“I’m not impressed by your looks, money, social status, or job title. I’m impressed by the way you treat other human beings.” ~ Unknown
I hadn’t been in the office ten minutes when Shell Dunn walked in and said, “I’ve got the blueprints for your grade school.” That piqued my interest immediately because, today, the West Liberty Elementary School is a boarded-up shell thanks to the 2012 tornado. As people debated what to do with the building after the disaster, mold brought on by the rains – and then snow – took a toll. Asbestos abatement wasn’t going to be easy or inexpensive, but throw a black mold outbreak on top, and you’ve got a building that’s too expensive to fix and slightly dangerous to tear down.
We unrolled the floor plan, and I was transported back to 1971 as a 6.5-year-old first grader dropped off at the front door for the first time. I remember it. I rode the bus after that. I looked fondly at the stage where we held plays and were entertained by various musical acts. Somewhere I have a great picture of Larry Scott Evans II backstage as his artist dad made adjustments to his snowman suit for our Christmas play. He didn’t look particularly thrilled about it. If you know Larry, you’d not be surprised that he was displeased as a snowman. Now, if he’d played the abominable snowman, that would be different. I don’t remember what part I played, but I remember having a good time. I have another photo that I actually posted back in 2020 of our crowning of the next Fall King and Queen on the stage. I have a lot of great memories of this building, and I was thrilled to see the original blueprints by architect Hugh Meriweather developed in August 1956. I’m not sure when the school was constructed, but I will go out on a limb and say it opened in 1959. I’ll do some research this weekend and find the exact date. Thanks to Shell for making my day.
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