For parts of three decades, Fern Masse paced the sidelines of the basketball court at Lewiston High School. Now 30 years after his final season, that same court — albeit with a fresh, new surface — will bear the longtime Blue Devils boys’ coach’s name.
Prior to tip-off of the Lewiston varsity boys’ basketball team’s regular-season opener against Bangor on Friday, the school will formally dedicate the gym floor in honor of Masse. The ceremony is slated for “roughly 7 p.m.,” according to a press release sent out by the Lewiston Athletic Department.
Masse, who also taught Industrial Arts and Mathematics at the school for 29 years, coached the Blue Devils boys’ team from 1961-74 and 1977-88, amassing more than 250 wins — the most in program history. He was an assistant on the 1960 team that won the program’s lone state championship.
After coaching, Masse transitioned to the school’s athletic director, a position he held for a decade.
Masse graduated from Lewiston in 1953 before attending Gorham State Teachers College — now University of Southern Maine.
“It is a true honor to dedicate the basketball court here at Lewiston High School in his name – Coach Masse Court,” the school’s press release stated. “We hope that the community and his past players will join his friends and family for this special night.”
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