Some interesting feedback on choosing a name for Akron’s new high school, which will merge Garfield and Kenmore at a location yet to be determined.
As I wrote last Sunday, a handful of readers contacted me to push the idea that the school be named after Akron’s first African-American teacher, Herbert Bracken.
Reader reaction was far from unanimous.
Plenty of folks were fired up about the name, including East High grad Ken Bechtol, who wrote, “I had Mr. Bracken for social studies during the 1957-60 time frame, and thought he was my best teacher.
“His vocabulary was outstanding. One of his favorite expressions was describing someone who utilized polysyllabic verbalizations (‘big words’) as being ‘intoxicated by the exuberance of his verbosity.’
“He was one of a kind, and I think naming the new high school after Mr. Bracken would be a great idea.”
So does Lou Romine, a 1951 East grad: “There was no better teacher in that school at that time.”
Several readers lobbied for “Don Plusquellic High School,” based on the former mayor being the driving force behind the rebuilding effort.
Among them: former state Rep. and Summit County Councilman Pete Crossland, who said, “None would have been built without Don’s leadership.”
Although that name doesn’t work for me — in part because of Plusquellic’s tirade at a recent school board meeting when he insisted Kenmore should be kept open, a totally illogical move he was pushing simply because Kenmore is his alma mater — I do understand the reasoning. Plusquellic made it happen.
Fortunately, none of the suggestions was along the lines of many received by a school district in Florida that set up an online site to choose a name for a new school in Bonita Springs.
David Coleman of Sanibel sent me a link to an article from the Fort Myers News-Press, adding, “Just be glad the good citizens of Akron did not respond as those in Southwest Florida.”
The story says an astounding number of suggestions were anti-Semitic or racist, including a couple that were “too inappropriate to be printed in a public document.”
Thirteen of the recommendations involved honoring Adolf Hitler, including “Adolf Hitler’s School for Love and Tolerance.”
Ah, the joys of anonymity.
Although none of the suggestions I received was offensive, not all of them were serious. Wiseacre John Olesky, a Beacon Journal retiree who lives in Cuyahoga Falls, said he favored shortening and combining the existing names so that “when the sports team is trailing in a game, the announcers can say, ‘GarKen’s in a pickle.’ ”
John: Close, but no gherkin.
Not all of my readers are great with names. A phone message suggested we should refrain from naming schools after figures from Akron’s past because nobody remembers who they are — with the possible exception of the school named after “Sally Ride.”
Um, that would be Judy Resnik.
But his point was not without merit. His generic suggestion was “Freedom High School.”
Another loyal reader, James Valentine, an officer of the law in Medina, thinks the Bracken suggestion is off-track only because of geography. He wrote:
“You and your emailers present a strong argument for renaming an Akron high school, namely East High School, after Herbert R. Bracken.
“Having no affiliation with either Garfield or Kenmore, that line of thought fails to transcend to the merging schools. If Akron U and Kent State combined, would we call it Thomas A. Edison University? Likely not.
“The hyphenated name conjures memories of Central and Hower high schools uniting in 1973. The location of the former Central High School was used for that purpose and most people simply continued to call it Central.
“A similar fate would be unfair to Garfield or Kenmore alums. Though not a graduate, I spent 11 years in the Kenmore system before my parents moved to Medina County prior to my senior year.
“Then we also have the mascot question to address. Cardinal-Rams? Ram-inals? You get my drift.
“If you want to rename the new school after a person, similar to John R. Buchtel High School, I would think that a search could find someone who had ties to both Garfield and Kenmore. Such would be more practical.”
Well, James, regardless of what name is chosen, I am highly in favor of calling the sports teams the Raminals. The logo possibilities are magnificent.
Bob Dyer can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com. To find his podcast, “Dyer Necessities,” go to www.ohio.com/dyer. He also is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bob.dyer.31