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Rosey Grier puts muscle behind restoration project
By PAULETTE LASH RITCHIE © St. Petersburg Times, published September 8, 2000 HERNANDO -- When 6-foot-5 former Los Angeles Ram Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier, who described his weight as "300 hereabouts," stepped onto the stage behind the historic Hernando School Thursday morning, his first comment was, "Is this going to fall down?" The big man was in Hernando as a board member of the Milken Family Foundation to help kick off an Inverness Primary School fifth-grade project that the foundation is funding. Scott and Sarah Hebert's and Robin Coolbeth's classes are helping with the restoration of the old school, formerly known as Lakeview, by planting native vegetation along the perimeter and preparing an area in the back of the school as an outdoor stage. "I think it's very important to preserve the history that we have and for kids to have a community so they can connect with that community," said Scott Hebert. He saw the restoration of the school as an opportunity for his students to learn to appreciate history as well as serve their community. Scott Hebert's connection with the Milken Family Foundation goes back to when he was the 1999 Florida Teacher of the Year and received a $25,000 award as the Florida Milken Foundation Educator of the Year. He applied for, and received, one of the grants it provides for youth projects. The $4,000, he said, will be used for such things as plants, materials to make the stage, mulch and gloves. When County Commissioner Brad Thorpe stepped to the podium, he said, "Rosey, you are big." Inverness Mayor Joyce Rogers presented Grier with a cup of candy Hugs and Kisses, "because that's kind of the way we are," she said. Inverness Primary School fifth-grader Nathan Chau presented Grier with a key to "IPSville." When Grier, 68, took the podium he was clearly out to motivate his audience, especially the young members. He asked everyone to repeat after him: "I am precious. I am valuable. I am unique. I am one of a kind. There is no one in the world like me. I am a winner." Then he added "And I am cute, too!" He encouraged the Inverness Primary School children to know how important they are. He told them to repeat after him: "I have great potential." Then he turned to Nathan and asked him what potential means. "You're kidding, right?" Nathan said. He told the children not to make fun of each other and recalled his childhood. "I was a cotton-pickin' peanut shaker from Georgia," he said. When he moved to New Jersey he was afraid to talk because the other kids would make fun of him. He wouldn't get up to talk until he made himself do so in college. He talked about his football days and made an analogy between getting touchdowns and completing the Hernando School project. Someone can grab a loose football and run with it, but he'll need blockers to go all the way. "What you've got here is a football in the air," he said, "no one can do it alone." During the program, Scott Hebert had five fifth-graders report on why history is important. Amber Mekelburg said, "It is important to preserve buildings, photos and books so that you can learn from them." Nathan said preserving the past is important for a variety of reasons. For mothers, it's sentimental. Scientists learn from it. And for historians, he said, "It's cooler to see it than to read it in some boring history book." - Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this story.
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