Naming Names...and Buildings

For many years a public facility could not be named for a living individual. Why? Think the wonderful Winfrey Sanderson Gymnasium on the former Coffee High School campus. Gov. George Wallace did away with that little law in order to repay his cronies with “lasting memorials.”

Obviously, nothing is really lasting. The name “Coffee” is fast disappearing from our area. The names of CSA leaders, no matter what their accomplishments after the war, are becoming extremely rare in the world of public buildings in any state. We expect a move to rename the John C. Calhoun Community College at any moment.

Yet the Shoals seems to have any number of generic parks and buildings. Pocket Park? Sounds...hmmm, adequate. Why not name it for long time North Florence businessman Carmel Olive?

The new dorms and other edifices at UNA? Named for streets? Well, at least they have a name. Universities are composed of smaller colleges which usually have individual names. There are at least four at UNA, not counting the College of Integrative Health Quackery. None of them is named. Why not?

Older buildings are named. Even newer fountains are named along with the lion habitat. Will the naming last? Unfortunately, no. Floyd Hall is about 50 years old and about to be razed. Time marches on.

In the mean time, why at least not try to honor those who have brought progress and success to this area and its university? There's no perfect person out there, but any honoree would almost have to have led a more spotless life than Florence native Winfrey Sanderson.

Shoalanda