Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) announced on Wednesday the two latest inductees into the Traverse City Central High School Hall of Fame. Those inductees, Lyndon C. Salathiel and Demas T. Craw, are the first new members of the hall of fame since before the pandemic. TCAPS will officially break that “four-year hiatus” with an induction ceremony scheduled for this Saturday, October 7.

Salathiel (pictured left) is a former faculty member of TC Central, where he taught English and humanities starting in 1962. According to the TCAPS press release that announced the induction, Salathiel “spent the next 36 years inspiring students with lessons utilizing art, music, literature, history, film, and poetry to develop critical thinking skills.”

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Salathiel also coached the Trojan football and tennis teams, and ultimately became Central’s first-ever varsity downhill ski coach in 1967. By the time he retired in 1985, Salathiel had led teams to eight Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) state championship titles. As a coach, he was thrice honored as a Detroit News Coach of the Year, and was an inaugural inductee into the Michigan High School Ski Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

After concluding his teaching career at Central, Salathiel went on to work at Northwestern Michigan College (NMC), where he taught Extended Education courses on topics like the Sistine Chapel, Leonard Bernstein, and Johann Sebastian Bach. To this day, Salathiel sings with the NMC Community Choir.

A posthumous inductee, Craw (pictured right) was described in Wednesday’s press release as a “World War II hero.” Born in 1900, Craw attended Traverse City public schools, but dropped out of Traverse City High School in April 1918 to enlist in the Army during World War I. After the war, Craw re-enlisted in the Army and completed a preparatory course to enter the United States Military Academy. He graduated from the Academy in 1924 with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, then transferred to the Air Corps and became a flight instructor.

By the time World War II broke out in 1939, Craw had the rank of Captail and was serving as Inspector General and Assistant Intelligence Office at Air Force General Headquarters in Langley Field, Virgina. According to TCAPS, Craw was sent overseas during the war as an air observer. On missions, he “came under fire 136 times, was wounded, and participated in 21 Royal Air Force bombing sorties.”

Craw continued to rise up the ranks during the war, ultimately being promoted to the rank of Colonel while fighting in North Africa. He was killed in action there on November 8, 1942, “during a mission to deliver a message behind French lines in order to broker a ceasefire near Port Lyautey, French Morocco.” Craw was ultimately awarded the Medal of Honor for his “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty.”

Salathiel and Craw will both be honored during halftime at Traverse City Central’s homecoming football game, which is scheduled for this Friday evening at Thirlby Field. The official induction will occur the following day at the TC Central auditorium, starting with an ice cream social at 12:30pm followed by the actual ceremony at 1pm.

Traverse City Central started its hall of fame in 2004, with an inaugural class that included former Michigan Governor William G. Milliken; Thomas C. Hall, M.D.; Terrie E. Taylor, D.O.; coach and teacher Jim Ooley; and former basketball star Tom Kozelko. The hall is open to former Central students and staff “who have excelled in their fields, given back to their community, brought honor to Traverse City Central, inspired current students, and instilled pride in the school.” Salathiel and Craw are the 61st and 62nd inductees, respectively.

Nominations for the 2024 induction class are currently open, with information available on the TCAPS website. Nomination forms can be found here, and can be submitted at Central’s main office.