MIDDLEBURG — Henry Burkes literally helped build Middleburg High. Now his name will live forever on campus grounds thanks to a new street sign erected in his honor.
Burkes has been working at the high school in the heart of Middleburg for more than four decades. He has pictures of the school when it merely was a pecan tree grove. He helped lay the concrete and the bricks to make the school what it is today, according to the staff at the campus. So last Thursday, May 20, his devotion to the school was honored with a street sign that reads “Henry Burkes Way.”
“I had no idea this was happening,” Burkes said. “It was a big surprise and it’s an honor.”
Middleburg reading teacher, Ruth Gardner, said the entire school had to keep it quiet because if Burkes had found out, he wouldn’t have shown up. Burkes was transported by a golf cart to a service road on campus around 1 p.m. As he rounded the corner, he was greeted by dozens of students lining the road.
They held signs that said “We love you, Mr. Burkes” and “Thank you for all that you do, Mr. Henry.” The surprise stayed on Burkes’ face until he arrived at the red and green sign at the end of the road, concealed with a trash bag. After some cordial greetings, the trash bag was pulled off and Burkes saw his “Henry Burkes Way” sign for the first time.
A massive smile stretched across his face while the school’s band played its alma mater and his family and friends hugged him and congratulated him for his dedication to the school.
“Henry Burkes trained all of us,” Superintendent David Broskie said.
Broskie was speaking figuratively, but to an extent, that statement is true. The school was built in 1980 and Burkes helped build it. In those four decades since, he’s kept it in tip-top shape.
Henry’s wife, Earnestine Burkes, said he’s absolutely deserving of the designation. She said he loves the school with everything in him and he’s proud to work for the school. Actually, Burkes retired from the school on Oct. 30, 2009, only to come back 30 days later.
“He made it 30 days before coming back,” Earnestine said, chuckling about how she knew he would be back.
Gardner said the idea to honor Burkes was easy.
“He takes a left to leave this road every day so why not make it his?” Gardner said.
She said she had been planning this for a while but somehow had to get the entire school involved secretly. Her plan was a success.
She said it was amazing to see his reaction and that he’s so deserving. She called him the most sincere, hard-working, kind and humble person she knows.
“He built this school,” she said. “It’s the least we could do.”