The Tribune. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1951-19??, 1952-11-15
Notes
- on
/. The
News
BY T. j. Sellers

By T. j. Sellers
Old JEFFERSON SCHOOL REVISITED
They have ripped out the partitions thai
once separated Miss Cora's room from the
room In which Mrs. Maggie Terry taught
her classes and made that into spacious
auditorium which runs across the entire
front of the old Jefferson Elementary
school building down on Fourth Street.
This new area takes in some of the hall
That was once used for all of the daily as
sembly programs back in the days when
old Jefferson was the only educational in
stitution that the Charlottesville Negroes
had.
But the little office is still intact. This
small inner chamber was the scene Of a.
many dramatic moments as one principal
after another sought to pass on the good
way OF life to Grant pupils by solemn
words OF wisdom or quick, sharp lashes
from the pile Of long switches that al
ways stayed in the corner of the room.
The old third grade room ON the first
floor remains as it always was and still
gives fine view of the passing traffic on
commerce Street. which was always
handy sort of thing when the multiplied
ton tables became difficult or Just plain
dull stuff. The big radiator is still in the
old eighth grade room and it doesn't take
too much imagination to recall the damp
sweaters and wet coats that were once
placed upon it so that they would be dry
by the time school was out
walked up ON the second floor too. It
was my second trip back there since left
the seventh grade to become a proud
member of the highest grade in school,"
| thought of Arthur Hawkins, who used to
hand print, with pencil, the newspaper
that edited then, and thought of Dan
Chiidress, who was my seat mate and my
guide when ventured from Fifth Street
to the Preston Heights section after dark.
went on down into the basement and
recalled the many mornings that my old
friend, Mr.. Reyes, would allow me to
leave my coat and books in the furnace
room until could report in, and further
up the long underground corridor / re-
member the cups of soup and two biscuits
that Mrs. Jackson produced for two cents
in her domestic science room that was
next to the furnace room
Just as was about to leave the building
noticed pile of rubbish and saw the
proud heads of Paul Lawrence DUNBAR
and Roland Hayes peeping ont from large
mahogany frames and suddenly | was the
budding orator" making my very first
chapel speech and presenting those very
pictures and three others to an assembly
audience made up of sympathetic teachers
coaxed me on with friendly mods Of
the head and fellow classmates, not quite
so sympathetic, who wanted me to finish
before the recess period and showed i'll
nui'e plainly by the bored and pained|
looks on their faces -
The city school system abandoned the
old jefferson School building last year,
and moved the elementary division over to,
the vacated high school building on Com
merCe Street and after the workrnen shall
have finished their job of tearing down
and building up, the city recreation de-
partment will move in with its Fall and
Winter programs.
So the historic old landmark which was
erected back in 1894 and made famous
by such local school masters as Benjamin.
F.. Tonsler, and Charlie Bullock and / Fl !
Riddick and Charlie Kelser and the host
of lady teachers who are still carrying onI
the good work, will fade from view as al
public school but happy and vivid memoir
les will linger on just as long as there is,
one of the old jefferson "boys or girls
left to discuss chose days.