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Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2008 > January > 14
Monday, January 14, 2008
Why a school is more than bricks and cement
(Students rush to class on the first day of school in August at Colonel White High School.)
We’ve talked a lot here at GOTB about school preservation. Overall, my sense of the regular readers here is that most are not overly sentimental about Dayton’s old schools. While I think most here favor preserving historic buildings, I think they also believe (as the voters did in 2002) that in most cases Dayton needs new, updated schools.
Perhaps I’m wrong, but I think that is the general sentiment.
On Saturday, I went to the “closing ceremony” for Colonel White High School and witnessed something that challenged the view of the most jaded anti-preservationists.
What I saw suggested schools truly are more than just bricks and cement — that they have a permanent and personal connection with the community.
The story of Samuel and Cynthia Crosby proves it. Follow the link and read the story of why they wanted to renew their vows in a dusty hallway of a this soon-to-be-demolished high school and you’ll get a sense of the role the school played in their personal histories. You’ll see why Cynthia Crosby said she wouldn’t have traded that old hallway for a trip to the islands.
This is a good demonstration of what I’ve termed “emotional signficance”, rather than “historic” significance of old schools. The do matter to a community, even if they are not truly historic.
There was a huge crowd at Colonel White this weekend. There were a lot of tears. Many people hadn’t set foot in the school in years. But the place still mattered to them in a very personal way.
(Image credit: Jan Underwood, DDN)
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