The reconstruction of the Lockhart Street Bowl track was a true community effort.
Now officials with the Sayre Area School District are offering local residents and businesses an opportunity to not only be recognized, but also contribute funds to the district’s foundation.
Through the purchase of tiles to be placed on a wall in the stadium, similar in concept to the brick entry plaza at the Sayre Theatre, residents and businesses are provided a forum to show their support of the Lockhart Street Bowl and the district.
Residents can also purchase tiles in honor of a loved one.
All the funds from the sale of these tiles go to the district’s foundation, which is used to help out with activities in the district.
“Back when the track project was first started there were a few people in the district who were really hands-on with the project,” said District Athletic Director Dana Twigg. “The part that I was mostly hands-on with was working with (Dr.) Lynn Smaha. He was very interested in making sure that this project actually happened.”
During the numerous conversations between the two they always discussed the different ways that money could be raised for this endeavor, said Twigg.
“One of the things that we had discussed was the possibility of doing a tile wall,” said Twigg. “At the time we didn’t know about the particular process. We thought about the kind that you see all the time, the engraved bricks.”
A short time later Dr. Smaha passed away, but Twigg said he wanted to keep their idea alive.
“He was very excited about the idea of doing a tile project,” said Twigg.
With the assistance of representatives of Big Foote’s Sporting Goods in Waverly, the tile project moved forward, with the first major donation coming from Smaha’s wife, Angie, who purchased the entire center tile of the display, said Twigg.
“We dedicated the center (tile) to Lynn and his vision on the whole track project,” he said.
There are three types of tiles that make up this endeavor — four-by-four-inch tiles that come in red or blue, four-by-six-inch white, rectangular tiles, and 12-by-12-inch white tiles located on the corners of the display, said Twigg.
“The small tiles we wanted to make affordable so anybody could get them, ... because everybody has a connection to the Lockhart Street Bowl in Sayre,” he said. “It is just a landmark, and there is a lot of history here.”
The four-by-four-inch tiles are priced at $50 apiece, with the rectangular tiles being priced $250, said Twigg. The 12-by-12 tiles were priced at $500.
“As people found out about it they got really excited about it, and that (has resulted in) the mural that we have now,” he said. “It has been really quite a project, so this is just a little piece of the project that we know of as the track renovation.”
There are still spaces available in the mural for people to purchase tiles, specifically the four-by-four-inch tiles or the four-by-six-inch tiles, said Twigg.
“It is project that is ... still in progress,” he said, “and there are still some plans to add on to it in the future, but for now there are a limited number of tiles left. We would love to have anybody that has a connection to Sayre to get involved and get their name on the track, and be part of this great thing that we call the track renovation project.”
For more information on the purchase of the tiles, interested individuals are asked to contact the district’s administrative offices at (570) 888-7615.
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Warren Howeler can be reached at whoweler@morning-times.com.