Marble City residents describe demolition of old school gymnasium as ‘bittersweet, exciting’
“This is bittersweet. I went to school here and played ball here,” Darrel Rogers said, as he watched a wrecking crew demolish the old Marble City School building on Wednesday where a new community center will be built in its place.
“This is bittersweet. I went to school here and played ball here,” Darrel Rogers said, as he watched a wrecking crew demolish the old Marble City School building on Wednesday where a new community center will be built in its place.
Although watching the wrecking crew of MASKA Builders bring down the building using heavy equipment operators, Rogers said after the new building is constructed, “It will be nice and exciting. Marble City has never had anything this nice and it will be great for the community.”
James McAllister, superintendent of MASKA Builders of Jenks, was also on site to oversee the demolition which began on the rear end of the building.
“We decided to tear it down this way because it’s more controlled,” McAllister said.
“The total duration of the demolition should be completed by the end of today. We will still go through salvaging the marble slab for repurposing for the old jail which will become a historical site,” he said.
McAllister said some of the marble slabs will be used to make benches which will be housed inside the old jail located across from the property where the new community center will be built. Also salvaged will be parts of the wooden floor which served as a gym in the front part of the building. The rear end was used as a food pantry for the Marble City Community Food Pantry Program. Another portion closer to the stage was used as a clothing bank. Both programs will resume in the new building according to the people involved in overseeing the pantry and clothing bank.
Clifton Pettit, a native of Marble City who also who serves as the president of the food pantry program spent the entire morning videoing the excavation.
“It’s kind of sad to watch the building come down but then again, it’s also a good feeling,” Pettit said. “ There will be other generations who will have something to look forward to. I feel really good about this.”
“Buildings such as Marble City’s former school gymnasium are rich in community history and spirit,” Cherokee Nation Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner said.
Warner and Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin, Sequoyah County Cherokee Council Representatives E.O. Smith and Daryl Legg, and other tribal officials and Marble City Mayor Tamara Hibbard and other town leaders attended an informal event on Jan. 6 at the old Marble City gym to kickoff plans to demolish the old gym and construct the new community center.
“Parts of the gymnasium have been standing for more than 100 years, and those wooden floors have witnessed the heart and soul of that community on display for several generations. I am proud of the Cherokee Nation for recognizing the need to incorporate that rich history into the new community center that will be built in Marble City,” Warner said.
“We’re setting aside materials from the old gymnasium to be used in the new community center. When it’s complete, the new building will be nearly 23,000 square feet with space for many different uses including wellness space, food pantry, classrooms and meeting spaces, playground equipment, basketball court, cultural activities, outdoor gathering space and more. Marble City’s community spirit and history will continue to be on display for many more generations through this project.”
The $8.9 million center will measure 22,784 square feet, and will take 14 months to complete, McAllister said. Parts of the gym floor from the old building will be used for walls in the entry of the new center, the lobby and one other location. Parts of the marble slab will be repurposed as window sills, McAllister said.
