ALUMNI SHOWCASE RAISES $2,500 FOR RESTORATION

A check for $2,500 was presented to Rick McClard, Jackson High School principal, on behalf of the "Leap Year" Alumni Showcase performers and the JHS Choirs Thursday.

The check makes up about 25 percent of the total cost for new lighting in the historic 1939 auditorium.

"We plan to try a similar project next year, plus we are hoping for some additional donations," said Jean Schweain, choral director and showcase organizer. "We so appreciate all the alumni who gave their time, travel expenses, and talents to bring us this year's showcase. They were all so gracious in accepting our invitation -- some even juggled prior commitments to participate.

"We also appreciate the tremendous support of the community. It is so exciting to open the curtain, and find a packed house.' Thanks!"

A number of former JHS choral students returned to the school to perform March 5 -- as did this year's choirs.

Schweain said the standing-room-only crowd and the performers "experienced an afternoon of great music, great fun, and a wonderful time of reminiscing" Sunday.

"There was a warm nostalgic mood present as performers and audience alike gathered, not only for a concert, but also in an effort to raise some of the money needed for the auditorium."

Restoration work has moved forward steadily, if slowly, on the auditorium. Production-related concerns still need to be addressed, though, to make the WPA project a state-of-the-art performance hall.

"It is such a wonderful old theater, with many artistic extras not found in today's modem structures," Schweain said. "The refinished and cushioned seats, the newly carpeted aisles, the fresh paint, the trim, and the new stage curtains have restored much of its original beauty.

"However, the lighting is the same system installed in 1939. It is old, out-of-date, and in disrepair. Of course, the room was never equipped with built-in sound.' Mics, electric guitars, and keyboards were all but unheard of in the 30's."

The auditorium is a challenging place for singers or actors to work.

"We need to also address that need sometime in the future," Schweain said. "The kids work so hard to produce and perform quality plays and musicals; but to really keep up with today's standards, we must try to keep up with the today's technology."

Several concerts, plays, recitals, pageants, and "crownings" are held in the auditorium each year. It is also used regularly for presentations, speeches, and classroom projects. Backers of the auditorium renovation are not holding their breaths, waiting for the R-2 District to pump funds into the project.

"We realize the R-2 School District has its hands full' and owes its financial obligations to MANY pressing issues," Schweain said. "There is a constant need for more space, more buildings, and more instructors for our rapidly growing school population. There is also the continual need to update and purchase additional classroom computers and other technology for our students. Hopefully, the April 4 Bond Issue will help alleviate some of these emergency issues.

"In the meantime, our high school choral department has accepted the challenge of trying to regenerate interest in the auditorium project. The kids love performing there, and the alumni were full of stories and memories of their high school days on that stage."

Watch the newspaper for upcoming events scheduled this spring in the auditorium: the Drama Club's Shakespearean plays March 17-18, contest recitals in April, and the annual Pop Concert in May.