Principal's reunion epitomizes Myakka's connection with its school

As an 89-year-old man is known to do, Tom Redmon went off on a tangent April 5, talking about cleaning mortar off bricks as a 9-year-old in Wartburg, Tennessee.

The occasion was a get-together at the Myakka City Methodist Church, which hosted Redmon, the former principal at Myakka City elementary school 1980 through 1995. While the former teachers and students loved seeing Redmon, the event was also used to lead up to a walk-through of the Myakka City Historic School House right down the street.

Members of the community and the Myakka City Historical Society have been trying to renovate and open the Historic School House for more than 30 years, and it appears the effort finally will be concluded this fall. Hosting the beloved Redmon, who taught at the school, was being used to general interest.

Only Redmon's stories were focused in other areas.

The Wartburg story had to do with the building of the new Central School and the fact Redmon had heard about a way to make some money. He was told if he could get a hatchet to clean mortar off the bricks from the old school, he would be paid a penny a brick. So he went around the neighborhood, found a hatchet, and went to work, cleaning 1,900 bricks over four days that he put in a pile for the new school.

The problem came later. On the day he was to get paid, he was sick and couldn't make it. The next day when he showed up, his pile of bricks was gone. He figured there was nothing he could do, but he went to the builder and told him he had cleaned 1,900 bricks, hoping the man would believe him even though he had no proof.

"Write this boy a check for $19," the man said, and Redmon had the funds for the Red Rider BB gun he wanted.

Photo by Jay Heater

The story had nothing to do with Myakka City, but it did. You see, Redmon was a country boy who loved country ideals. He said he was a perfect fit for the school in Myakka City, which was as country as it gets.

Redmon then said he would tell a story about Myakka, but again veered off on another path. He talked about a near death experience he had in the U.S. Navy in which several fellow soldiers went to the hospital from an incident, all except him. One of his superiors asked him why he wasn't badly injured.

"The Lord was with me," Redmon told his superior.

"Who?" was his superior's reply.

"I guess he didn't know the Lord," Redmon told the group.

When the Myakka City Historic School House opens this fall, those who visit will share similar stories. It's not all about the original wood, or the flooring, or the desks. It will allow Myakka residents to share stories about the principles and ideals that they shared then, and hopefully, continue to share today. 

Redmon sat in a chair at the church as a long line of fellow students and teachers lined up to visit with him. Former Myakka City Elementary Guidance Counselor Merilyn Webb waited patiently, saying, "He is an incredible person."

Mill Creek's Robin Nichols (Redmon), his daughter, said her father simply loved children and was a country boy, which made him a good fit for Myakka. She compared Myakka to Wartburg, where she said, "People there are all like your family."

Photo by Jay Heater

She watched as her dad shared stories of the past with everyone in line.

"My dad loves people," she said. "He is eating this up."

Myakka's Zach Putnal attended the old school from kindergarten through fifth grade when Redmon was the principal.

"One of the biggest things I remember was his patriotism," Putnal said. "He loves his country. He would bring POWs to the school."

Those visits inspired Putnal to become a pen pal with a World War II tail gunner on a B-17.

Current Myakka City Elementary Principal Carol Ricks said has been impressed the way Redmon connected the school to the community.

"The school was the hub of the community," she said. "That's my goal now."

Part of that connection involved music. Redmon often would bring his guitar to school and play and sing for the students.

"I like that we can go back in time in a good way," said Kathy Wicker, a teacher who worked for Redmon in Myakka. "There were solid values and so much history. Everything was about the whole community. It was a real connection. I still get emails from students who say (the school) was the best part of their growing up."

Redmon is a snowbird now who lives in Mill Creek with his daughter part of the year and at home in Wartburg the other half. His advancing age could well force him to sell his farm in Tennessee to become a full-time resident in East County.

Such a change would bother him because, as he puts it, he likes to grow things.

Photo by Jay Heater

Whether he grows any more crops in Tennessee is uncertain, but on a warm Myakka afternoon, one thing was certain.

Redmon was cultivating memories.

Those memories should resurface later this fall when the Myakka City Historic School House is expected to open. Walter Carlton, the vice president of the Myakka City Historical Society, said the building now has running water and air conditioning. Some inspections and minor detailing is all that remains before the building, which will serve as a community events center and library, can open.