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This picture of New Hope Elementary School was taken in 1961. |
MY ELEMENTARY school in East Tennessee had just one class per grade and the ladies in the lunchroom were the grandmothers of some of the students. Everyone knew each other.
By the time I hit fifth grade, I couldn't wait to go to the big middle school where there were lots of new people for me to meet.
Now that I'm a parent, a small school where everyone knows everyone else seems like a luxury.
Perhaps my experience at that small country school is what has always made me curious about a boarded up white building on White Oak Road in southern Stafford County. It looks like an old school but there is no identifying sign on the property.
I've been busy as a stay-at-home mom, so I had to wait to satisfy my curiosity. Now that all three of my children are in "big school," I decided to write about things I notice in the county. Finding the identity of the white school on White Oak Road was a natural place to start.
I asked my daughter's first-grade teacher, Chalee Carmichael, if she knew about the building. Carmichael, a native of Stafford County, said she thought it was the former New Hope School.
Once I had the name, I started talking to others about the school. To my surprise, several people I know had connections to the building.
I called my friends, Jerry and Vicki Silver, who have a farm not far from the school.
Jerry Silver actually was a student at the school. With a laugh, he told me that he never goes anywhere without a handkerchief, even on his tractor, because of his experience at New Hope. He explained that one of his teachers was a stickler for cleanliness and rapped the knuckles of anyone who didn't meet her standards.
Another memory was going on a field trip to his family farm. The students didn't ride a bus; they walked through the woods to the farm.
I can't help but contrast that with the chartered buses, complete with TVs, that my children ride on field trips today.
I also spoke to Jerry Silver's aunt, Audrey Silver, who taught at the school. She told me of the turkey dinners they would hold each year to raise money. It was a big event and everyone came.
Audrey Silver said the school had five rooms. The two middle rooms were divided by a sliding door that could be opened to make room for plays or assemblies. The teachers were required to visit each student's home once a year.
She said these visits were much anticipated, and the families were always happy to see the teacher. Her superintendent wanted the teachers to see "where the students came from."
Lou Whitefeather told me that her mother and her aunt, who went to the school, were released early to peel vegetables for soup. The school provided soup so that none of the students went hungry.
New Hope School has been privately owned since the early '70s after Grafton Village Elementary was opened. Several of the teachers from New Hope went on to teach at Grafton.
My children attend Grafton Village Elementary, and I am proud to say that it carries on the community spirit of New Hope School.
