Marchita Calhoun

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPH:

The place that I am going to talk the most about — and that had the biggest influence on my upbringing — would be the Middletown Community Center. The connections at the center made us look forward to going to Middletown High School. We were told the ins and outs of Middletown High School, and we were told how to act.

When I was in 11th grade, they built that Middletown High School, and it was quite a culture shock. Now that I look back on it, it wasn’t the greatest experience, but because of the Community Center, we had role models, and our churches were our safe haven.

The Community Center had a big impact on a lot of kids' lives. My third-grade teacher, Rosella Harper, was a big influence at the Community Center. They also had Mrs. Edith Mack, who’s now deceased.

Middie Pride, to me, is acceptance. My father was a Middletown football player and he was a superstar. Once people found out my last name, they kind of looked at me differently. Middie Pride is being proud of your high school.

When I walked across the stage, I was proud to be a Middie. And I can go to Florida wearing a Middie shirt, and somebody’s going to come up to me and say, “Oh, I went to Middletown.” I’m proud to be from Middletown.