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News
By Patrick Browne
The celebrants have gone home, the lights have been turned out, the day has ceded its light to the darkness. What remains are the plaques and the stories, the echoes of days gone by and a feeling that despite the encroaching night, three additional points of light have been raised up to guide us on our journey.
Three new inductees joined the Forest Park Hall of Fame on Saturday, Nov. 4: Donald Boulanger, Barbara (Meyer) Trevarton, and Richard “Dick” Mettlach Sr. were all honored posthumously.
Donald Boulanger, whose teaching career spanned five decades in Crystal Falls, is also the author of seven books and served in the U.S. Navy, the Lions Club and on boards for city planning and local theater.
“Don loved life and woke up every day with the attitude that today is going to be a great day,” said Bill Santilli, Forest Park’s football coach and formerly Boulanger’s neighbor. “He worked to positively impact those around him and no one ever spent time with him and didn’t go away feeling better about life.”
Accepting the award on behalf of her father, Jen Furman said her father made a difference.
“He was fond of saying ‘Cherish the people around you’,” she said. “He led by example, and he never missed an opportunity to be in relationship with those who crossed his path.”
Barbara (Meyer) Trevarton, a 1946 graduate of Crystal Falls High School, developed a vocational health occupation program which was far ahead of its time and did so in an era when rigid societal roles often precluded women from leadership.
Her grandson Greg Goodman reflected on Barbara’s accomplishments. Her daughter Linda Goodman recalled the passion and zeal with which her mother approached life, as she accepted the plaque on her mother’s behalf.
“Set your goals high, adjust your dreams if necessary, pay it forward and know that each and every person can make a difference in the world,” Linda Goodman recalled her mother saying.
Richard ‘Dick’ Mettlach has a long history with the Crystal Falls Forest Park athletic program. As a teacher and coach, Mettlach’s legacy is well known. Each fall the football team plays on a field named in his honor and his coaching legacy includes dozens of former players who were inspired to lead after learning from him.
David Graff, former Forest Park football coach, reflected on Mettlach’s legacy.
“He instilled discipline as a key to achievement, taught that success as a leader is more than just coaching talent, but motivating and reminded us that Mettlach was quick to correct with the goal of getting his players to be the best they could be,” he said.
Mettlach’s son, Jimmy Mettlach, accepted the award on behalf of his father, surrounded by family and friends who came to support him in the honor.
In closing the evening, the de facto chair of the Hall of Fame Committee, Kurt Anderson expressed gratitude to those who came to celebrate the inductees, to the staff at Young’s and acknowledged the gratitude he feels for having the opportunity to share in the lives of those who truly made a difference.