BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — The Martin County Hall of Fame and Museum, in partnership with the City of Inez, unveiled a memorial marker Aug. 13 honoring the former Inez High School.

The marker stands on Main Street in front of the Martin County Business Center, the site of the school that educated generations of county youth from 1936 to 1992. It commemorates a place, as the inscription notes, “where Martin County’s youth emerged as adults and, from its halls of learning, have traversed the world writing their indelible pages of history.”

Mayor Ed Daniels remembered the school with affection.

“It was a really good school,” he said. “What will always be with us are the memories of that school. Of all the years we went there, it was a wonderful place to be.”

For many, those memories began on the playground. Barb Kirk recalled her first day, walking hand in hand with her grandfather.

“I think he was having to drag me. I was terrified,” Kirk said. “Twelve years later, I was terrified of a different thing. I was walking out of those doors for the last time.”

Kirk spoke about the connections formed at Inez, ties that stretched far beyond academics. Students bonded through shared history, community and personal relationships. Friendships built on the playground, on bus rides and in after-school activities have endured among those who gathered for the dedication.

The school was home to the legendary Inez Indians and their storied athletic program, which produced two Kentucky State Basketball Championship teams and reached the KHSAA “Sweet 16” in 1941 and 1954.

The memorial also pays tribute to the educators who, in the words of its inscription, “answered a high calling to instruct and inspire each student to give their all in every endeavor,” reflecting the spirit that defined the school.

The ceremony closed on a note of tradition, as the crowd joined together to sing the Inez fight song.