Lincoln School Last Days

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03fc8c00dkelyh.png"> <div> <B> </B></div> <div> <A HREF="id44.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lincoln 1950 51"><B><IMG SRC="0410b120.png" border=0 width="11" height="18" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A><B>   </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="18" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11"><B>     </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="18" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="18"><B>  </B><A HREF="id165.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lincoln Grade School"><B><IMG SRC="04312120.png" border=0 width="18" height="18" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A></div> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="77" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 30 WIDTH="71"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="30" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="71" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Ottawa Herald Article Contributed by  Jim Corcoran </B></I></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=94 BGCOLOR="#FF3300" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0403c5e1dvmwlb.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>Ottawa High School Class of '57</B></FONT><B>     |    </B><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ottawa High School Class of 57"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id125.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lincoln 194647">Lincoln  1946-47</A>   |   <A HREF="id126.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lincoln 194849 ">Lincoln  1948-49 </A>   |   <A HREF="id137.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lincoln Football Team 1949">Lincoln  Football Team  1949</A>   |   <A HREF="id136.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lincoln 1950 51">Lincoln 1950 - 51</A>   |   <A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lincoln 1950 51">Lincoln 1950 - 51</A>   |   <A HREF="id44.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lincoln 1950 51">Lincoln 1950 - 51</A>   |   <B>Lincoln School Last Days</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=386 width="100%" colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Lincoln School Last Days</I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Lincoln school nears its final day</B></div> <div> <I>By JODIE GARCIA, Herald Staff Writer</I></div> <bR> <div> It's a school rich in history.</div> <bR> <div> "Though many schools were added to Ottawa's educational system, Lincoln has the distinction of being the oldest continually operated facility from the same location in this district," longtime teacher Peggy Coen wrote in "A History of Franklin County." "Many memories have been formed by generations of families."</div> <bR> <div> Lincoln Elementary School, 728 N. Cedar St., soon will be demolished and the students moved to a new elementary school near Davis Road by next year. The demolition of Lincoln was part of a $25.9 million bond issue passed by voters in November 2004.</div> <bR> <div> The Lincoln Parent Teacher Organization has organized a retirement party for the school. The party will be from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday in the school's gym.</div> <div> Angie Clark, a PTO member, said the PTO decided to have a retirement party for the school as a final farewell. She said past and present students, teachers and administrators are invited to attend.</div> <bR> <div> Coen will say a few words about the school, and Lincoln fifth graders will have a computer presentation about the school running during the event, Clark said.</div> <div> Coen said she attended the very first kindergarten class at Lincoln. Her husband, their children and grandchildren also went to the school. Coen taught second grade for 22 years at Lincoln.</div> <bR> <div> "My roots are really deep in that soil," she said. "We have a heritage on that corner."</div> <bR> <div> Lincoln Elementary School began Sept. 5, 1881, in the Methodist Protestant Church. The church was rented by the school board until a building was constructed.</div> <div> The two-room building was ready in 1883, according to The High School Opinion, which was written by Ottawa High School students. The board had authorized the construction, set to cost between $2,500 and $3,000. At the beginning of the year, only one room was occupied. The second room opened for third and fourth graders in 1884.</div> <bR> <div> "No one was prepared for the rapid growth of the North Side," Alice Davidson wrote in The High School Opinion. "Even those who understood the situation best were surprised at its phenomenal growth."</div> <bR> <div> The board decided to add four rooms to the north side building in 1884. The cost was not to exceed $6,500, and the school opened in September 1885 with four rooms being occupied. The fifth room opened in 1886, and the entire building was occupied in September 1892, Davidson wrote.</div> <bR> <div> Coen said the first building was condemned in the 1900s, and a new three-story school was built and opened in 1912. During construction, students had to walk to Washington School, which was the site of the present Washburn Towers at Fifth and Main streets.</div> <bR> <div> Bonds were approved for a new school in 1951, and the school opened in 1953.</div> <bR> <div> "The whole 700 block of North Cedar was cleared of homes and two churches to make way for the structure," Coen wrote.</div> <bR> <div> Two more rooms were added to the school in the 1970s, she said, and the lower level of the three-story building is attached to the "new" building.</div> <bR> <div> Coen, who retired from teaching in 1998, said she remembered when the school celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1981. She said the students formed the number 100 on the playground, and many alumni returned for the event.</div> <bR> <div> "The auditorium was literally packed because there were so many people," she said. "It was amazing. They had so many fond memories of Ottawa."</div> <div> Clark said her children are excited to move to a new school.</div> <bR> <div> "They come home and tell me different things that the school is going to have," she said.</div> <bR> <div> And as a parent, Clark said she thought it was time to move out of the old building.</div> <bR> <div> "I can see where we do need it," she said. "It was getting pretty crowded."</div> <bR> <div> Coen agreed and said she and other teachers had to deal with fuses blowing because of new technology, leaks and cracks in the walls.</div> <bR> <div> "Bricks are not that important. I think it is absolutely necessary for the better education of children," she said. "I'm really excited about that new school."</div> <bR> <div> 05/05/2006; 12:27:10 PM </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>