Cory-Rawson Elementary School celebrates 10 years

RAWSON — It's birthday week at Cory-Rawson Elementary School. The two-story building, located on County Road 26 southwest of Rawson and east of Mount Cory, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. "It's hard to believe it was that long ago," said high school senior Brock Boehm. "Once I realized that it was 10 years since everything was built, I was like, 'oh, my gosh.'" Boehm designed a banner thanking the community for investing in the school. One picture shows students in front of the old building, while a second photo is of students and staff in front of the new building. District voters approved a 5-mill, 29-year bond issue in November 2009 that will generate $6.3 million to help pay for construction. The Ohio School Facilities Commission contributed $6.8 million to the new building, which was ready for students in March 2013. The addition brought the entire district together on a single campus. Previously, the 1917 elementary building was located in Rawson, about a mile from the high school. Boehm, Makayla Gillfillan, Marah Price and Brynn Reese, all high schools seniors at Cory-Rawson, were second graders when the move was made to the new building. "I was scared of the bathroom (in the old school). That's my most vivid memory," said Gillfillan. The bathroom was on the bottom of three floors and was dimly lit. "People liked to lock the door (to the hallway) because we were so young. So we'd lock the door and shut off the lights and scare each other," she recalled. According to Price, the bathroom was also eerie because there were no stalls — just yellow curtains. "So you would have your friend go hold the curtain for you and then you would switch. And then you would go to the sink, (for) which you had to pump the water with your foot," she said. The number of bathrooms was a significant addition when the new building was constructed. The old school had just one bathroom for each gender. There was no cafeteria so students ate in the gym. And "specials," which referred to music, art and computer lab, were held in an old bus garage. "It didn't matter what the weather was, you still had to walk outside," Price said. "You had to make sure you brought your coat that day. You didn't get to go to specials because you were not walking outside without your coat on." The students especially liked the wide open playground at the old school. There were two jungle gyms — one was for the younger students and the other for the older grades. "When you got to third and fourth grade, you could go anywhere you wanted," Price explained. "And also at the back corner they had tires that were cut in half in a circle. So you could walk on the tires. You could climb underneath the tires." Everyone was excited when they found out about the new school. However, the staff knew there would be a lot of work to do before they were settled in the new space. "When they said we were getting a new school, I just said, 'How are we going to do this?' I was worried," said Janet Morrison, the elementary library aide. One of the problems they wrestled with was how to pack up the library and take the boxes full of books down three flights of stairs. Thankfully, students, friends, family and community members came to help, she said. Corey Miracle, husband of teacher's aide Heather Miracle, built wooden ramps that were used to slide the heavy boxes of books down the flights of stairs. "We had moms come in and box our books," Morrison said. "We loaded that whole elementary library in one evening." No school was missed because of the move, she said. Everyone worked after hours and on weekends and during breaks to move equipment and supplies. The new library is larger and accommodates grades K-12. Susan Lambert, a secretary in the elementary school office, was once a student herself and attended the old building. She was hired in 1986 to help in the cafeteria and then moved on to become the secretary. Lambert said she saw more people at the old school because the teachers' mailboxes were in her office. "People would come in and they'd talk. But now they're clear in the backroom and I never see them, which that makes me a little sad," she said. And while the building was well kept, it had its issues, said Lambert. "It would be so hot during the summer and cold during the winter. It was hard to keep it decent. It took a while, but they did get a little window air conditioner in our office. That did help," she said. One of her jobs prior to the move was emptying the filing cabinets. "Some of my boxes from my office disappeared and have never been found," she said. "Who knows where they ended up." Everyone was excited when it was finally time to move into the new school. "When you go from the 1917 building to 2013, which had some of the best technology at the time, it was really different. But when I walked in I remember feeling like this is going to be fun," Boehm said. "We were definitely excited," Reese agreed. "Obviously we loved the old school, but when we had an open house here and we showed our parents, 'this is our cool new classroom and there's a whole big lunchroom and a big new gym,' it was exciting." She and her two younger brothers are the fourth generation of her family to attend school in the district. Her great-grandfather, Franklin Deeds, was in one of the first classes in the older building, she said. Her grandparents and parents also attended school there. Reese said Deeds would later become the vocational agriculture teacher and a bus driver. "My great-grandpa used to sit down and talk to us about the old school and how there was the Mount Cory school and the Rawson School, and he was there when they combined," she said. He was also involved in town, she said. "He lived in the community and loved the community. He was in World War II and had a lot of stories to tell," said Reese, noting he would describe her grandfather's antics as a student who rode Deeds' bus. "He was just a troublemaker. One time my grandpa brought squirt guns on the bus and my great-grandpa took his squirt gun and threw it out the window. And then my grandma ended up marrying that guy," she laughed.