Wilson Kent: Restoring the Life of the Spring Creek School
Wilson Kent
This is Mr. Wilson Kent. He was born in Spring Creek, but lived in other places too. He never attended Spring Creek School, although his older brothers, Wayne and Omar, did. He liked talking to us about his family and the role he played in restoring the building into the Spring Creek Community Center.
This is Wilson Kent and the community dog, Princess. Princess brings a lot of joy to the residents of Spring Creek. The community pitches together to take care of her
We held the interview in the Community Room, also known as the Dean Justice Room. This is Dean as a freshman in the early 1950’s. Wilson Kent said Dean was the brains of the whole operation. He was the one who originally came up with the restoration idea. Dean, sadly, passed away before the project could begin. It now continues in his honor.
They organized the restoration project into 3 phases. The first phase was the long hallway, the Community Room, and this restaurant, Dave’s 209. Our PAGE team got to taste a delicious milkshake and some fries from here. This business represents something new becoming part of the old.
Part of Phase 2, the gym floor “was the hardest part” to rebuild. The gym floor took a lot of “man-hours” and a lot of money. This room is now used for events. The day we did our interview, a fitness class was being held in here.
This is Abigail, the interviewer of our group, standing in what used to be a classroom. Now, the outside comes in. In this section of Phase 3, they have only finished the old principal’s office. Mr. Kent expects that it will take 2-3 years to finish this section once they have the proper materials.
“Money has been one of the hardest parts.” This sign shows that money is still needed to complete Phase 3. We are hopeful that the community will be able to raise enough money to finish their project.
Listen to Wilson's Spring Creek School memories, captured by PAGE girls:
Wilson Kent tells us how he entertained himself during his childhood.
The Spring Creek School took a whole community to build it, especially local farmers and masons.
In this excerpt, Wilson Kent explains the different stages of the building’s restoration project.
