Background

Here is the oldest photo of a Ghent School Basketball Team I have ever seen. It was loaned to me by Buck Johnson to copy and post on FB for all our Ghent friends to enjoy. It was given to him to share by Jimmy Froman whose father is one of the players. We talked about the picture being outside the school building and we questioned whether or not the old 3 story school building ever had a gym. We assumed it did not.

I asked the Professor, Bill Davis if he knew. Off hand, he also felt as though there was no gym, and he found the perfect newspaper article about the Ghent High School basketball team and a gym. "GHENT GENTS ARE GYMLESS" (Read the Kentucky Post newspaper from January 15, 1937.) The articles reads:

“Northern Kentucky sports fans who believe that gymless high schools are only confined to the mountain sections of the state had better take another gander before snickering. Ghent High School, located in nearby Carroll county, has no gym, but does have a basketball team. Located on Route 42, Ghent boast 383 souls, and according to the atlas, a post office, a bank, and a telegraph station. [Probably a telephone exchange at the time. too; IMO.] Five games remain on the schedule of the gym-less giants from Ghent. Of course all are on foreign floors (away games). The schedule shows Sanders, New Liberty, Eminence, Crestwood, Bedford and 2 open dates remaining.”

The players in this photo of the 1928-29 team are from L to R : Joe Bowie, Perry Froman, Harold Tandy, Louis Gex holding the basketball, Frank Owen, Russell Banks, James W. Fothergill, and Prof. Morgan Gillock. In the tradition of most Ghent people, this post is a team work of several, the school principal, the team, photographer, Jim Froman, Buck Johnson, Bill Davis, and me. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have. I recognized a couple of the players, and even more names but not all. There may be several descendants and relatives still living in the area you know and recognize.

Go Team, Rah, Rah.

from a Lee Hanlon post on Facebook