As the new Hug High School prepares to open its doors at its location in Sparks, it now includes the Feemster Family Resource Center.
Adrienne Feemster, 46, the granddaughter of the late Dolores Feemster, has been fighting to have the grounds of the old Hug High School, scheduled to become a Career and Technology Education Academy, named to honor the civil rights community activist. That effort was dealt a blow when two years ago the Washoe County School District instead chose to honor Debbie Smith, a former Nevada State Senator.
“I feel like there’s no compromise and one doesn’t negate the other,” Feemster said, when asked if the naming of the center was enough. “I feel like they were separate occurrences, separate issues.”
While she restated the importance of listening to the the community when renaming schools, she said she is keeping a positive outlook, and moving forward.
The new Feemster center will provide families with guidance and referrals to local resources to improve their wellbeing. “It reminds me to focus on celebrating the honor to be able to see the Feemster name be connected with the school that my grandmother loved and cared for,” Feemster said.
She is currently gathering mementos and old yearbooks from her grandmother’s 30 plus years at Hug for a display case in the new center. Among her many pursuits, she had advocated for the First Nations and Heritage clubs at Hug, “so students of all backgrounds could celebrate who they are and be proud of their roots and their heritage and make common ground.”
Dolores Feemster died in 2018, at the age of 89, after a full life of helping others, including her persistent efforts to have local affordable housing built for abused women, senior citizens and families in need.