We really like the suggestion made in a recent letter to The Forecaster of preserving the legacy of John E.L. Huse as we renovate Bath’s Huse School into residential apartments. Construction of the school in 1942 was directly related to Bath’s shipbuilding boom during World War II, and we agree that he is an important part of this legacy.

If we are able to obtain Planning Board and City Council approvals, and assemble the complex financing required for this project, our renovation will include restoring the building to its original architecture. This would include even the original sign atop the entry canopy. Based on photos, we think that the sign read “JOHN E.L. HUSE MEMORIAL SCHOOL,” and we suggest that the sign be restored exactly as it originally looked.

Huse’s legacy includes his stellar careers at Morse High School, at West Point, and in the Army Air Corps. His legacy could be honored with a prominent display in the lobby of the new apartment building that would include a portrait, his mementos and the written history by Franklin Wright, his Morse High School classmate.

We think that the firing range in the basement of the 1949 addition is another important piece of the history of the school, and we suggest that the lobby could also include a display of trophies from the marksmanship team, targets and other artifacts from the firing range

Nathan S. Szanton, President

The Szanton Co., Portland

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