Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 3-19-19

Feature
Middleton Tigers Celebrate 85 Years
BY FRED HEARNS
George S. Middleton High School opened in September, 1934 in East Tampa, Florida to serve the city’s African Ameri- can secondary students.
The school took its name from the insurance executive who had served faithfully for many years on the Tampa Urban League’s Education Committee. When Middleton became a high school, Booker T. Washington Senior/Junior High School in the Central Av- enue District, became the city’s primary public junior high school Blacks could at- tend.
In 1934, Rev. Andrew J. Ferrell chaired the Urban League’s Education Commit- tee. Mr. Cyrus Greene was the League’s Executive Secre- tary. Today, Ferrell Middle School and the playground and recreation center three blocks away on N. 22nd Street, respectfully, bear these two men’s names (today the name is spelled Green).
Greene is buried in Me- morial Park Cemetery just east of the playground that today also is home to the Belmont Heights Little League. Mrs. Margaret Middleton, George’s wife, also is buried across the street from the playground at Memorial Park.
When the dedication ceremony for the school’s
opening was held March 17, 1935, it included several Tampa legends whose names have been kept alive today: the Music Committee included S. H. Newsome (Middleton’s first principal), Howard W. Blake (the West Tampa high school on North Boulevard is named for him) and A. J. Ferrell, Jr. (from 1959 to
1971 Ferrell, Jr. would serve as the original Middleton High School’s last principal). The elder Ferrell also served on the Parade Committee, while Greene was on the Floats Committee. Greene also worked on the Ways and Means Committee.
The Middleton High School Alumni Association held another parade when the new campus opened in 2002. The procession passed the original campus site and ended at the new site, 4801 N. 22nd Street. At the time it was said to draw the largest crowd ever (over 2,000 people) to a parade up N. 22nd Street. The school’s Alumni Wall was ded- icated prior to the ribbon cut- ting ceremony and the crowd gathered in the William O. Bethel (head football and bas- ketball coach from 1946-1968) Gymnasium.
And in celebration of the school’s opening 85 years ago the alumni association is hon- oring the ladies who wore the crown of “Miss Middleton.”
Thus far more than a dozen women who were elected for this honor have confirmed they will attend the Miss Mid- dleton, Kings & Queens Schol- arship Ball Weekend Celebration, April 26-27, 2019 at the Marriott Hotel West- shore.
The weekend’s theme is “Bridging the Gap: A Royal Legacy.” Shown here is Miss Middleton High School 1962, Brenda Gayle Gambrell. She and Dr. Cynthia Owens Brown (Miss Middleton 1963) are the only known fe- males to be elected “Miss Sophomore,” “Miss Junior” and “Miss Middleton.”
For tickets to the Scholar- ship Ball, go to Paypal-gs- malumnischoloarship, visit African Extravaganza at 1409 Tampa Park Plaza, or see a member of the alumni plan- ning committee. April 22, 2019 is the deadline to pur- chase tickets. E-mail fhearns@netzero.net for sou- venir book ad information be- fore April 12, 2019.
1962 2019
BRENDA GAYLE GAMBRELL
1ST Three Time Queen – Miss Sophomore, 1960; Miss Junior, 1961; Miss Middleton, 1962
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