By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
From the unveiling of the Ben Franklin Elementary School’s new school logo featuring Amos the Mouse to a chat with nine former principals and the planting of a special tree, it has been a whirlwind of events in honor of the school’s 50th anniversary.
The yearlong celebration was capped last week by tours of the newest wing of the grades pre-K-3 school, the dedication of a time capsule and the groundbreaking ceremony for a commemorative brick walkway around the school’s Peace Garden.
Dozens of school children and their families, alumni and former teachers and staff members turned out for the June 14 event, which was timed to coincide with the annual Parent Teacher Organization-sponsored family picnic.
The Ben Franklin Elementary School opened its doors in 1961 as a grades K-6 school to accommodate a burgeoning student body. Since then, two additions have been made to the school on Princeton Pike the most recent one in 2004.
Students guided visitors through the new wing of the school, pointing out the art room and the music room. They also drew visitors’ attention to the new gymnasium, where tables had been set up so visitors could look at memorabilia. There were newspaper clippings and yearbooks that showcased the school’s history over the past five decades.
John Burke and his wife, Cindy, were among the visitors who poured over the memorabilia. Mr. Burke, who still lives in Lawrence, was among the first group of children to attend the school. He was a 2nd-grader in September 1961.
”I remember the newness of it. It seemed so big. But remember, I was a little guy. I was excited (because) there were new teachers and a new principal. I remember the enthusiasm of the students and the teachers. It was very exciting for a 6- or 7-year-old child to come into a brand-new school,” said Mr. Burke, who had attended 1st grade at the former Elementary School No. 4 on Brunswick Pike.
”I didn’t know anybody. No. 4 was a small school. This was a whole new experience of making new friends. If there were 100 students (at No. 4), that was huge. There were two classes per grade (at Ben Franklin). That was a lot of kids, coming from such a little place (as No. 4),” he said.
Mr. Burke said that after school, the children would go back to the Ben Franklin Elementary School to play on the playground. It was quite a trek for Mr. Burke, who grew up on Shinney Lane, off Bakers Basin Road.
John Groeger attended Ben Franklin a little later he graduated in 1994 but he also remembers playing on the playground. He grew up on Temple Terrace, about a block or so away from the school.
Mr. Groeger, who also still lives in Lawrence, said he remembers playing “Manhunt” with his friends, chasing each other through the woods next to the school. During the winter, they would go sledding down the hill. They also played in the playground.
Smiling at the memory, Mr. Groeger said he recalled running down the ramp from the old music room onto the playground and hearing teacher’s aide Anne Daitz call out to him to slow down. The ramp has since been covered over by the 2004 addition.
”If you look at the pictures, it takes me back to a special place. Those were very, very fun times. I loved it when it snowed and school was closed. Everybody would come here to go sledding,” he said as he sat on the curb in the school driveway.
Meanwhile, parents and children filled the playground area, socializing and munching on hot dogs, barbecued beef, ice cream and other snacks. A short distance away, a disc jockey played music that spanned the decades from the 1960s to the popular music of today while children danced and frolicked.
Then, it was time for Principal Christopher Turnbull the 10th principal in the school’s 50-year history to dedicate the time capsule. Children gathered around the table and watched as Mr. Turnbull prepared to put in some items.
Inside the box, its lid topped by a small sculpture of Amos the Mouse, Mr. Turnbull placed scrapbooks made by each of the four grades at the school. He also placed a blue rubber wristband emblazoned with the school’s can-do motto “If I work hard, I will succeed.”
There is a little-known fact that over the past 50 years, there have been two time capsules neither one of which has been recovered, he said. One of the time capsules may have been inadvertently dug up when modular classrooms were installed in front of the school, and the second time capsule probably was buried under the new wing in 2004.
But this time, Mr. Turnbull said, the time capsule will be placed aboveground. The plan is to open it not in 50 years, but in nine years when the current crop of 3rd-graders will be high school seniors, he said. Even the kindergarteners will be in high school by that time, he said.
Then, as the students counted down “3, 2, 1” Mr. Turnbull screwed the top onto the time capsule. The children cheered and clapped their hands as he used a power drill to tighten up the last of the screws.
”Okay, boys and girls, we will meet back here in nine years,” Mr. Turnbull told the children.
