Demolition of Memories

My dad had emailed me and I read on my former school district's website that demolition of my elementary school was scheduled to be completed today. I'm a bit miffed that the school district didn't offer to let former students/teachers tour the building before it was torn down. If they did, it wasn't advertised. Also, I wouldn't have minded if they had a "buy a brick" program so I could have had a small memory of the building. I know that sentiment is nostalgia riddled, but I have a lot of good memories about Colebrook School. Well, as good as school memories go! Everything from the first grade classroom where we used to have pancake days and I found out what an atheist was, to the all-purpose room where many lunches were consumed and girl scout meetings held, the library where we displayed our dioramas of books we read, the second grade classroom where we sang along with patriotic tunes and had show-and-tell, to every item in between.

I sent an email to the Public Relations Woman, a person I believe I went to high school with, asking why the District hadn't done anything to offer alumni the chance to reminisce. After all, they had given that opportunity to alumni of another elementary school in the district that was torn down a year or two ago. It's a small thing, for sure, but I can't help but feel like the District arbitrarily took away a memory without ceremony and the community's blessing. I'm quite aware that the school's demolition is part of the District's capital building project plan. I just wasn't expecting it to happen in such an everyday way.

UPDATE: Apparently, my school district hadn't forgotten about us according to this press release. I'm just surprised I never saw anything published in any of that area's local papers. So kudos to W.I.C.S.D. in the end. Now I'm hoping there's some bricks left to buy.