By Julie McCay Turner
During Saturday’s ceremony to dedicate the Miss G field and its new scoreboard, Mike Rosenberg recalled the legendary Helen Gfroerer who touched the lives of several generations of Bedford students. “Miss G was remarkable because of how much she did with so little,” said Rosenberg. “There were no fields when Bedford High School opened in 1955, and the gym wasn’t finished until the first day of school.”
A partisan for women’s sports well before Title IX, Miss G taught physical education at Bedford High School for 31 years and coached for more than 40. She built the foundation of women’s phys ed and athletics at BHS, laying the groundwork for so many others’ success, including Dave Wilson, Bev Barton, Joe Patuleia, and Ann Billouin. A charter member of the BHS Sports Hall of Fame, Miss G was inducted in 2006 because “she transcended wins, losses, and other traditional metrics for success.”
“Everyone between the ages of 40 and 80 connected with BHS sports knows who we mean when we refer to Miss G,” concluded Rosenberg. And now, so will girls and young women coming up through the Rec Department and travel leagues, eventually competing as members of BHS teams.
The dedication and scoreboard were a collaborative effort led by Coach Keith Mangan of the Bedford Athletic Department, the Bedford Athletic Association president Derek Billouin, and advocate Doreen Mead.
Doreen Mead has long held a special place in her heart for Miss G: She was instrumental in creating the CSF scholarship named for Miss G and has worked tirelessly to have the former ‘C’ field renamed. An athlete who played for Miss G in the late 1960s, Mead was involved in the hockey, softball, and basketball teams; ran track; earned a Presidential Medal; and sped through a 50-yard dash in 3.4 seconds, as recorded by Mr. Greenwood.
Bedford Snapshots was on hand to record images from the ceremony; click this link for the pictures.
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