Canton the successes they are is that
people will come back after the initial visit because there is so much to see, and so much
that was not displayed due to lack of room. One of the goals of the Hall of Fame Museum
is to keep bringing people back for more.
The constant contribution of artifacts, oral histories and the uncovering of histories will
bring people back.
Would you like to help?
For anyone with questions or who are interested in donating memorabilia or making a
monetary donation, call 217-442-DUNK (3865), visit www.ilhoopshall.com, or email Firchau
directly at firchau (at) sbcglobal (dot) net.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and was the only person
under 40 at the historians meeting. He can be reached at Northernillinoissportsbeat (at)
yahoo (dot) com. --- Talk about what's written on our Message Boards!
them.
Unless the memories become documented on concrete form, stories stored in our heads
for many years can be skewed through time in passage.
When it comes to memories of high school sports, sometimes they fall behind those of
more important memories that eventually shape one's life: the first dates, the first job, that
big vacation, the birth of children and grandchildren, etc. However, the years of school
days are a time when people start to find themselves and determine the path they would
go on for the rest of their lives.
Everyone has his or her unique story. Perhaps one, or a couple or a few of them can
inspire someone else to shoot for their goals and ambitions.
Simply telling them to others doesn't have the same level of accuracy as documenting
them down so that they can be preserved after your time on this Earth has passed –
because once that happens, the stories in your head will never come out.
Sharing the history of the game of basketball in Illinois is the mission of the new Illinois
Basketball Hall of Fame Museum, scheduled to open in 2013 in Danville. The museum will
house the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, as well as an area
dedicated to the history of the game in the Land of Lincoln.
At a recent meeting of basketball historians in Normal, IBCA Hall of Fame Chairman Bruce
Firchau stressed that the biggest way that people can truly learn about the game is
through oral histories. These can be accomplished by collecting thoughts and telling it to a
microphone hooked to a tape player, with the “record” button on.
Basketball is a game made of many open-ended processes and scenarios. How would you
like to hear about how Rockford West devised its strategy to score six points in one
second in the 1955 State Championship game against Elgin? How about what was going
through the mind of Rock Falls's Brian Vance as he threw up the game-winning three-
pointer from the top of the key in the 1999 title game against Waterloo Gibault?
How about the feeling of nerves before and celebration after little Neponset took down
Immaculate Heart of Mary of Westchester in a 1992-93 regular season girls basketball
game?
How about other memories from girls basketball, grade school basketball, college
basketball, professional basketball, Special Olympic basketball and basketball memories
from schools that are no longer in service (and this includes the southern Illinois
segregated schools)? While high school boys basketball is the most documented form of
competition in Illinois, it is not the only form. The others are just as important.
Sure, newspapers and television cameras can document such things in words, sentences
and quotes. But what is not talked about during the one-minute interview session with the
newspaper reporter on deadline is the full story. Why things worked the way they did.
But those that have played, coached and officiated the game know that basketball is more
than scoring more points than the other team. Basketball is offered at high schools and
grade schools as an extra-curricular activity, and they are meant to give students a lesson
on certain aspects of life such as winning and losing and trying your best.
Stories and memories such as these can, some way and somehow, inspire others to follow
through on their accomplishments. Such collected oral histories will be forever preserved
at the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame Museum.
But what one can find at the museum won't be limited to audio or video recordings. Of
course, the place has to be visually appealing to people.
Actual artifacts are being sought to give the museum a feel of actually being witness to the
basketball games that have been played over the years in Illinois.
Much like Cooperstown and Canton.
Months ago, Firchau provided a wish list of items that would accompany the museum.
Multimedia items include the aforementioned oral histories, films, DVDs, school song
recordings, and old audio tapes and sound recordings of basketball in Illinois. Currently,
the oldest soundbite the museum has is a radio recording of a grade school basketball
game between Harding and Serena done by legendary broadcaster Art Kimball of WLPO.
