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Glover School To Host Reunion

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By RAY REYES, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 26, 2007

BEALSVILLE - Glover School alumni will share memories, trade stories and celebrate the history of one of the first schools established in eastern Hillsborough County at a reunion next week.

The two-day event kicks off with a reception and tour Oct. 5, when more than 200 people are expected to gather at the Glover School's 10-acre campus on Horton Road. The festivities continue Oct. 6 with a banquet at the Trinkle center at Hillsborough Community College's Plant City campus. Both events start at 6:30 p.m.

The reunion is 'a recognition of all who attended, worked and volunteered' at the Glover School since it was founded in 1934, said Gwendolyn Thomas, the executive director of restoration for Bealsville Inc., the group overseeing the historical site.

The public is encouraged to attend, Thomas said.

The Glover School hosted its first reunion in 2004 and again in 2005. Bealsville Inc. plans to host reunions every two years, Thomas said.

Proceeds from the reunion will go toward restoring and preserving the campus.

The school traces it roots to 1873, when it was founded by former slaves. It was renamed for one of its founders, William Glover, in the early 1930s and closed as a school in 1980.
Community leaders persuaded the Hillsborough County School Board to turn the school back over to Bealsville instead of tearing it down.

The Glover School is now a community center, Thomas said, and serves as a hurricane shelter. The school also served as a sixth-grade center before it closed.

The original wooden schoolhouse, built for $1,100, and seven other buildings still stand at the campus, southeast of Plant City.

Bealsville Inc. is expecting a $423,400 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Development in October to further bolster renovation efforts, Thomas said.

The money will be used to restore the exterior of buildings to the original look, Thomas said. More than $13,000 was raised locally last year by Bealsville Inc. for the school.

Along with the opportunity to reunite alumni with their former teachers, volunteers also are working to obtain private and corporate sponsorships for the event, Thomas said.

'We're extending invitations to anyone not only interested in the Glover School, but in education and history,' Thomas said.

Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 865-4433 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.

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