From time to time we like to post articles and pictures on how things used to be in Shenandoah. Now we would like to reflect back on the Shenandoah Elementary School and share with you some of our memories and pictures.
For those of us that lived in the southern end of Page County, we attended the Shenandoah Elementary School. It has undergone quite a few changes over the years. Some remember it as their High School, with the last graduating class of 1961. Some of us attended grades Kindergarten through Seventh grade there. Now grades K-5 are taught at Shenandoah.
The building has undergone some structural changes also. Back in 1993 the roof caved in under the weight of a lot of snow on the roof. Some students had to attend Grove Hill School until repairs were made. In 2000 a new two story wing was added on the north side of the building. This new two story wing became home to the new cafeteria, library and several additional classrooms. There used to be two very narrow hallways. One was located upstairs next to the steps that lead down to the cafeteria and front entrance. The other one was located down from the office as you are walking toward the gym doors. Both of these hallways are still in the school but have been enlarged. There also used to be two flights of steps going down stairs in the area of the old library. Now there is only one flight of stairs that remains.
Here are a few memories from attending K-7 grade starting around 1966.
We used to run the 600 yard dash on the sidewalk beside the school. We would start at 3rd street side and run to the front of the school. Not sure how many trips back and forth we had to do, but it sure felt like the end would never come!
Just about everyone looked forward to being chosen to cleaning the chalk board erasers. At the end of the day, we would take them and clean them by beating them on the wall next to school. This wall no longer exists and was removed during the construction of the new wing.
I always remember the unique clean smelling aroma the school had upon starting back to a new school year. It may have been the cleaner-wax they put on the gym and hallway floors. The halls were so clean and glossy. Who could forget the aromas of the cooks preparing lunch, and the smell of freshly baked rolls filled the entire school! We don’t know what they put in them, but they had the best mashed potatoes around! Weekly menu never seemed to change, Wednesday was picnic lunch, and Friday’s was soup and hotdogs.
Everyone enjoyed going outside for recess. Sometimes two classes would play each other in softball or kickball. We would play in the gravel lot next to the school. First base was not far from a tree that had a lot of above ground roots around it. This tree was adjacent to the third street gate. The gravels have been paved over and this area is now a basketball court and the swings have been relocated next to this area.
Many of us remember a large wooden merry go round being located at the back corner of the school. We also spent a lot of time climbing on the metal bars that were shaped like a rocket ship. We also enjoyed swinging on the large swings behind the gym entrance. We would swing outward toward the grass terrace with several tall evergreen trees. To the left of the swings there was a large metal sliding board. In this area there were metal monkey bars and three chin-up bars along with several wooden see-saws. The merry go round, see-saws, sliding board, and rocket ship climbing structure have all been removed.
Everyone would love going to see Mr Cross home movies in the auditorium. He made movies of his vacation trips such as Grand Canyon, Giant redwood trees, Yellow Stone Park, etc. We once had an assembly that featured a man that could do all kinds of whistles, from birds to popular songs. He even performed the theme song from the Andy Griffith Show. The auditorium stage could be enlarged by pushing the rear wall back into the hallway next to the first grade classrooms. This feature is still operational. The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile once visited the school. It parked out in front next to the highway 340 where the school buses used to load and unload. It was a rear car shaped like a hot dog on a bun. It was used to promote and advertise Oscar Mayer products. The Wienermobile has been roaming America’s highways and backroads since 1936, when this majestic vehicle was created by Carl Mayer (Oscar’s Nephew!). In fact there are six Wienermobile vehicles on the road right now.
Unannounced fire drills were very common and took place when you least expected them! The teachers discouraged everyone from playing with the fire alarms, telling us that if they pulled the handle down, blue dye would get on your hands! During evacuation, we all had to exit the school and line up on the terrace and under the large evergreen trees near the cannon.
When it was raining outside, recess was held in the gym. We would play, basketball, whiffle or dodge ball. Some of us would play with the large, heavy solid medicine balls! We would challenge each other to see who could climb the furthest on the ropes that hung down from the ceiling. We always saw the basketball jersey hanging up in the corner of the gym. We never knew whom it belonged to. This jersey is no longer in the gym.
The wall displaying the portraits of some of the former teachers and principals is still located in the hallway down from the office towards the gym entrance.
For a while, she Shenandoah Crafters held their annul two day craft show in the elementary school before moving it to the former Page County High School, which is now the Page County Middle School. The crafters discontinued their craft shows several years ago.
Back then if you lived nearby, you either had to walk to school or have your parents drive you. The school buses didn’t run up and down the all town streets as they do now. There was school safety patrol cross guards that ensured the walkers crossed the roads safely. For those of us that walked up the sidewalk by Route 340, we recall seeing Dr. Waff’s house. It was the one that had all of the running vines covering the front of the house. This house is still standing and is located right next the new wing of the school.
We could ride our bicycles to school. We had to get a bicycle permit from the principal’s office. The bike rack was located at the top of the hill, as you come up the alley way.
I would like to thank Shenandoah Elementary School principal Denise Atkins for taking time out of her busy schedule and escorting me on a tour through the entire elementary school. All pictures were taken during the spring of 2016. Memories and pictures courtesy of Amos Thomas.
