All former students, teachers, administrators (and their families) of Canada Consolidated School are invited to a noon reunion scheduled Saturday, June 28, at the Canada Fire Department. Those attending should bring a covered dish. For more information or if you have addresses for those who live out of town but would like to be invited, contact Thelma Alexander at 293-5973, Colleen Brown at 293-3252, Barbara Phillips at 293-9410 or Lucille Elders at 586-1944.
Canada Elementary School grew out of a countywide School Building and Improvement Program in the late 1940s calling for consolidation of many county schools. Second-grader Colleen Brown and third-grader Barbara Ashe Phillips joined 89 other students from Charleys Creek, Rock Ridge, Sols Creek, Tennessee Gap and Wolf Creek when the school doors first opened in 1951. Now the two, with help from Thelma Alexander and Lucille Elders, are planning the first-ever reunion for Canada School, which remained open 31 years, closing in 1982 when students were consolidated with Camp Lab School, now Cullowhee Valley. The four organizers invite all former teachers, students, administrators and their families to the reunion, which is scheduled for noon Saturday, June 28, at Canada Fire Department. Once upon a time the Canada School was the center of its community, said the organizers. It educated the children and provided a home for events and programs of all kinds. It was a proving ground for the innovative Teacher Corps and, in 1964, was the only elementary school in the county where Spanish was taught. Entertainers Lester Flat and Earl Scruggs visited the school, as did Ladybird Johnson when her late husband, Lyndon B. Johnson, was president of the United States. "It was a fine place to go to school," said Phillips, even though many of the students had to be transported 18 miles over mostly unpaved roads. J.J. 'Jess' Brown gave the land for the school, according to Elders, who "loved walking to his store nearby to get snacks." The four reunion planners say they fondly remember the "good, home-cooked meals the ladies in the lunchroom served... potatoes, green beans, rice and gravy, fried chicken, cornbread. Nothing came from cans; everything was homemade, even the hot dog and hamburger buns." When the school first opened, it had five classrooms and a lunchroom; Gertie Moss was the principal, according to Alexander. In later years, with no room for a dining area, students carried their trays from the lunchroom to their classrooms and ate at their desks. Once a vital hub of the community, the old school now sits in disrepair and is considered a safety hazard, according to some who note the windows are gone, the doors are wide open and the roof leaks. In 1999 Canada volunteer firefighters, led by Chief Steve Luker and Ed Riley, asked school officials to give them the property. They planned to raze the old building to provide additional parking for fire department and community center events and to expand recreation opportunities. School leaders said they wanted to honor that request, but the property had to be deeded to Jackson County, which provides funding and other support for fire departments. In 2000, school officials gave the property to county commissioners, who still retain ownership. |
