When you say the old Nevada City High School most people give you a quizzical look. Most will think that you mean the Nevada Union Joint High School located on Ridge Road. But no, after all the Ridge Road site has been there since the mid-sixty's. Before that both Nevada City and Grass Valley had their own high schools. It must have added to the rival between the two Gold Rush towns. With everybody going to the same high school since the that point in the 60's it would seem that jesting between the two would have subsided....and it mostly has. Grass Valley still has part of their high school, a gym surrounded by parking lots and an athletic field. It is part of the modern day high school district and is called Empire High School. The one large building has classrooms and a gym. The gym is not only used by the high school it gets great use by the community at large. Gyms are very rare in Western Nevada County. Nevada City High School is long gone and it was on the site that Gold Run School now occupies on Zion Street.
The photo above is the shoulder patch on a complete Nevada City High School Band uniform that Sparky found in a Grass Valley thrift store in 1977. There is no proof that this "Yellow Jackets" jacket and complete uniform is the only one left in the entire universe as he proclaims. But it could be ! Hired by Youth Self Help co-directer Mike
Snegg as the organization recreational directer Sparky, had the time had no idea his life was changed for ever. Youth Self Help had taken over the old high school and was providing many services for not only local youth but adults as well. Funded by both public and private grants it was the second largest organization of its type in California. At the time in the very late 70's it sported a budget of $ 250,000.00, real money in those days. And the large cavernous gym even after years of neglect was a gym rat's dream.
The above photo shows the north side of the original brick two story Nevada City High School. By the time Youth Self Help had taken over the site this portion could not be occupied. The whole site was owned by Nevada County which had been purchased for a new government center. By then Nevada County was growing at a fast clip and county leaders knew that the old high school site would be to small for their future needs. At the time most Nevada County operations were located in the art deco courthouse and it's 1960's annex which held the county jail. Nevada County would years later build the current Eric Rood Center, Wayne Brown Jail and Madelyn Helling Library along Highway 49 where it is located today. A site that is vastly larger than the old high school site.
This photo shows the gym on the right which was connected by two wings that attached to the old original building. That design provided for an interior uncovered court yard. Sparky along with his art degree had earned a recreational management degree as well. And if that was not enough he spent most, if not all of his college years " recreating". So he felt more than qualified to do what was required. And it was HIS gym now ! So he founded the Nevada County Volleyball Association. With great help from Susan Barry the league grew beyond all expectations. Some thirty plus years the association is going strong here in Western Nevada County. Starting first with a co-ed league and then on to
separate women and men leagues, the gym once again was rocking. Things at first where not all "first class " as the volleyball standards (poles) were metal poles stuck in tires filled with cement. Which would never allow the net to be ever the same height night after night. The gym was not heated, the roof leaked and the lights had a mind of their own. This would lead to players wearing jackets, slipping at times and at times playing in the semi darkness. Despite these events it proved to be the most fun and soon more wanted to play than there was room for.
Sparky's playing skills gave him the nickname " The Claw" for his ball handling
prowess. And also "Credit Card" for his jumping skills. It seems that no one was sure if
upon his " leaping" if you could put a credit card between his shoe's and the floor. Stating that he started the league and his own team's so that no one could throw him out of the gym, Sparky played for 16 years. But recruit he could ! Many Men's B championships came mostly under the Team
McGee's banner. And the Co-ed teams were the most watched team, not so much for their playing skills but for the great looking co-eds.
The old Chevy truck above was Youth Self Helps official and only
vehicle. It said a lot about the organization that wanted to put the money to were it was most needed...it's clients. That truck was driven by Ken Crow who was a hell of a man, one who always helped keep the old gym working. He also had the best blues show ever on radio. That being on Nevada City's
KVMR Community Radio. The football field on the grounds soon sprang to life as Sparky founded the Twin Cities Flag Football League. A seven-man league it proved to be one of the best of it's kind in Northern California. Young's Flooring and The Bank Club stood out regionally, but it proved to be the most quality league top to bottom. The Gold Cup Tournament a 16-team event brought league champions from all over Northern California. Friends were made all over; two notables are Bob
Biggs Head Coach of
UC Davis and Mike
Bellotti head coach of the University of Oregon. Both played against the local teams. Finally Sparky founded the first women's recreational basketball league in Nevada County. During his tenure as coach of the Sports Anyone? team they won the league's championship. It did not hurt that the team had a former
Michigan State player who could by herself score 35 points of the team's 45. Just think of today's Los Angeles
Lakers....somethings never change !
