The Southsider Voice
Visit us at these places!
  • Home
  • News
    • Top Stories
    • Sports
    • Car Nutz
    • Stilley Goes Trackside
    • Southside Deaths
    • Personal Recollections
    • Reminiscing
  • About the Voice
  • Advertising
  • Contact
  • Newspaper Archive
  • Classifieds

Armstrong Pavilion offers amenities to the public

1/26/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
These ladies socialize as they work out in the Armstrong Pavilion weight room.
By Steve Page
Correspondent

DECATUR TOWNSHIP – Don Coleman finished his weight-room workout inside Armstrong Pavilion.
He was accompanied by several friends, all senior citizens.

They spent much of their time walking repeated laps of the eighth-mile, rubberized track inside the massive building on the Decatur Central High School campus. They then moved to the weight room, where they worked out on some of the array of machines and stations.
Coleman smiled.

“This is the bar without being a bar.”

That, says Nick Jenkins, is just part of what the pavilion is all about.

“The majority of our members are senior members,” said Jenkins, DC Athletic Supervisor and director of the pavilion who is also a varsity assistant for the baseball team. “It’s a close-knit group that comes in. It’s a family-friendly environment. When school’s out, some bring in their grandkids. They’ll play basketball while the adults walk.”

The pavilion is more than a facility for the community. Much more.

“It’s a community center,” noted Justin Dixson, DC’s Director of Athletics. “It gives people the opportunity to get out of the weather. They maintain their health and can build friendships.

“It’s not only great for the community, but it’s another facility for our athletes.”

The pavilion, with a huge open area in the middle, was erected by the Metropolitan School District of Decatur Township in 1989.

It is dedicated to Marvin “Pete” Armstrong (1927-88), who was a student, teacher, coach, counselor and administrator for Decatur Township Schools, a span that lasted 32 years.

It’s quite the facility.

Circumventing the open area that is 215 feet long by 115 feet wide is the rubberized eighth-mile track. Inside the track, which is cordoned off by large curtains, is the multi-purpose floor that has two full-sized basketball courts. Near the entryway is the weight room, full of weights and lifting machines. There are restrooms, locker rooms and a room for trainers. DC has even used the facility for indoor track meets.
And it’s open to the public, Monday through Friday, from 5:30 a.m. to noon. The remainder of the time is devoted to Decatur Township schools.

Memberships are $125 per year for adults, $75 for seniors, $50 for college students and $30 for middle and high school students.

“We offer payment plans,” notes Jenkins.

Area residents are buying into those memberships.

“It’s great for the township to have this here,” said Mike Stoval, one of those senior members. “I drove a forklift for 36 years. I joined this on the month I retired. I gave myself a week. I was sitting down too much.
“I have neuropathy of the feet, so I need to keep moving. Walking does me good. Plus, it’s air-conditioned.”
Coleman echoed those sentiments, saying, “I’ve got COPD, so I’m on oxygen. The doctor told me I needed respiratory rehab. So I’m here. I knew these guys. We go to see car shows together. So I decided to try it.
“I see improvement. It works out. It’s fun to hang out with your buds.”

“They welcome new members,” said Jenkins. “They’re always ready to help. As a new guy coming in, they welcome you, so you’re happy to be there.”

Two of those veteran members, Norma Gaston and Ken Almon, concurred.
“This is a wonderful building,” Almon said.

“It’s very, very generous of the school to let their patrons use it. It was built for this purpose, for school and student uses. The community has gotten a lot of use.”

Gaston started coming to the facility when she was teaching at Decatur.
“When I was teaching, I would get up, come over here, work out, go back home, take a shower and go to work,” she said. “When I retired, they gave me a lifetime membership to the pavilion. I use it as much as my schedule allows.”

And the pavilion’s schedule allows.

“It’s for the athletes when they can’t be out on the field,” said Dixson. “It’s definitely a busy facility. Tennis, track, cross country – they all use it. It’s multi-purpose. It’s a nice floor for them, and we can do softball and baseball stuff in there.”
​
“Everybody gets their own time.”
Picture
This plaque, denoting the dedication of the Armstrong Pavilion, greets visitors to the facility.
Picture
The main room in Armstrong Pavilion dwarfs Athletic Supervisor Nick Jenkins and Allan Perry as they erect a screen to protect baseball pitchers throwing batting practice.
Picture
​Ken Almon and Norma Gaston enjoy their walk on the Armstrong Pavilion rubberized track.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories

    All
    Arts & Entertainment
    Lead Story
    Sports: 500
    Sports: Basketball
    Sports: Track

    RSS Feed

 DROP OFF: The Toy Drop 6025 Madison Ave., Suite D
Indianapolis, IN  46227  |  317-781-0023
MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 17187, Indianapolis, IN 46217

ads@southsidervoice.com | news@southsidervoice.com
Website by IndyTeleData, Inc.