GATES—All are welcome to attend the annual Gates Community & Gates School Reunion on Sunday, June 12 at 1p.m. at the Gates Community Center located at the corner of Gates County Road and Sargent Road/Victoria Springs Road. Troy Smith spoke with KCNI/KBBN and said the event is a great way for people to reconnect and raise money for the community center.
“This is our annual event. It’s a chance for alumni of the old Gates School and people with ties to the Gates community to get together for some food and fellowship. And then of course it’s also an opportunity for us to gather up a little money that we use toward maintenance and repair of the community center,” Smith said.
A pork tenderloin dinner will be served at 1 p.m. The cost is $7 per adult, $4 per child ages 6-12, and no charge for children under age 6.
The annual business meeting for Gates Community Center, Inc. will follow the dinner.
The Gates School closed in 2007 and the first Gates Community & Gates School Reunion Dinner was held in 2008. After the school was converted to a community center, it has been made available to area residents and local groups for recreation events, meetings, church youth groups, use of the gym for volleyball and basketball, wedding receptions, funeral dinners, etc.
Troy Smith said “everyone is welcome.” Contact Troy at 308-527-3483 or Chairman Greg Smith of Milburn at 308-749-2328.
“We’d like to see a good turnout and we appreciate the support we’ve had over the past years that’s helped us keep the doors open at the Gates community center and the cost of use to local people low because of the donations we’ve received from our supporters,” Smith told KCNI/KBBN.
According to the Gates Community Center Facebook page, the fundraiser held in April 2021 raised money to fix the roof and the roof was completed by December 1, 2021.
May 2022 Letter sent out to Gates community members:
One hundred years ago, in 1922, construction was completed on a room connecting two frame buildings that comprised the “new” consolidated Gates School, District C-23. Consolidation actually began two years prior, between the original Gates School and nearby White Pigeon School. In turn, each schoolhouse was jacked up on timbers, then lowered onto two wagons, each drawn by a 4-horse hitch. Each building was hauled a distance of one mile to meet in the middle, at the Gates crossroads site.
It also was about 100 years ago that a barn was built on the southwest corner of the schoolyard. The barn contained several stalls and feed storage area to accommodate the horses that students rode to and from school. A concrete storm cellar was built on the grounds as well – the only structure from that era remaining today.
The first consolidated schoolhouse burned and was replaced, in 1937, by the current brick building with the gymnasium added nearly 40 years later. Since the closing of the school and conversion to Gates Community Center, the facility has seen steady use for youth and adult recreation, meetings and family gatherings. From the beginning, the goal has been to maintain the Center’s usefulness to people of the local area.
Successful fundraising efforts allowed for the recent completion of significant roof repairs. Plans call for leftover funds to be applied to additional building maintenance and upgrading of the water heater and kitchen stove. The greatest ongoing expenses for the Center are utility costs. We’re grateful to all who have faithfully supported the Center financially. It has allowed us to address maintenance and repair issues while keeping fees for facility use affordable.
Please join us in celebration of the Gates community’s past and potential for the future.
A pork tenderloin dinner will be served, at a cost of $7 per adult and $4 per child aged six to 12 years. No charge for children under age six. The annual business meeting for Gates Community Center, Inc. will follow. Your participation is encouraged. If you have questions, feel free to call any of the individuals currently serving as directors, or write to Gates Community Center, Inc. c/o Greg Smith, 81998 Gates Rd, Milburn NE 68813.
Greg Smith, 308/749-2328 [email protected]
Angie Ripp, 308/872-5623
Angela Burnett, 308/872-6332
Brent Myers, 308/870-0369
Troy Smith, 308/527-3483
