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GADSDEN, Ala. (AP) — If you closed your eyes and listened, you might have imagined yourself in a dugout, on a sideline, on a race course or in a press box.
It actually was a small room at the Gadsden Public Library, made more cramped by a booth set up Tuesday for local athletes, coaches or fans to share and preserve decades worth of sports memories.
They will be included in "Hometown Teams," a Smithsonian Institution Museum on Main Street traveling exhibit that will be on display at the library from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 3 through April 14.
The exhibit examines the social and cultural role of sports and athletics in small-town America throughout the country's history.
To add a personal touch, representatives of the University of Alabama's Center for Public Television & Radio brought "The Box" to Gadsden. The unit is equipped with high-tech video and sound recorders, and allows people to tell their stories in privacy.
Seventeen people took part. The audio and video gathered will be edited at the UA center and returned to the library for inclusion in its historical archive. The audio also will be played during the exhibit, for visitors to listen to.
"Craig (Scott, adult services librarian and project director) had someone lined up at 9 o'clock when we got here," said Wendy Reed of the UA center. "You're not lacking for sports stories here."
Participants first responded to questions from the center representatives, which ranged from the importance of winning, safety issues, the participation of girls and women in sports and the amount of pressure placed on athletes these days, to "Who are your heroes" and "Why is Gadsden a good sports town?"
They then got to share their personal tales, which also were wide-ranging.
Gary Bolton of Southside, who spent more than a half-century coaching youth baseball and football, recalled the athletes he coached who went on to play in college, including David Smith, Freddie Kitchens, Freddy Weygand, Kyle Collins and the late Rodney Long in football, and Evan Bush in baseball.
Asked what makes a good coach, Bolton said, "It's someone who knows the game and knows the kids, and tries to teach them to play to the best of their ability."
He said it's most satisfying to take someone with few skills and develop that person into a good player.
Bill Browning talked of sailboat racing in New York — he's written a book about those experiences — and about bike riding as part of Team Brooklyn and competing against Greg Lemond, three-time Tour de France champion; Eric Heiden, also an Olympic gold medalist in speed skating; and Jonathan Boyer, the first American to ride in the Tour de France.
He recalled a humorous incident in a street race in New York, in which Heiden slammed into a sawhorse barrier to avoid hitting a woman who was crossing Fifth Avenue in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, oblivious to the 150 or so cyclists bearing down on her.
Browning said Heiden in an interview afterward described it as "a heck of a way to meet girls."
Gadsden is the first venue for "Hometown Teams." The exhibit also will travel to Haleyville, Brewton, Anniston, Livingston and Enterprise, and the UA center will be documenting local stories there as well.
"Museum on Main Street is a scaled-down exhibit designed by Smithsonian Institute curators and staff that tours smaller cities and rural communities throughout the nation, giving everyone a chance to see an actual Smithsonian exhibit up close and personal," Library Director Amanda Jackson said in a news release. "It is an opportunity they might not have otherwise."
The tour is a partnership of the Smithsonian and the Alabama Humanities Foundation, with support from Alabama Power Foundation, AAA Cooper Transport and Honda Manufacturing of Alabama.
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Information from: The Gadsden Times, http://www.gadsdentimes.com
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