Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 10, 1995 TAG: 9506120064
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
June Siler came back for the first time in 52 years. She walked the same halls, climbed the same stairs and went into the same classrooms.
Siler was among about 30 former students who came to Stonewall Jackson Middle School in Southeast Roanoke to remember for a final time - and to say goodbye to a building that fills them with memories and emotions.
The memories returned in a surge. Siler recalled classmates, teachers, test grades and the classes that were taught in different rooms.
The desks are not the same, but she still squeezed into one just to remember how it felt to be a student at Jackson a half-century ago.
Siler, 67, discovered that her old Latin classroom is now the school's office. The old gym has become the library, and a new gym has been built.
She reminisced with former students, most in their 60s and 70s, about their years at the school as they toured the building Thursday.
The classroom wing of the 72-year-old school will be torn down this summer as part of a $6 million modernization project that will give Jackson state-of-the-art computer laboratories and educational technology.
Some Jackson alumni have objected to the demolition, saying the neighborhood will lose part of its heritage.
But Superintendent Wayne Harris said the old classroom structure could not easily be adapted for modern technology. The newer parts of the school - including the auditorium, cafeteria and gymnasium - will be renovated.
School officials arranged this week's reunion tour and farewell to give alumni a chance to see the building from the inside and remember their years there.
Despite her fond memories of Jackson, Siler, who now lives in Northwest Roanoke, doesn't object to the razing. "The children need the best facilities," she said.
Several others who came this week shared that view.
"I wanted to see it before they tore it down, but I don't oppose what they are doing," said Siler's sister, Doris Dulaney, who attended Jackson during the late 1930s.
George Willis, 79, attended Jackson from 1929 to 1931. A retired milkman for the former Clover Creamery, Willis once delivered milk to the school in glass bottles.
"I don't object to them tearing it down, but the front should remain on Ninth Street," said Willis, who lives in the Garden City neighborhood.
The plan calls for the school's main entrance to be moved to the Montrose Avenue side. School officials said they are moving the entrance so they can create a bus drop-off area for off-street loading and unloading of students.
But Willis still believes the school should face Ninth Street, a main thoroughfare in Southeast Roanoke.
"More cars pass in front of the school on Ninth Street in a day than pass on Montrose in a week," said Willis, whose wife, Mildred, also attended Jackson.
Morris and Mildred Baldwin, who met at Jackson in 1941 as students and later were married, came to remember and talk with old classmates. Morris Baldwin got to know the building better than most while working for the school system's maintenance department for 28 years.
"It's time for it to go. The kids need something better," Baldwin said, adding that the school's electrical and heating systems have problems.
Ernie Capito Sr., 76, learned to play soccer at Jackson during the early 1930s, long before the sport became popular in this country. Capito remembered that he had a gym teacher who loved soccer.
Capito said he came back to visit the school several weeks ago when he first heard that part of it would be torn down.
"I didn't know they were going to have this [farewell]. I came over to see it before it was gone," he said.
Capito, who now lives in Roanoke County, is happy that the children will get a modern school with the latest technology.
"I know some people have a sentimental attachment to the building, but I can't imagine anyone would be against what they are going to do," he said.
Ray Barbour, who also attended Jackson during the 1940s, came back inside the school for the first time since he was a student, even though he has continued to live in Southeast Roanoke.
Barbour supports the modernization project, saying it is 40 years too late.
But Irene Carner said she is saddened that part of the school will be demolished.
"I know it sounds kind of funny, but I hate to see it go," said Carner, 69, a Jackson student during the 1940s.
The leaders in the protest over the razing, several of whom attended Jackson, were not present for the farewell tour.
Principal Charles Kennedy, himself a Jackson alumnus, entertained the former students on the tour with a commentary that mixed his own memories with the history of the school.
Kennedy attended Jackson from 1957 to 1960, and his mother went to school there in the early 1930s.
"Our family's roots go back deep in the community," he said.
Kennedy is only the fifth principal in Jackson's 72 years. He has been principal five years.
Kennedy recalled that he got his first F in school while he was a student at Jackson. "That was a wake-up call," he said.
He swapped stories with the former students about teachers and classes.
And he outlined the problems in trying to renovate the old building and the benefits of a new structure. Because of problems with the electrical system, he said, power in the school's computer laboratory went off twice in one day this year.
"This building is not wired to handle modern technology," Kennedy said.
Some alumni complained about the heat and lack of air conditioning as the temperature outside hovered near 90 degrees.
"At least the students will get air conditioning if they get a new building," one said as the group climbed the stairs.
Some former students said there were no hall lockers when they were there. They had to carry their books and supplies with them during the day.
And the school had no cafeteria during its early years. Many students walked home for lunch.
The front section of the school cost $160,000 when it was built in 1923, a large sum for those days, Kennedy said.
He said school officials came under criticism for another reason when Jackson was built: Many residents thought it was too far from the center of the city.
As a fund-raising project for the school, a vendor has started selling Jackson memorabilia. There are shirts, shorts and bags with a sketch of the school and these words, "The Memory Never Fades, 1923-1995." They can be purchased through the school next week.
But the former students seemed more interested in lingering and reminiscing in Jackson's halls and classrooms this week than in buying mementos.
They seemed to want to hold onto the school just a little longer.
by CNB