MARFA — Friends of Hunter Gym, a nonprofit organization restoring the 1941-built historic adobe gym on Marfa ISD’s campus, is seeking Shorthorn alumni to participate in an oral history project about the building and its past inhabitants.
“The oral history helps to bring the building back to life, because it’s been vacant for a while, and it really does bring context to what we’re doing,” said retired architect and Friends of Hunter Gym President Mike Green. “The building right now is just an empty shell, but it contains those human experiences that are so rich.”
Hunter Gym was constructed by the Works Progress Administration which oversaw projects at the Blackwell School and Fort D.A. Russell around the same time. Thought to be the only surviving adobe gym built by the administration in the entire Southwest, the gym was closed to students and faculty in 2010 after the discovery of mold.
While the building remains well-constructed, several modifications made overtime — infilling of all 35 windows, a roof replacement that directed rain to the building’s perimeter and more — introduced harmful levels of moisture to the adobe structure.
By recording the voices of Shorthorn alumni that experienced the gym in its heyday, the group hopes to imbue the project with deeper meaning beyond repairs to its peeling plaster and buckling wood floors.
“They’re not just going to rebuild the gym, they’re going to have stories to go with it, and that’s important,” said Tony Cano, a Marfa High School Class of 1961 alumnus assisting the nonprofit with the oral history project.
Green said recording oral history interviews is an integral part of the restoration process, one that brings in new team members, gets people energized about the project and helps with fundraising. Since the building dates back to the 1940s, there’s also a sense of urgency to meet with the eldest alumni before they pass.
He emphasized that the project is “all inclusive and not just focused on the Mexican American community.”
“Some of these Shorthorn athletes are in their mid-90s. We want to hear their stories,” Green said. “The more people we can get involved, the better and more successful this oral history journey will be.”
“We want your story, we’d like to interview you for history,” Cano said.
Green said interviews may be conducted on the phone or in person, and the group is willing to travel to meet with alumni and perform interviews in Spanish. Friends of Hunter Gym will pursue grant funding for the oral history project, he said, and make interviews publicly accessible online.
The group is seeking to gather a wide range of experiences, from athletes that played under Coach Borden “Bodie” Hunter — the gym’s namesake that took the Shorthorns to three consecutive state basketball championships — to those with memories of “donkey basketball,” competitions where players shot hoops while astride actual mules.
Cano, who attended Blackwell school before integrating into Marfa ISD, said he wanted to get involved with the Hunter Gym restoration project because he thinks it’s a “very worthy project” that allows him to give back to his hometown of Marfa while preserving local history.
“I’m a firm believer in history, like Blackwell,” Cano said. “It’s very important to have the history of Marfa for the generations to come. They need to know what Marfa was like, what it is now.”
He said coaches he played under during his time at Marfa ISD instilled in him “the desire to do something in life, to not give up” and he has fond memories of playing basketball, watching the girls basketball team and taking the SATs in the gym, in addition to hanging out in the grassy, tree-shaded area outside of the gym in between classes and after school.
Cano said he is excited by the idea that Hunter Gym will one day be open to the school district and to the public again. “They’re going to use it for events for Marfa, meetings, parties, games again, open for so many things,” Cano said.
He has been busy tracking down Shorthorn alumni, and said one of his goals is to locate the oldest Marfa High School graduate that was present when the gym opened in 1941 — a difficult task considering that individual would likely be in their late 90s or early 100s.
In addition to the oral history initiative, the friends group — which began leasing the structure from the school district around a year ago — is raising funds for the development of a master plan that will act as a road map for the long-term preservation of Hunter Gym and pursuing grants including a Texas Preservation Trust Fund grant from the Texas Historic Commission.
The group also recently selected San-Antonio based architecture firm Fisher Heck Architects to help with the restoration project, a group with extensive experience restoring historic adobe buildings. A “limited, selective” demolition plan to address moisture damage and halt it is also underway, Green said.
If you are interested in participating in the Hunter Gym oral history project, please reach out to Tony Cano at 915-256-4014, tonycano32@yahoo.com, or 120 La Nell Dr, Canutillo, TX 79835.
For more information, or to donate, visit @HunterGymMarfa on Instagram, Facebook.com/HunterGymMarfa, or huntergymmarfa.org