SCOREBOARD DEDICATED
SLIPPERY ROCK — Julia Hart officially turned on the scoreboard.
Slippery Rock High School softball's junior second baseman knocked out a precious memory shortly thereafter.
The new softball scoreboard at the SRHS field — installed beyond the left field fence earlier in the day — was dedicated in honor of Julia's mother, Glee Hart, before the Rockets' home game against Jamestown Wednesday afternoon.
Glee Hart died of breast cancer March 9. She was diagnosed with the disease Sept. 20, 2016.
“That scoreboard isn't there without Glee,” said Dan Hindman, Slippery Rock varsity softball coach. “It will forever be a tribute to her.”
When the softball field was first built atop the hill behind the high school, a scoreboard wasn't part of the original plan. As Julia and her friends began playing for Slippery Rock, Glee questioned the absence of a scoreboard at the facility.
“That always bothered her,” said her husband, Mike Hart. “She's a go-getter. When she wants something done, she finds a way to get it done.”
Glee Hart approached the school board and the athletic director. She initiated fundraising 15 months ago. The cost of the scoreboard was about $9,000.
When friends told her she was wasting her time and that it was never going to happen, “that just motivated her more,” Hart said.
At the time of her death, the funding was not complete. An anonymous donor kicked in the final $2,000, Hart said, and the scoreboard became a reality.
“It's awesome. Every time I look at it, I'll think of my mom,” Julia said.
She honored her mother in a special way Wednesday night.In the third inning, Julia launched a home run over the left-center field fence, the ball sailing past that scoreboard.It was Julia's first home run — ever. She wound up with three hits in the game.“I like to think that home run was inspired,” her father said.Julia has no doubt.“I know my mom was with me on that swing,” she said. “I had never hit a home run in my life. I never knew that feeling. I felt her presence as I jogged around the bases. It was a moment — our moment.”The home run was surrendered by Jamestown pitcher Madison Hillard, a teammate of Julia's on their summer travel team, ROC Elite.“You can't write a better script,” Hindman said. “I wasn't sure how Julia was going to do in this game. That pre-game ceremony was very emotional for her and her family. I looked at her before we took the field and simply told her, 'We have a game to play.' She smiled and said, 'I know.' At that point, I knew she'd be fine.”During the pre-game scoreboard dedication, the teams lined up along their respective baselines. Julia joined her father, her brother, grandparents, uncle and aunt inside the pitcher's circle as the national anthem played.Speeches were given by SRHS teacher Merle Whitmer and Darla (Wallace) Gresgott, a lifelong friend of Glee's.Gresgott was a softball and basketball teammate of Glee's at Slippery Rock.“Glee used to write me notes (in school) and she would sign them all with the word 'smile,'” Gresgott said in her speech. “She always tried to be uplifting and positive to everyone. That's just who she was. To quote a famous doctor, Dr. Seuss: 'Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.'”Julia plays soccer with Gresgott's daughter, Reese, and softball with her daughter, Paige.“We all feel like family,” Mike Hart said.
At the ceremony's conclusion, Julia flicked the switch that lit up the scoreboard for the first time.Hart went on to relay a story that occurred two years ago, when one of Glee's friends was to meet her at the field to watch a game.“She never showed up and Glee was so upset about that,” Hart said. “The friend later told her she couldn't find the field. She looked all over the school grounds for it.”From the high school parking lot, the view of the softball field is obstructed by trees.“Glee saw to it that everybody could find the field from that point,” he said. “She went to the school board and made sure a big sign was installed at the base of the hill, pointing in the direction of the field.”The phrase “There's A Reason For Everything” is scripted across the bottom of the scoreboard.“That's what Glee always said. That's what she always believed,” Hart said. “Even when she was diagnosed, she said that. She lived her life by those words. That scoreboard will remind everyone of her determination to see things through and take care of others.”His daughter echoed the sentiment.“Going through that dedication was rough,” Julia said. “I'm just glad my whole family was there with me. That scoreboard? I'm happy it's there. It's great that it's there.”
