"Picture Frame"

by Hurley C. Goodall

I have in my home a framed photograph of the first six State Championship Teams produced by the Muncie Central High School. The unique thing about that framed Photograph is that the frame is constructed from the hardwood floor of the Muncie Fieldhouse.  It is the same floor those teams played on..

The story of how this framed artifact came into my possession is a story in and of itself.  I was a member of the Muncie Board of Education in 1973, and the New Muncie Central Building on North Walnut Street had just opened.  There was a rock garden that had been built at the rear of the school.  I proposed that the rock garden be named after a long time educator and former Dean of Boys at Muncie Central, who also was a collector of rocks. The resolution was passed by the school board, and after the dedication on May 22, 1973 Mr. Zetterburg invited me to his home where he presented this photograph of the six teams framed with the hardwood floor from the Fieldhouse. 

"Billy Graham Crusade"

 by Debbie Haffner

It was October, fall of 1967. Muncie was hosting a Billy Graham crusade at the Fieldhouse. I attended the meeting with my cousin. She introduced me to a guy that came up to speak with her and some friends. I was a freshman in high school and he was a senior at one of the city schools. I noticed the scent of English Leather lingering nearby. He had big, strong shoulders and wore nice clothes. Every dark brown hair on his head was in place and he had the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen.

A few weeks passed by. Finally, he called to ask me out. We had a good time and continued to see each other. The weeks turned into months, and the months into years. Many of our dates were ballgames at the Fieldhouse.

We dated for eight years and then got married. We’ve been married for nearly 28 years. We have two grown sons that are wonderful men. Throughout the years we’ve attended many events at the Fieldhouse and at nearly every one of them we recall that fateful night.

So, the Muncie Fieldhouse has made a tremendous impact on our lives. Only God knows where we’d be right now were it not for that special moment in the Muncie Fieldhouse during the Billy Graham crusade in October of 1967.

            Thanks to my cousin for introducing us to one another and thanks to God for sustaining our family over the years. Wow… we’ve known each other for 36 years. That’s a long time!

"A Great Beginning, huh?"

by Dan Redkey

How can one take a lifetime of memories and cite two or three? I’ll start with the season tickets my Aunt Mary Lou Dodd had at least since 1948; Ramp 1, Section B, Row G, Seats 5-6.  I believe I started using them in 1958, my eighth grade year.  The first actual memory of he Fieldhouse was the 1953 Regional, when Wayne Van Sickle of the Richmond Red Devils hit two free throws in double overtime to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, 54-52.  Just for the record, the next two games I remember watching were the 1954 Milan game and the 1955 Semi-State loss to Attucks, 71-70.  In other words, the first three games I watched were all tourney losses.  A great beginning, huh?  The next memory I have was of an all-school band concert in 1956 or 57, in my sixth grade year.  I played the baritone which was as big as I was.  I was in the middle of all these kids, playing pretty well, I thought, and the director, stopped the practice, pointed to me, and said, “Play your part, starting here.”  Of course, what I thought sounded good with two thousand other kids playing along, all of a sudden didn’t sound so hot.  It was as if I just picked up the instrument instead of being in my fourth year of lessons.  When I finished, he said, “Ok, now let’s everybody pick up where we left off.”  My third memory was the Shortridge game my sophomore year 1961.  I had a front row seat and we had won 29 home games in a row until a Shortridge player hit a half-court shot to beat us in overtime.  The final memory, and the best one, was the Kokomo game in 1960.  Both teams undefeated, the Fieldhouse was over-packed, as counterfeit tickets were printed and sold.  People were sitting in the aisles, and there was standing room only at the top.  There were probably 10,000 fans at the game.  We jumped off to an early lead before the Mildkats (my spelling) called a timeout.  We went on to win 100-71.  One other thought indirectly related the Fieldhouse: The Bearcats could easily have won State Championships in 1953, ‘54,’55,’59,’60 and ‘61.  The were rated by the AP going into the tourney respectively 1^st,4^th,1^st,1^st,1^st and 4^th.  Not bad for childhood memories.

"A 9th Grade Walk"

by Elnora Puterbaugh

In early 1929 while the Fieldhouse was under construction I attended the old McKinley School on Jefferson Street in 9^th grade.

Since they finished the gymnasium first at the Fieldhouse we 9^th graders were allowed to walk 2 blocks to the gym for our exercise classes.

There we were doing the best we could with all the hammering and sawing making noise on the other parts of the building.

"The Globetrotters"

 by Peggy Grant

In 1953 or 1954, a family group of us were at a Globetrotters game, with all the usual hoopla and fun, and of course the Fieldhouse was packed. At one point, Goose Tatum, who was the big star at that time, happened to be directly in front of us, going through his funny routine, when suddenly the whooping and hollering came to an abrupt halt and for a second there was complete silence. At that moment, my 8 or 9 year old son, Dan Redkey, jumped to his feet and called out, “Come on, Goose, let’s go!” Goose stopped, held the ball he had been dribbling, looked up at Dan and yelled back, “Okay, kid, where do you want to go?” –and the crowd fell apart.

"The Secrets of the Ole Muncie Central Fieldhouse"

by Richard Donhauser

My wife and I left Indiana in 1973 and moved to Maine, raising our family of three children. I come back to Indiana less frequently now than in the past, but when I return to my sister’s home, who has remained in Muncie, we make it our duty to revisit our high school alma mater. As the youngest of three siblings I had the wonderful opportunity to experience activities while my older sister and brother attended Muncie Central High School. Many fond memories remain of those days gone by, specifically activities that centered around the MCHS Fieldhouse. Though things have changed over the years since I graduated, one towering structure still remains as a frame of reference to my high school era (1963-1966).

My memories include my sister participating in cheer block, a group of high school women filling an entire block of bleacher seats with strategically placed purple and white sweaters and placards that were used to form letters as big as the side of a house. Sock hops where you actually held hands as you danced afforded me my first high school heart throb. Shop classes were held in the encircling halls where one learned about type setting, drafting, and electricity. Pranks were always in order; we filled water fountain nozzles in the hallways with liquid soap only to stand at a distance to watch an unwitting classmate get a mouth full of soap instead of a fresh drink of water. Thunderous crowds of students, parents and fans frequently filled the cavernous structure. On cold, rainy days we practiced track inside the Fieldhouse by running around the top walkway. And, across the street was Goff’s restaurant which served the best darned sugar cream pie ever made.