Harrells Christian Academy Headmaster Andy Wells got to celebrate with members of the staff and community during the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the newly-renovated Betty Newkirk Sunshine Playground.
HCA renovates Newkirk playground, honors another
This is the other name that will forever be honored at Betty Newkirk Sunshine Playground — Lacey Elizabeth Johnson.
This was the moment they finally cut the ribbon to honor the completion of renovations and the re-dedication to Betty Newkirk.
These are just a few of the many who joined with Headmaster Andy Wells to commemorate the Betty Newkirk Sunshine Playground upgrade.
This is what the new playground unit that was part of the renovation looks like, as the student at HCA are already breaking in the new equipment.
As part of the renovations, a new swing set and xylophone were added, paying homage to the memory of another, Lacy Elizabeth Johnson.
This is what the new playground unit that was part of the renovation looks like, as the student at HCA are already breaking in the new equipment.
Betty Newkirk sits in her familiar seat when she was the face of the Harrells Christian Academy.
Students at Harrells Christian Academy have new ways to enjoy recess following the recent ribbon-cutting of the newly-renovated Betty Newkirk Sunshine Playground.
The renovated playground officially opened near the end of March, but HCA hosted the ribbon-cutting Tuesday to highlight the completion of the playground renovations and to honor Newkirk with a re-dedication.
“Many Crusader alums and current students alike fondly remember recess time spent on the Betty Newkirk Sunshine Playground,” an announcement of their Facebook page stated. “Aptly named after our dear Mrs. Newkirk, the playground has inspired great joy through the years and we’ve been thrilled to see such a special place receive a recent upgrade.”
The upgrade to the playground saw it receive a completely new play structure which included, three slides, monkey bars, sunshades, a climbing wall and more.
“We are in the same location so that’s unchanged but we slightly expanded the size of the playground with one large play unit that has multiple pieces to it, and then a new swing set,” HCA Headmaster Andy Wells said.
Another bright spot of these updates comes from the new swing set and xylophone, which pays homage to the memory of another, Lacy Elizabeth Johnson, who was born March 3, 2017 and passed June 26, 2017.
“The playground’s brand new swings and xylophone were given in memory of Lacey Elizabeth Johnson, daughter of Jennifer and Royal Johnson,” HCA said. “Both bear the words ‘Shine Lacey’s Light and 2 Corinthians 4:6’ which states, ‘For God, who said, Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.’”
Keeping with honoring memories, the new changes to the playground brought about the re-dedication to Newkirk during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Newkirk, who passed away on June 27, 2022, was instrumental in founding the school with late husband and HCA first headmaster Joseph Whitfield Newkirk.
Born in Green County, Pa., she worked at the FBI following her graduation from high school. During that time, she met her husband and the two moved to North Carolina where she taught in the Roseboro public school system and then Duplin County. They’d eventually go on to become key leaders in HCA’s founding. Newkirk remained at the school for the next four decades.
“She was the wife of the founding headmaster, but he died unexpectedly early on after about eight years here,” Wells said. “He died in ‘78 I believe, but she continued to work here in a number of roles as receptionist, nurse and kind of purchasing agent but she continued in her roles for 47 years and retired in 2017.
“She’s since passed away, but she was grandmother to all. She was the receptionist because she wanted to provide a smiling face to all the students as they walked in the door first thing in the morning. She took her role with that very seriously because she just wanted to make sure everybody felt loved.”
That sentiment about Newkirk was echoed even further in the memories of her legacy left on her obituary.
“She could always be found in her ‘Nest’ at the main entrance of Foundation Hall, where she greeted all that came in. The “Peppermint Lady” was ever-present at the school to make students feel better if they were down and offer advice when it was needed. She was a wonderful loving person who touched the lives of an enormous amount of people during her life on earth. Expressing her love for Jesus to others was essential as she walked through her daily life.”
In talking about their excitement in providing their students the new playground, members of HCA made sure to give thanks to those that helped make this all possible.
“We sincerely appreciate the support and dedication the HCA PTO poured into spearheading this campus project! Thank you to all who continue to participate in PTO sponsored events that fund special projects like this one which is so near and dear to our hearts! We especially thank Mr. Bud Newkirk, son of Mr. Joseph Newkirk and Mrs. Betty Newkirk, for attending the ribbon cutting and re-dedication ceremony! It was so great to have you back on campus with us!”
“We’re excited to have this upgrade to the Betty Newkirk Playground and to be able to provide new and safer equipment for the students we serve,” Wells said.
Michael B. Hardison at 910-249-4231. Follow us on Twitter at @SamsponInd, like us on Facebook, and check out our Instagram at @thesampsonindependent.