Book: Hendersonville High School Gymnasium 1937 - 2020, by Patrick W. Gallagher, Jr

READ THE RICH HISTORY OF THE 83-YEAR OLD HENDERSONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL GYMNASIUM AND REMINISCE OF A TIME YOU WERE ACTUALLY PART OF THAT HISTORY.

102 pages, softcover, featuring scans of many original documents and period photographs of the building and the events held over its lifetime.

ALL proceeds to directly benefit our HHS Seniors through the Heritage Scholarship program.

Author’s overview: The mid 1930s saw Hendersonville High School in desperate need of a new gymnasium. The old wooden unheated gym near the corner of 9th Avenue and Church Street was deemed a fire trap with bleachers that were not safe for seating spectators. The United States was in the midst of the Great Depression and Hendersonville, like most other cities, had no funds to build a new structure. President Franklin Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) was established to help communities fund public projects and to put America back to work. Hendersonville’s Mayor, City Council and the Hendersonville City School Board worked together to prepare and submit a WPA request to build a new gymnasium,

Fortunately for our city the request was approved, and the 83-year history of the Hendersonville High School gymnasium began. This book documents both the sports and non-sports activities held in the gym. Basketball play featured the Bearcats, Elks Midgets, the Henderson County High School Tournament, college games, and youth and adult leagues.  

When the games were over, the gym hosted Big Band touring groups during the 1930s and 1940s featuring some of the most famous musicians in the country.  

Hendersonville and Henderson County civic and charitable organizations made frequent use of the gym to host dances, antique shows and banquets to name a few activities.

The total cost to build the gym was $35,000. I think you will agree that the WPA, Hendersonville and Henderson County received a tremendous return for their investment.