Sunday

Save Travis Gym

I noticed in the paper a plea by Paula Hatfield to save the old Travis gym from demolition.

She made two good arguments for keeping the building.

One is that we need it as a community gym, both for our older and younger members.

When the elementary schools are torn down, there will be that many less places for Little Dribblers to practice.

The one huge gym at the new elementary school will be insufficient.

The second argument is that we need to preserve our history.

History is what gives us a sense of community.

How many Snyderites have played ball in that old gym?

Even if they have moved away from here, they have a certain attachment to the building.

It gives one a sense of connectedness to Snyder.

That goes for the elementary schools.

I know many people who attended West Elementary who felt a sense of loss when it was destroyed.

I am not saying that we could have avoided tearing it down.

I am just saying that it affected people.

The Travis gym is another story altogether.

It is still a functioning building supplying the needs of our town.

It is an historic building.

Why should we tear it down?

Snyder needs its old buildings to retain its identity.

We have a movement going to save the Santa Fe Depot.

This also needs to be supported.

The depot can be a tourist attraction, but more importantly it reminds us of our history and contributes to pride in our community.

It is even sad to some that the West Texas State Bank tore down the 1950' s facade for their drive-in.

Back to the Travis gym.

The ultimate power to save the gym is the SISD school board.

I am sure that if approached in a non-confrontational manner, they would listen to all reasonable arguments and then make their decision.

Snyder is in the midst of a booming economy.

Times are good.

Let’s not forget how we got here and preserve our history and our architectural treasures.

And let’s keep the things that make for a good quality of life in a small community.