School district names community center after longtime columnist Hugh McMillan
The gym at Evergreen Elementary in Lakebay has a new name as of Wednesday, and it comes from a familiar face around Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula.
Hugh McMillan is a retired CIA employee who, until recently, had been a longtime columnist for The Gateway. The recognition came just one day before McMillan’s 95th birthday.
“I was very thrilled. They gave me a beautiful plaque,” McMillan said. “It was overwhelming, it almost had me in tears. It was very touching, very rewarding. What can I say? These are all people who are my friends.”
“This was the best birthday present I’ve ever had.”
Dan Gregory, an assistant superintendent in the Peninsula School District. was at the June 16 event. He said he has known Hugh since he first came to the district.
“When I came to the Peninsula school district back in about 2001, I was an assistant principal at Peninsula high school, and Hugh McMillan at that time would be present at many school events,” Gregory said. “He was supportive of many of our events and activities and our students and families at Peninsula high school. I got to know him then, so it’s been nearly two decades.”
Gregory said the gym and its name will remain for community use even after the rest of the elementary school is demolished.
“We had a beautiful day, we had sunshine in the afternoon, we had roughly 15 to 20 folks there to honor Hugh as we dedicated the gymnasium at the current Evergreen elementary school,” Gregory said. “That will remain even as we build the new elementary school and demolish the old one. That gymnasium will remain and it will remain as the Hugh McMillan Community Center.”
A long-running column
As for Hugh’s column, Gregory said it was his writing that helped to connect people to students and teachers.
“It was an uplifting event for everybody involved, including Hugh,” Gregory said. “He is an individual that advocates for all of our students across the district. Over the years, he has been everywhere with his camera, everywhere with his words. He has shone a light on our students and our staff through his Kid’s Corner column.”
McMillan’s column was a long-running staple of The Gateway, though he had to step away from writing earlier this year, when he began to lose his vision.
“I am almost totally blind, beginning in January, and it’s not fun,” McMillan said.
He still looks back fondly on writing the column and getting to spotlight the voices of students.
“I just loved doing that column. When I could drive and see, get around and talk to kids to get their view on kids, I put their words in print,” McMillan said. “It was their actual words and for the kids it was a big thrill. ‘Look mom, I’ve been quoted in the newspaper!’ That’s really special.”
Some of his favorite columns were writing previews of upcoming productions of high school plays.
“I had an arrangement with each of the drama coaches at the two high schools and would be there for a dress rehearsal which I photographed,” McMillan said. “I was pretty insistent that the quotes just didn’t come from people on stage, but also the people who put the stage together for them to get on. It was a good story coming from all angles.”
He said it was those columns that helped to get the word out about the productions, which McMillan said were quite impressive.
“That would help to fill the auditorium and some of the plays were spectacular,” McMillan said. “Some of those high school plays were ready to be lifted right off the stage and put on Broadway. It was that good.”
He also said that he formed a positive relationship with teachers, who he thinks deserve community support.
“To be on a close and personal relationship with a whole bunch of teachers, these are the people who are preparing our future through our kids. They need a whole lot more credit than they’re getting,” McMillan said. “Particularly during this god awful COVID-19 mess. For the teachers, it’s tough.”
He said he liked to be recognized and feel a part of student’s lives in schools.
“Another big thrill for me is to walk on any campus and have a bunch of kids say, ‘Hi, Mr. McMillan. Hi, Hugh.’ As if I’m part of the family,” McMillan said. “That coming from kids? That makes me feel like a billion dollars.”
Looking back on his time spent writing, McMillan says that, above all else, he enjoyed connecting with young people.
“I haven’t done what I did to be noted. I did it because it was just a lot of fun, just rewarding to be with kids and be accepted as part of the community,” McMillan said. “It made me feel great.”
