THE GOLDSMITH SCHIFFMAN FIELD The historic plaque on the wall surrounding the field reads as follows:

On January 25, 1934, Oscar Goldsmith, Lawrence B. Goldsmith, Annie Schiffman Goldsmith, Robert L. Schiffman, and Elsie Steiner Schiffman gave this property to the City of Huntsville for an athletic field. The gift was in memory of Betty Bernstein Goldsmith (wife of Oscar and mother of Lawrence) and Betty Herstein Schiffman (wife of Isaac and mother of the other donors.) The Civil Works Administration provided $6,500 in materials and labor to construct the field, the first in Huntsville to accommodate night athletic games. The Acme Club raised funds for lighting through season tickets sales. Dedication Exercises were held during the first night game on October 4, 1934, when 1,000 fans saw Coach Milton Frank’s Huntsville High team defeat Gadsden High. As of this writing, 2015, it has been 81 years since the above listed family members donated two city blocks to the City of Huntsville for an athletic field, the first act of philanthropy in Huntsville made by our family. Not a week goes by that I don’t run into someone who after hearing my name, asks if I am related to the people who gave the land for Goldsmith Schiffman Field. After I answer, “yes,” they proceed to tell me about their wonderful memories of playing football there or watching games. I had wondered whose idea it was to donate the land our family owned for an athletic field and who talked to the City about making the donation. In reading the newspaper article written when the Field was dedicated, I noticed that my grandfather, Lawrence B. Goldsmith, Sr. was spokesperson for the donors at the dedication ceremony. Bettie Schiffman and Bettie Goldsmith had recently passed away and the family wanted to create a memorial in their memory. The Goldsmith and Schiffman families owned suitable land for an athletic field located not too far from Huntsville High School. Knowing my grandfather’s lifelong love of sports and his interest in young people based on his involvement with the Huntsville Boy Scouts, I believe he recognized the city’s need for an athletic field and approached the other donors with the idea to donate land for that purpose in memory of the two ladies. When the land was given for the field there was no historic marker. Everyone had always known that the field was a gift from the Goldsmith and Schiffman families from the name, but over the years had forgotten the history of the gift. During the year 2000 I approached the Huntsville City School Board to request they provide funds for an historic plaque to tell the story of the field and they agreed to do so. First the plaque’s history had to be documented which led to a search for the field’s dedication in old newspapers. Information about the first night game, the Acme Club raising funds for the lights and the Civil Works Administration building the rock wall were not known. Thomas Hutchens at the Huntsville Madison County Public Library found the newspaper article that documented the date the field was dedicated and all the above information. The Huntsville Madison County Historical Society Committee in charge of Huntsville’s historic plaques met and agreed on the wording for the plaque. The plaque was then constructed and on Friday October 24th at 6:30 a dedication ceremony was held just prior to the Huntsville High-Sparkman High game. I had asked former manager of the Russel Erskine Hotel and Chairman of Huntsville’s 1955 Sesquicentennial Celebration, Jimmy Taylor to chair the event with me. Jimmy had been manager of the Huntsville High Team at the time the field was dedicated and we were lifelong friends. He knew several players who played at the first game who were still living and invited them to be our guests and to wear their sweaters with their HHS letters attached, which they did. Friends were invited together with Huntsville’s City Board of Education, the mayor and Huntsville dignitaries. The event was open to the public and a large crowd attended. Jimmy and I both spoke. I wore a traditional Huntsville High School white mum corsage with a red letter “H” attached. In my speech I recounted the history of the field and at the end I thanked everyone who had been involved with the evening and most of all my ancestors who had had the foresight to make the donation in 1934. I quoted a phrase a wise person once said –“It is easy to give away money – what is difficult is to give it away wisely.” I added that the gift of the field by my ancestors was an exceptionally wise one as history had proven it to be. I then asked everyone to stand and join me in a round of applause for their spirits that I knew were with us. Everyone stood and applauded. The plaque was unveiled and pictures were taken celebrating the story of the field that had been made known that evening. Twelve years passed and times changed. The field was no longer being used for middle and high school football games which had been moved to a larger stadium. The deed had originally restricted the use of the field for school children. Furthermore, the deed mentioned that if it weren’t used for its original purpose that the property could revert to the heirs. I was concerned that there could be problems in the future when I was no longer around and could identify the heirs plus there could be many more heirs at some future date. I knew that if the city had no use for the field for athletics for city school children, that it could fall into disrepair. If the heirs could not be found then the property could not be transferred. I went to Mayor Tommy Battle and the city legal department to find a solution. The solution was to have the heirs all sign quitclaim deeds and for me to contact them with a request to do so. The five other heirs agreed and the legal work was begun by the city. By September 5th, 2014 a quitclaim deed had been signed by all the heirs including myself. The deed annulled the original covenants and conveyed all rights, title and claim to the property to the city. It was agreed that if the property were ever sold that all net proceeds would be donated to the Goldsmith Schiffman Wildlife Sanctuary. Again there were newspaper articles, a press conference and appreciative remarks from the city and members of the Huntsville community. Since then the field has been renovated and as of 2015 it is being used for Lacrosse games. Hopefully it will continue to be used for sports by the City. It would be unfortunate if the old wall is torn down and the property sold for development. However, it would be worse if the field is not used and the wall falls into disrepair and becomes a problem for the neighborhood and the City. One can never foresee the future and decisions are made in light of the current situation. My ancestors thought through their donation in 1934. I thought through my request for the historic plaque installation in 2000, thinking that the Field would be a permanent fixture for city schools. In 2014 I made the best decision I could based on future possibilities. Hopefully the recent deeds will provide flexibility for whatever is needed for the field in the future.