Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 5, 1993 TAG: 9311050201
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG LESMERISES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The hugs and handshakes came from 46 former faculty members who reunited to get a tour of the building. The hard hats belonged to workers busy turning the school into Jefferson Center.
The school, which closed in 1974, is undergoing a $5.5 million renovation to It's good to know the old school's going to be back in service. Walter Palmer Former history and government teacher become a mixed-use facility, whose tenants will include the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and Southwest Virginia Opera, Habitat for Humanity and the Mental Health Association. Most renovations should be complete by the beginning of next year.
The auditorium is the exception - that project is still raising funds and may not be finished for another two years.
But as Jane Stephenson, the center's manager and the group's tour guide, said: "In the hearts of many, it will always be Jefferson High School."
As the former teachers and administrators shuffled through the hallowed halls - most carpeted and freshly painted, but some with holes in the ceiling and paint peeling off the walls - it still was Jefferson High.
"That was a biology room."
"We had homeroom with 400 students in that auditorium."
"There aren't any lockers with fireworks in them."
"Wonderful" was the word of the day, and "exciting" was heard whenever the renovations were mentioned.
"It's good to know the old school's going to be back in service," said Walter Palmer, who taught government and history there from 1957 to 1960. "It's a part of the city that can certainly benefit."
Many were relieved that Jefferson still was standing.
"It's a beautiful building," said Dorothy Walden, who taught English from 1957 to 1969. "I'm glad they didn't tear it down like they usually do with nice buildings."
Smiles widened when the group assembled in the auditorium.
Everyone was talking about marbles.
Helen Hancock, a former student, was asking around, hoping to find an old sphere of mischief.
"When we had study halls in here, students used to put a marble under their heel at the start of the period," she explained. "Then halfway through, they'd let it go and it would roll all the way down."
Frank Smith, a government and American history teacher for 24 years, stood by laughing.
"We finally got used to it," he said.
Jerald White spent 25 years at Jefferson - 17 as band director, three as assistant principal and five, from 1961 to 1966, as principal. The tour reminded him of a memorable incident.
"A boy threw a cherry bomb in a commode. We heard the explosion, and I ran down there . . . . That commode was in a million pieces."
White tracked him down, and the boy was expelled.
"It's those little things that come out that really hit you."
The new main entrance on Luck Avenue is freshly paved, and the new stone sign is engraved "Jefferson Center."
But over the old Campbell Avenue entrance, it still says "Jefferson Senior High School."
by CNB