Published: April 13, 2008 11:35 pm            

AMEY TAKES AIM: Time for much-needed recognition

TERRE HAUTE — Four of the best people I’ve known will be getting well deserved recognition in this space this week, and I’m even getting a little help with today’s item that deals with the first two of them.

On Wednesday, the new gymnasium at Woodrow Wilson Middle School will be named in honor of Trannie Grainger and the late Mike Kennedy. The ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the new gym, and the public is encouraged to attend.

Having spent 15 years or so as a substitute teacher, I know that Mrs. Grainger and Mike were two of the reasons Woodrow Wilson was one of my favorite places to be assigned, because I knew I’d always have their support in any kind of disagreement with a student.

You’ll also notice I still call her Mrs. Grainger, which is only fair because she still calls me Mr. Amey (and she deserves the respect more than I do). She’s one of the nicest, politest, most intimidating (if you were foolish enough to misbehave) people I’ve ever met, and if that sounds like a contradiction you haven’t been fortunate enough to meet her.

I can say a lot of nice things about Mike too — but like I said, I have help. The following letter, edited somewhat for brevity, comes from Mike Dyer of Speedway.

“A lot of people only knew Mike Kennedy as a teacher, coach and later the athletic director at Woodrow Wilson Junior High School. I feel I knew Mike Kennedy unlike any other person, and would like to tell you my story.

“Thirty-five years ago I walked through the front doors of Woodrow Wilson. The first teacher I met was my homeroom teacher for three years, Mr. Kennedy. He appeared to be younger than most teachers I had had before, and therefore I believe it made things a little easier making the transition from elementary to junior high. After I got my class assignments, I learned Mr. Kennedy would be my gym teacher also. That made taking gym class more comfortable.

“In seventh grade I wanted to play basketball, and made the “B” team; Mr. Kennedy was my coach … I was not the best basketball player and was having some trouble with my grades, and spent a lot of time on the bench because of that. I remember him telling me I would have to make a choice between the girls and my grades or I would flunk off the team. I never flunked off the team, but only played in the seventh grade.

“When I took health class, I had Mr. Kennedy as my teacher. He made taking health interesting and fun. How could health class be interesting and fun for a teenager? He had a way of doing that.

“I went on to North High School, and sometime after graduation I had been out carousing on a Friday night and came home just around midnight. Walking through our family room on the way to my bedroom, I glanced down on our sofa and there laid Mr. Kennedy. WOW! What had I done now, that they brought back Mr. Kennedy to my house?

He opened one eye and I asked, ‘What are you doing here?’ He said he’d met my sister Diana that night, felt it was too late to drive home, and felt it was better to sleep on our couch until the next morning.

“Long story short, he married my sister Diana and they had three lovely children — Amy, who is a teacher like her father; Lindsay, who has coached like her father and works as a personal trainer; and Emily, who graduated from ISU and is still following her dreams just like her father. I was, then and now, very proud of the fact that I could call Mr. Kennedy my brother-in-law and a member of our family.

“Mike Kennedy will always be a pillar to Terre Haute’s sports community and his family. He volunteered many days of his life for Babe Ruth Baseball and Woodrow Wilson Junior High, and always wanted to keep in contact with his former students and players that have gone on to better themselves and keep his legacy alive. I feel that dedicating the gym in honor of him and Trannie Grainger will keep both of their legacies going to better the youth of Terre Haute.”

I couldn’t have said it any better myself — and certainly not as intimately — so I thank Mike Dyer for that. He says he remembers me as one of his subs, but I don’t remember him as well. (He probably stayed out of trouble, unlike the ones whose names I always had to know.)

And remember, two more heroes will be featured later this week.



Andy Amey can be reached after 4 p.m. for comments or news items at (812) 231-4277 or at 1-800-783-8742; by e-mail at andy.amey@tribstar.com; by mail at P.O. Box 149, Terre Haute, 47808; or by fax at (812) 231-4321.

        

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