So, as you may already know, I live in an area with many old, historical sites. Sometimes, it is more than history that makes a place special. It is the community, the people involved, the owners (as it would be f it was a restaurant or a hotel); and yes, sometimes it is the nostalgia that a place creates in our minds.

Let’s be very specific and take for instance what I talked about last week. In particular, the elementary school that is slated for a vote from the school board: to close or not to close?

Yes, that is the question.

Apparently, there has been a school in our town for over 300 years and it has sat on or near the site where the elementary school is now. Of course, the current school building was built in 1966. So, it’s old, but not really OLD and certainly not historic. It is younger in fact than some of the parents and residents who are trying to keep it open.

It’s age – and to be honest – even its current structural and architectural condition, doesn’t mean that it should be knocked down or sold. A new owner might decide to tear it down and rebuild it, making new memories and perhaps even money from it’s newer facility.

The school board has a lot of time invested in this whole proposition, the projects that have lead to this point. What matters now, is far more than history of educational facilities standing here, but what we will gain – or lose – by voting to close it. What is the true value of a community based school? We need to really understand this before we affect, literally thousands of lives, but voting to close and “move on” to newer, bigger and even, potentially, better things. Instead, let’s slow down, take a pause and think about this a bit more. Let’s learn from history and make sure not to repeat things that didn’t work out well in the past.

~ Dawn aka Hat Girl