When I was a child growing up in a small town in Ohio, each small town in the area had their own school. As populations grew and those schools got crowded, the towns had bond levies to raise funds for new schools. Sadly, they didn't pass for several years. So the towns decided to combine into one large district. This also required voting and bond levies. I remember our grade school teachers having us make posters and parade us around town encouraging residents to get out and vote. That would be unheard of today and probably someone would be fired and arrested. But then we were okay with it.
Eventually the levies passed and reorganizing began. Each town kept their own elementary school, first through sixth grade. (no kindergarten then) All seventh graders from each of the towns went to the Justus school. All eighth and ninth graders went to Brewster. And all tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders went to Navarre, my home town. This actually worked well for me since Mom and I lived right across the street from the school then.
And then construction began on a new high school, out in the middle, in Justus, on top of a small hill. The new high school would have ninth through twelfth grades. Everyone would ride a bus. Or if you were one of the rare ones with a car, at a certain point, you could drive. I did not, Mom did not own a car until I started to learn to drive. As I have mentioned before, we lived in a small town and could walk most places or take the Greyhound bus if we needed to go somewhere.
By the time the new high school was finished, I was ready to start my senior year. My class was the first to graduate from the new school, Class of '67! Exciting times! The principal, Mr. Cain, was very proud of the school and very protective. Every morning he met all the buses and checked to be sure no one was wearing any shoes that would hurt the new floors, and that no one had cleats on their shoes. And God forbid if you tried to go into the new gym and were not wearing canvas and rubber tennis shoes!
Of course, Mr. Cain was also checking other things besides our shoes. Things like if the guys had any packs of cigarettes rolled up in their shirt sleeves. Mr. Cain carried a yard stick with him and also measured to be sure girls' skirts were not too short. Again, this is something that would never be allowed now and I'm sure a principal would be fired if they tried it.
I recently saw a Facebook Post from a friend about the school. There is going to be a gathering and tour of the school for alumni before it is torn down. How sad. It's great that a new, more modern school is being built for the current students. But it seems like just yesterday that the old high school was built.
Time flies too fast. Take care of yourselves and stay safe. Life is good. God Bless America!
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