Jun 30, 2010 By Carla Destefano 4 min read

A request that sparked controversy regarding the renaming of a high school auditorium will not be considered. The Uniontown Area School Board unanimously passed a motion on Tuesday to keep the high school auditorium named the Margaret A. Emelson Auditorium. The vote was 8-0 with President Vincent Winfrey absent from the meeting.

During a school board meeting held earlier this month, stage crew alumni from the school submitted a petition to the school board asking them to consider the renaming of the auditorium to honor Bob Caldwell, a theater coordinator at the school. Alumni making the request suggested that the stage portion of the space be named after Emelson. The auditorium is currently under construction as part of the school’s renovation project.

According to Superintendent Dr. Charles Machesky, he received several letters via e-mail and postal mail from concerned citizens urging the board to keep the name as is.

“There will be no move on the recommendation made to the board of directors of the Uniontown Area School Board to change the name of any part of the Uniontown High School,” said Machesky. “It is and will remain the Margaret A. Emelson Auditorium.”

The auditorium is named in honor of Emelson, who had taught at the school for 32 years before her retirement in 1998. At that time, she was presented with the honor during an awards presentation.

A flurry of activity began on the social media site, Facebook, after several Emelson supporters heard the news of the request to change the name.

David Wenger, of Downingtown, Chester County, created one of the Facebook pages, and said 130 supporters joined within the first 24 hours. The page links to the “Margaret A. Emelson Auditorium” petition at www.petitiononline.com, where there are currently 180 signatures.

Wenger said supporters of Emelson feel strongly about keeping the honor for the teacher.

“This is nothing against Mr. Caldwell. No one is being disrespectful to him,” Wenger said.

Wenger said Emelson continues to be an inspiration to those who knew her at the school, and she remains in touch with many of her students.

“It’s an ongoing process for her, not just what she did while at the high school,” he said. “For some of us, it’s been 15 years since we graduated and she is still in contact with us offering her advice and support.”

Kelly Dvorchak Loomis, a former student of Emelson, has been active on the Facebook page, urging members to sign the petition they had originally planned to present to the school board during the July meeting.

“The thing about Mrs. Emelson is that she is much more than a teacher. It was a great honor for her when they originally named the auditorium after her,” Loomis said. “We didn’t want to see that honor taken away from her. The way to honor one teacher isn’t to take away an honor from one you’ve already acknowledged.”

Doug Smith, who lives just outside of Washington, D.C., graduated in 1982 from Uniontown High School. Upon hearing the news of the request to change the name, Smith created the “Stop the Renaming of the Margaret A. Emelson Auditorium at UHS” Facebook Cause page.

He said 141 members supported the cause within the first morning after the board meeting.

“Mrs. Emelson lost her husband within the last year, so she’s been dealing with that, and now this. She was very flattered and honored at the time when they named that auditorium after her,” Smith said. “There are certainly aspects of the theater that could be dedicated to Mr. Caldwell, but you just cannot remove an honor from someone like that.”

Loomis said Machesky has been very quick to answer all e-mails and letters he has received regarding the matter.

“You can be assured that this change will never happen+” states a reply from Machesky posted on the Facebook page. “As a former student of Mrs. Emelson, I share the same sentiments of the many former students who have contacted me. Thank you for standing up for a cause that you and many other UHS graduates believe in.”

During Tuesday’s meeting, the board discussed perhaps developing a policy for naming and renaming buildings for similar situations in the future. No further motions were made.