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Preserving history: C'ville councilors working to preserve school history |
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Friday, 18 December 2009 |
By MATT NICHOLS
Staff Writer
Cridersville Village Council members are in the first stages of preserving memories from the Cridersville Elementary school after it is demolished following the school year.
Cridersville Mayor Lorali Myers said she met with Wapakoneta City Schools Superintendent Keith Horner, Cridersville Elementary School Principal Dave Tester and representatives from Garmann and Miller & Associates on Nov. 11 about saving items from the current building.
“We met at the existing school site to talk about the interest from the village’s standpoint on certain memorabilia at the school,” Myers told the Wapakoneta Daily News. “We went through the building and the yard to get a preliminary understanding of what we were looking to keep.”
Myers said the village is considering retrieving two signs in the school gymnasium. One sign reads, “Rams,” and the other reads, “Redskins.” If saved, the village could donate the two signs to the Cridersville Athletic Association.
The mayor said the signs may be placed at Tower Park for the midget football team.
Once the school is demolished, Myers said the front lawn will remain unchanged and most trees should remain intact. The playground, basketball court, flag pole and the front sidewalk also should remain following the demolition.
Myers said the village is working on a plan to convert the land into a green space for residents to relax. A memorial to the school is also in the works for the location.
That memorial may be constructed out of bricks from the 70-year-old school.
“A lot of residents have shown interest in purchasing bricks,” Myers said. “So right now, we’re trying to get a handle on how many to keep and how to get them cleaned to be reused in the memorial or to sell them to whoever is interested.”
When the memorial is completed, Myers said it will act as an extension of Tower Park which is located behind the current school.
“Our desire is to maintain that history and have the memorial bring Tower Park closer to Main Street,” Myers said. “The memorial would be the start of Tower Park and it would flow into the existing park.”
Horner said items the village does not want, including desks, chairs and dry erase boards, will be auctioned off in the spring. He said some items may end up in new school buildings in the district.
“We’re going through the process right now of evaluating what we’re going to have in the new buildings versus what we’re going to need,” Horner said.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 21 December 2009 )
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