By Sarah Stephens
Elmore Autauga News
Retired Stanhope Elmore High Coach and teacher Rick Samsal loves all things related to the school. He has put that love into the form of a $10,000 donation.
Principal Ewell Fuller said he cannot thank Samsal enough for his generosity, and a committee has been working on how to use those amazing funds in the best way possible.
“Originally, Coach Samsal suggested using it for the library and technology,” Fuller said. “But when it comes to technology, it changes rapidly. What is the new best thing today can be outdated tomorrow.”
With that in mind a committee set their thoughts on what is most needed at present, that would not be covered by normal funds.
They came up with the idea of a retractable projection screen with equipment for the new gymnasium. Samsal gave it his seal of approval, and now Fuller is working on that project.
“When it comes to the new gym, we are the only competition gym in Millbrook,” Fuller said. “But the gym has a wide variety of uses not just for the school, but for the community. With a new projection system and screen, so many of the functions held at the gym could benefit greatly from this.” Fuller said the current screen is not sufficient for good viewing throughout the gym. “It is tiny. I want anyone in that gym to be able to see what is on the screen.”
The amazing donation came up for discussion about a month ago, when Samsal called Fuller and asked a question. “Do you have room in your checking account?”
Prior to that, Samsal had talked to his bank, and learned he was receiving new checks. He noted that the first check included the number 81, which just so happened to be his football jersey number in his younger days. “It got me thinking,” he said.
“I knew that eventually, my estate would make a $10,000 donation to the school whenever my house is sold,” Samsal, said. “But then I thought, why wait? Why not do something now to benefit the school?”
Samsal recently met with Fuller and other school officials in front of the Mustang statue in the atrium for the official check presentation.
The EAN met with Samsal and Fuller to get more details, but we received so much more.
Anyone who is familiar with Samsal knows he has been around Millbrook for a long time. He said his family was transferred here when he was in the third grade in 1958.
“There really wasn’t much here back then,” he said. He recalled long-gone businesses like Huston’s Florist, Graff’s Grocery, barber shops and other family owned businesses.
He recalled renting a home next to the former Springview Pharmacy and living there for several years with his parents. Eventually the family built a home in Coosada, jut right down the street from another legendary SEHS Coach named Conrad Henderson. Henderson would end up being a major player in Samsal’s life, both as a coach and principal.
The first graduating class of Stanhope Elmore High School was in 1966. Samsal graduated there in 1968.
When it came to his future, Samsal said he told his father he couldn’t make up his mind. “I told him I wanted to either be a preacher or a teacher. He told me I wanted to be poor for the rest of my life.”
Once he entered college, Samsal said the desire to teach and be a coach took control.
After college, he became a volunteer coach at SEHS in 1972, and on the payroll the next year.
From that point until he retired in 2010 the only thing he never helped coach was the Track program.
When it came to teaching, he focused on history.
He is a walking volume of history relating to SEHS and the time he spent there. He recalled former principals, teachers, coaches with a big smile on his face.
But when asked who was the most influential to him, he was quick to name Coach Conrad Henderson.
He can remember when SEHS was still very new, there was a hay barn located near where the administration building is today. “Us skinny guys could fit through the doors, and some of us would get in there and shoot big old rats,” he said with a laugh.
He remembers when homecoming was called Mustang Day. “You had to have a school for a bit in order to have a homecoming,” he said.
Before the stadium was named Foshee-Henderson, it was simply the Mustang Corral.
When Samsal graduated, the number of seniors were double digits. Today the freshman class alone at SEHS numbers 351. The total number of students from 9th to 12th grade is over 1,200.
“A lot has changed. We have had so much growth, and so many things are different. But I like what (Principal Fuller) is doing here. I want to support it. I think it is great,” Samsal said.
As for Fuller, he said SEHS is blessed with a strong and supportive alumni group, something he knows not all schools enjoy.
“We are so blessed by this donation from Coach Samsal, and just so happy to still have him with us. He definitely knows some history and we love to talk to him about it and learn more every chance we get,” Fuller said.
Speaking of that history, Fuller is working on a project to interview some of the other legendary figures surrounding SEHS. Samsal is on that list, as well as many others. The plan is to introduce those interviews in conjunction with 17 Springs and the new football field opening where the Mustangs will now call their home field.
“We have a lot going on with that, and we hope to be able to capture so much history, memories, and preserve it all for future generations,” Fuller said. “We want to integrate all of that history into our new location at 17 Springs and keep it alive.”
