Ercel Harrison Hedrick
Mr. E.H. Hedrik attended Drain High School, Monmouth College, was a graduate of University of Oregon and received a master’s degree from Stanford. He became Superintendent of the Medford school is 1925. When he came to fill the office of superintendent of schools for a temporary year, Medford was a baby… the high school was on Bartlett Street without a gym or cafeteria. Even though the town was small, it was alive and growing. Mr. Hendrick decided his love for it, its people, its schools, and stayed on.
Mr. Hedrick headed up a far sighted and well-rounded program for Medford Public School system, which made him widely recognized as an outstanding leader in the field of education. He designed the athletic field (now Mid-High) which was considered one of the finest in the state. His administration was characterized by an active interest and participation in community life and under his guidance, Medford was assured of continued cultural and educational advancement.
In 1946 voters approved his plans for the construction of a new covered grandstand with a seating capacity of 1500, to be located on the east side of the football field. This new facility was primarily for the students and the band and secondarily for the accommodation of the general public that heretofore had overflowed the old grandstand during the football seasons. The Board fence which enclosed the football field was removed and replaced by a chain-link fence on metal posts.
Josiah Gilbert Holland once said, “the time demands strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and willing hands.” Medford found all of this in Mr. Hendrick.