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Grant is ‘a breath of life’ for Longfellow school

A corporate grant helps renovate the 128-year-old facility’s auditorium.

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By Anthony Gottschlich, Staff Writer 12:32 AM Sunday, December 20, 2009

DAYTON —There’s no telling when the auditorium at Longfellow Alternative School last saw this much action.

Once home to school plays, community theater and other events, the auditorium at the 128-year-old school in recent years has served as nothing more than an oversized storage closet, a decrepit, dank and dusty one at that.

But thanks to $112,000 in grants from Lowe’s home improvement stores, dozens of workers from Lowe’s, Dayton Public Schools and Rehabs R Us from Brookville are transforming the auditorium to its rightful purpose.

“I went to Dayton Public Schools, and they’re tearing so many of them down... It’s great to give a breath of life to something,” Lowe’s employee Dave Stull said Friday, Dec. 18, while working in the balcony.

Longfellow, located at Salem and Superior avenues, was the only school in Ohio and just one of 25 in the nation this year to receive a $100,000 grant from the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation, said Mike Sturtz, manager of Lowe’s Trotwood store. The school for at-risk students also received $12,000 from local Lowe’s stores as part of the Lowe’s Heroes program, a company-wide volunteer initiative that offers Lowe’s employees the opportunity to work on community projects.

The project also includes new playground equipment, landscaping and other improvements, Sturtz said.

Built in 1882, the school was later named for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the famous poet who died the same year the school was built. The school served as a temporary hospital during the Great Dayton Flood of 1913 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

“We’re hoping to be 100 percent done by Wednesday,” said Rehabs R Us owner Andres Gonzales, taking a break from installing 1,873 acoustic ceiling tiles.

Principal Betty Mulligan said the auditorium will once again host plays and community programs.

“I think it’s a wonderful thing,” she said. “I can’t wait until they’re done. The kids are looking forward to it, too.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7408 or agottschlich@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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