Alumni and supporters gathered Saturday afternoon in Elkview to celebrate the new Herbert Hoover High School. It was a day for reflecting on the past and sharing hope for the future.
There was a ribbon-cutting on Hoover’s new football field, speeches from Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and a scrimmage between the Huskies and John Marshall. The festivities were capped by a concert from West Virginia native — and John Marshall grad — Brad Paisley.
It was a day that attendees won’t soon forget.
“I’ve been all over the state and the country, nothing is going to outdo this,” Manchin said. “This is the best of the best, to have this opportunity after seven years. It took us about three years to get everything moving in the right direction, then COVID hit on top of that. You imagine the challenges, and this community has thrived. It didn’t survive, it thrived.
“They stuck together. They believed in themselves. They say ‘Hoover Strong,’ but they stayed stronger than Hoover strong. This is basically ‘West Virginia strong.’”
Paisley recalled 2016, when he, Manchin and Capito drove through Elk River communities and visited the damaged school in Falling Rock.
“When we came here in 2016, this was the worst high school situation I’ve ever seen,” Paisley said. “The floor looked like the waves at the ocean on the basketball floor. Today, having seen it and what you’ve done with that, this is the nicest high school I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I cannot tell you how inspiring it is to see something that devastating and terrible turn into something so inspiring.”
Capito applauded the community’s resilience and commitment to rebuilding.
“The strength of the Elk River community is evident,” Capito said. “But, [principal] Mike Kelley told us ... their academics have gone up. They’ve won more athletic, drama and choir awards since the tragedy. It shows you how much they pulled together. With this beautiful facility ... the sky’s the limit.
“What happened was, the principal said that people, faculty and students didn’t leave,” she added. “Why? Because they love this area. They love the tightness. They like caring and helping one another. There were lives and property lost, but they’ve come back in great style with a lot of help. They never gave up.”
Kelley, a second-generation administrator at the school, has been at the forefront of guiding Husky nation through the difficult time.
“What it means for me is all about what it means for our students,” he said. “It means that kids who have done without for so long and still performed at a high level now have everything that they need — and probably a lot of what they want. I’m excited for them.”
The June 2016 flood killed nearly two-dozen people and displaced thousands across the state. It also sent Herbert Hoover students into portable classrooms, set up in the parking lot of Elkview Middle School, where they’ve attended class for the past seven years. The makeshift accommodations were a far cry from the 180,000- square-foot facility they now call home.
Kelley recalled how the students maintained a positive attitude throughout the once-in-a-lifetime event.
“I’m so proud that they stuck together,” Kelley said. “They continued to perform and didn’t make excuses. It’s a great life lesson to realize that some difficult circumstances are going to occur. A lot of us, and I’m guilty with my children, try to never let them have any adversity. We’re always trying to get things out of their way. These kids understood that, and there was some adversity. They pushed through it.”