Even Mother Nature showed love for E.E. McGhee, aka “Mr. Spirit,” on Sunday as she provided a glorious afternoon for the community to show its support and appreciation for one of Grayson County’s most iconic figures.
Pushed in a wheelchair through a phalanx of supporters and well-wishers numbering in the hundreds who lined the parking lot at Grayson Nursing & Rehab Center, McGhee was showered with applause, love and rock star-like admiration at the “Mr. Spirit Pep Rally,” held as he recovers from several health issues.
McGhee, a ubiquitous figure at GCHS events both sports and otherwise, has spent nearly 60 years supporting the students of Grayson County High School both on the field of play and in the classroom.
Cassandra Weedman, a 2007 graduate of GCHS, and who helped organize the event, told the throng that McGhee is the “backbone of Grayson County High School.”
While the 87-year-old McGhee was clearly in a weakened condition, he summoned the energy and strength to speak to the hundreds of pep rally attendees, confidently declaring he will “be back on the sidelines!”
Leitchfield Mayor Harold Miller perhaps encapsulated the community’s love of McGhee with a story from his high school days:
“I’ve had conversations at different times throughout my life with my family, kids, wife … just all around, and I’ve never seen or been around anyone who showed as much love and concern for the children of Grayson County as Mr. McGhee has.
“We’d go on band trips at 1 o’clock in the morning, and Mr. McGhee was there. How many generations have experienced the love that this man has given? How many?
“You think about … I graduated in 1980 and way before me, kids knew Mr. McGhee and what he’s about. And after me, my two sons think as much of him as I do because they realize the love he had for me. Didn’t matter what they were into, whether it was a ballgame or classwork or whatever, Mr. McGhee was there to support them.
“And I think he’s done more; I will say this publicly: I think he’s done more for the kids in this county than anybody else I’ve known.
“Now I will tell you this; I was a little bit of a rascal in high school. They sent me to the office one day to get a paddling, and guess who pulled the short straw that day? Mr. McGhee. And I took the position and Mr. McGhee said, ‘Now, Harold, you’re a good boy.’ He said, ‘You’re friends with my daughter and you’re in the band. I hate to do this. I said, ‘It’s okay, Mr. McGhee.’
“And after two or three rounds of that, he let me have it a couple of times. And (then) all was good and everything was back to normal.
“But even when he took care of business, he did it with love. And what more could any of us ask for than to be like that to the people around us. It would be a much better place”
Miller then declared Sunday, “E.E. McGhee Day in Leitchfield, Kentucky,” while telling the icon, “We love you.”
To watch videos of the event broadcast by K105 Digital Productions on K105’s Facebook page, click here.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