The photo above is the shoulder patch on a complete Nevada City High School Band uniform that Sparky found in a Grass Valley thrift store in 1977. There is no proof that this "Yellow Jackets" jacket and complete uniform is the only one left in the entire universe as he proclaims. But it could be ! Hired by Youth Self Help co-directer Mike Snegg as the organization recreational directer Sparky, had the time had no idea his life was changed for ever. Youth Self Help had taken over the old high school and was providing many services for not only local youth but adults as well. Funded by both public and private grants it was the second largest organization of its type in California. At the time in the very late 70's it sported a budget of $ 250,000.00, real money in those days. And the large cavernous gym even after years of neglect was a gym rat's dream.
The above photo shows the north side of the original brick two story Nevada City High School. By the time Youth Self Help had taken over the site this portion could not be occupied. The whole site was owned by Nevada County which had been purchased for a new government center. By then Nevada County was growing at a fast clip and county leaders knew that the old high school site would be to small for their future needs. At the time most Nevada County operations were located in the art deco courthouse and it's 1960's annex which held the county jail. Nevada County would years later build the current Eric Rood Center, Wayne Brown Jail and Madelyn Helling Library along Highway 49 where it is located today. A site that is vastly larger than the old high school site.
This photo shows the gym on the right which was connected by two wings that attached to the old original building. That design provided for an interior uncovered court yard. Sparky along with his art degree had earned a recreational management degree as well. And if that was not enough he spent most, if not all of his college years " recreating". So he felt more than qualified to do what was required. And it was HIS gym now ! So he founded the Nevada County Volleyball Association. With great help from Susan Barry the league grew beyond all expectations. Some thirty plus years the association is going strong here in Western Nevada County. Starting first with a co-ed league and then on to separate women and men leagues, the gym once again was rocking. Things at first where not all "first class " as the volleyball standards (poles) were metal poles stuck in tires filled with cement. Which would never allow the net to be ever the same height night after night. The gym was not heated, the roof leaked and the lights had a mind of their own. This would lead to players wearing jackets, slipping at times and at times playing in the semi darkness. Despite these events it proved to be the most fun and soon more wanted to play than there was room for. Sparky's playing skills gave him the nickname " The Claw" for his ball handling prowess. And also "Credit Card" for his jumping skills. It seems that no one was sure if upon his " leaping" if you could put a credit card between his shoe's and the floor. Stating that he started the league and his own team's so that no one could throw him out of the gym, Sparky played for 16 years. But recruit he could ! Many Men's B championships came mostly under the Team McGee's banner. And the Co-ed teams were the most watched team, not so much for their playing skills but for the great looking co-eds.
The old Chevy truck above was Youth Self Helps official and only vehicle. It said a lot about the organization that wanted to put the money to were it was most needed...it's clients. That truck was driven by Ken Crow who was a hell of a man, one who always helped keep the old gym working. He also had the best blues show ever on radio. That being on Nevada City's KVMR Community Radio. The football field on the grounds soon sprang to life as Sparky founded the Twin Cities Flag Football League. A seven-man league it proved to be one of the best of it's kind in Northern California. Young's Flooring and The Bank Club stood out regionally, but it proved to be the most quality league top to bottom. The Gold Cup Tournament a 16-team event brought league champions from all over Northern California. Friends were made all over; two notables are Bob Biggs Head Coach of UC Davis and Mike Bellotti head coach of the University of Oregon. Both played against the local teams. Finally Sparky founded the first women's recreational basketball league in Nevada County. During his tenure as coach of the Sports Anyone? team they won the league's championship. It did not hurt that the team had a former Michigan State player who could by herself score 35 points of the team's 45. Just think of today's Los Angeles Lakers....somethings never change !
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