Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Tribune article on Gardenville:
SOUTH SHORE NEWS
Community celebrates re-opening of nearly century old schoolhouse
BY DOUG ARNOLD
Special Correspondent
Published: November 11, 2015
GIBSONTON — Everything old is new again at the Gardenville Schoolhouse.
On Oct. 30, an assembly of Hillsborough County elected officials, civic leaders, volunteers, and citizens celebrated the grand re-opening of the newly renovated, nearly 100-year-old schoolhouse at 6215 Symmes Road in Gibsonton.
The event included a ribbon cutting, light refreshments and other festivities for about 100 attendees.
County commissioners Sandy Murman and Stacy White and Assistant County Administrator Dexter Barge represented the county.
“We are thrilled with the restoration of this great historical building,” Murman said. “It has been a long, long road to this day, but we recognized the significance of (its) architecture and heritage. Today is proof that community, working with government, can make great things happen.”
Opened around 1920, the old schoolhouse and property eventually became a recreation center and the land a park. The building was closed in 2005 when a new recreation center was completed and it remained shuttered until the renovation project got underway last year.
Gibsonton natives and local historians Pete and Jeanie Johnson enlightened the crowd with memories of attending the school many years ago. Pete Johnson noted that the big hurricane of 1921 nearly took the building down.
“Witnesses spoke of how high the water rose, all the way to the top of the cross ties of the nearby train track,” he said.
His wife talked about Nagie Nistal, a neighbor who used to operate a small lunch room for the students across the street from the school.
“She was a generous woman who made Spanish bean soup and Cuban bread,” Jeanie Johnson said. “Milk was often free for the children.”
Some days, she added, there were oysters and fish from Bullfrog Creek.
“We are thrilled with the restoration,” she said. “This is a great part of Gibsonton’s past and with the programs serving our citizens, it will continue to be a great part of Gibsonton’s future.”
Hillsborough County’s Aging Services and Parks & Recreation departments now offer programming at the schoolhouse. Aging Services were recently moved from the Gibsonton Senior Center to the schoolhouse.
The facility serves as a gathering place for the area seniors, offering meals to those eligible, plus health and wellness activities. Parks & Recreation will continue to offer arts and cultural programming for young people, adults and seniors.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funded the $830,000 renovation project through a Community Development Block Grant administered by the county’s Affordable Housing Services department.
For information on programs at the Gardenville Senior Center, visit www .hillsboroughcounty.org/aging or call (813) 272-5250.