Flat items include: basketball pictures (the older the better), programs, schedules,
scorebooks, media guides, newspaper articles, scrapbooks, rule books, pennants and
banners.
Apparel items include: letter jackets, letter sweaters, the letters on such, team and
coaching blazers, old uniforms, warm-up jackets and pants, cheerleading and mascot
uniforms, referee shirts and whistles, old basketball shoes, patches, pins, and buttons.
Other items include: old basketballs, autographed basketballs, megaphones, pom poms,
trophies, school pencils and beanies.
Larger items are also being sought, and are thought to be the most disposed of over time.
Such larger items include old popcorn machines, old soda dispensers, score boards,
lockers, player's benches, and the huge cut-outs of Illinois with lights for the towns – as
used during the State Final days at Huff Gym.
Such items were not meant to be preserved for years to come. So the effort to gather it all
together is a tough task.
Obviously what artifacts have been kept are kept for a reason, mostly for personal
memories. Then there are mementos of Illinois basketball that are floating around the
world in a capacity that has nothing to do with the true historical value of the item.
Rescuing these items and putting them in a place where they can be appreciated can be
done.
Take a search through the eBay auction website and conduct a search for your school
and its nickname (ex. “Freeport Pretzels”). If there are items that look like something that
can be placed in the Museum, take a look at the item's description provided by the seller.
Somewhere on the auction block is an advertisement poster for Medart Telescopic Gym
Seats. The particular poster features the newly-built Rock Island Fieldhouse (or the “Rock
Garden” as the locals call it). At the time it was built, the placing of the bleachers was the
largest power-operated gym seat installation in the country.
Potential buyers of such posters would buy it as an addition to an advertisement
collection. But since the Fieldhouse housed so many great Rock teams over the years,
this would be a good addition to the Hall of Fame's museum collection. (The buyer asks for
$10 with shipping options).
Rescuing items from Illinois basketball lore is even more difficult if it is someone's property.
In my work with Illinois High School Glory Days, I have been in many schools, gymnasiums
and baseball diamonds that have been neglected over time. Then when the bulldozer
comes, the items are destroyed forever.
Hopefully with an increased emphasis on preserving artifacts of basketball in Illinois, there
will be more successful, safe and lawful salvage efforts to preserve high school sports
mementos across the state.
What makes places such as Cooperstown and Canton the successes they are is that
people will come back after the initial visit because there is so much to see, and so much
that was not displayed due to lack of room. One of the goals of the Hall of Fame Museum
is to keep bringing people back for more.
The constant contribution of artifacts, oral histories and the uncovering of histories will
bring people back.
Would you like to help?
For anyone with questions or who are interested in donating memorabilia or making a
monetary donation, call 217-442-DUNK (3865), visit www.ilhoopshall.com, or email Firchau
directly at firchau (at) sbcglobal (dot) net.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and was the only person
under 40 at the historians meeting. He can be reached at Northernillinoissportsbeat (at)
yahoo (dot) com. --- Talk about what's written on our Message Boards!
| Northern Illinois Sports Beat http://www.northernillinoissportsbeat.com |
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| Those Who Know Northern Illinois High School Sports Know about NISB! |
NISB File Photo/Cody Cutter
Wharton Fieldhouse sits empty during a summer morning. The venue, built in 1929, hosts
Moline High School athletic events and was the Illinois Quad Cities's premier events location
at one time. The Tri-City Blackhawks of the NBA played here for a brief time before becoming
what is today's Atlanta Hawks.
Wharton Fieldhouse sits empty during a summer morning. The venue, built in 1929, hosts
Moline High School athletic events and was the Illinois Quad Cities's premier events location
at one time. The Tri-City Blackhawks of the NBA played here for a brief time before becoming
what is today's Atlanta Hawks.
Preserving Memories:
One Artifact At a Time
One Artifact At a Time
While personal memories can be forgotten, solid matter stays the
same ...
same ...
