62 Years of Reading by Kyle McLaren
Among the newer buildings on campus, such as Buildings 7 and 8, there were older buildings that survived the 1990s campus renovations. One of these buildings was the Media Center. Completed on October 22, 1963, the Melbourne High Media Center was larger than the previous gymnasium and created an environment for more focused student learning. This was one of the many new initiatives Dr. Bartley Frank Brown implemented in the 1960s. In 1969, the Media Center was dedicated to honor the late John F. Turner, Sr, who was a principal, school board member, and even served as the mayor of Melbourne from 1945 to 1947. “Dedicating a building after a former staff member honors our history. You know the Media Center was dedicated to John Turner, and other places on campus were dedicated to other principals as well,” said Dr. Chad Kirk.
To celebrate the event, Mrs. Carrie Friday and the Melbourne Time Travelers’ Society collaborated to plan a celebration for students to learn about the Media Center’s history and enjoy other festivities. “We had to find a lot of free time to plan the event. We also had to be able to answer the questions [for the scavenger hunt] ourselves to know if they were right or not, and we also had to look for one of the oldest book that hadn’t been checked out in 18 years,” said senior Marcus Charles. “It’s very exciting! love that it’s such a welcoming space and I’m so glad to see the kids come in and find what they need and have a great experience,” said Mrs. Cara Hoffman.
Students had the opportunity to create bookmarks, complete a scavenger hunt, and interact with vintage electronics that past students would have used. “I think it’s really cool that we have a real-life typewriter here,” said sophomore Lilly Michaels-Moore. “My favorite thing was the typewriter. I got to use it and I have one at my house,” said freshman Miles Schaefer. There was also a "Guess the Number of Books" contest, where students could guess the number of books in the Media Center to win prizes. Freshman Mason Bealer had the closest guess at 15,676 books. “It’s pretty cool. I don’t remember making the guess, but it’s kinda like a surprise, so pretty cool,” Bealer said. From a room with many carrels and strict access, to a room bright and vibrant with staff ready to help and many resources for students, the Media Center has greatly evolved over the 62 years it has served the school.
Caption: Writing Like It’s 1984: Senior Arielle Wright tries writing on a 1984 Olympia International typewriter. “ I know essentially how they work. It’s stiff and you had to press really hard for it to work. I prefer keyboards, they’re faster to type with. I guess that’s why people typed so slowly back then!” said Wright. Part of the Media Center Dedication Anniversary celebration featured a Then and Now table, where vintage items like a 1962 Kodak film projector and the typewriter were displayed next to their modern replacements. Students had the opportunity to touch and interact with the items and learned how far our technology has come. “Students back then would probably think today’s high-tech media center would be odd,” Wright said.
Photo by Kyle McLaren