Lawmaker presents $50K check to MHS auditorium project

MORGANTOWN - Del. John Williams had a sudden soundtrack Thursday morning on Wilson Avenue.

That's when a selection of members of Morgantown High's Red and Blue Marching Band - there for a photograph at the street entrance of the school auditorium - kicked out the impromptu jams with a few bars of the fight song.

"Man, that makes me want to go back for a day or two," grinned the lawmaker, a 2008 graduate who played trumpet in the band.

Either way, he was there to turn back time at MHS on the sunny autumn morning.

Williams presented a $50,000 check from the state's Local Economic Development grant fund to the "Stage of Excellence" campaign benefitting the performance space.

The auditorium dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1940 has fallen into disrepair over the years and is no longer safe to use.

It was the creative home to generations of students, including Don Knotts, the Emmy-winning comedic actor, and Trevor Nicholas, the Broadway and West End musical theater star.

Both began honing their craft under the lights there.

The MHS Foundation launched the $4 million-plus campaign to bring the performance space back to the spirit of the community center Mrs. Roosevelt first envisioned it to be 86 years ago.

Matt Bolling, an MHS Class of 2022 member and the foundation's current president, gave a nod to that Mohigan history, which has long had a boomerang effect on alumni.

"Morgantown High's a special place," he said.

"Graduates keep their connections here, no matter where they go in the world," he continued.

"This campaign is about ensuring that future generations of Mohigans have a state-of-the-art, modern, high-quality auditorium that reflects their talent and creativity."

Visit the Morgantown High Foundation Inc. page on Facebook to learn more about the project and how you can donate.

Preslea Sodomick, meanwhile, is already forging her own sense of history at Morgantown.

Even so, the MHS senior likes that the auditorium is getting a new star-turn. Especially so, she said.

"It's great that future generations of kids will be able to use it," she said.

Thursday, she enjoyed being in the moment with her Red and White bandmates.

She's currently head majorette, but came up the ranks playing clarinet - which is what she did that morning on the fight song.

"Never gets old," she said.