Easy way to say thanks

An old friend posed the question.
And there didn’t seem to be a good answer.
“How come?” he said.
How come Portland has never provided a proper, lasting tribute to the only NFL player to call this his hometown?
How come a standout for Purdue University and the Cleveland Browns who went on to be on the coaching staff of the Kansas City Chiefs when they won a Super Bowl merits so little in recognition?
As with any oversight, there’s no good answer.
But there is time to rectify the situation.
Darrell “Pete” Brewster, former Portland Panther football star and member of the class of 1948, doesn’t get back to Indiana often from his home in Peculiar, Mo.
But he might be enticed to make another visit.
Our proposal: The football field at East Jay Middle School — the same field Brewster played on during his Portland High School years — should be named in his honor.
Brewster Field. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
And there are precedents for this sort of recognition.
The football field at West Jay Middle School is named McDonald Field in honor of Harry McDonald, a tireless and enthusiastic backer of athletics at Dunkirk High School.
The Jay School Board named the field in McDonald’s honor back in 1975.
Meanwhile, the stadium at Jay County High School is named for coach and athletic director Harold Schutz and the library at West Jay Middle School recognizes longtime civic leader Leo Glogas.
Pete Brewster Field would be a perfectly fitting addition to that line-up.
So what does it take?
A resolution by the school board, an appropriately placed boulder, a bronze plaque, and a ceremony letting Pete know he is still remembered back here at home.
None of those should pose a problem, and a generation that grew up watching Cleveland Browns games on grainy black and white TV sets on countless Sunday afternoons will have finally had a chance to say thank-you. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]