LEETONIA Group salvages school memories at two buildings

The group of Leetonia alumni wants cornerstones and the stadium's victory bell to be featured at the new school.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LEETONIA -- Not even the threat of a tornado could stop a group of volunteers from its labor of love.
Linda Steele and a group of Leetonia alumni have spent a frantic few weeks racing against time and an imminent wrecking ball to salvage brick, mortar and memories from two Leetonia school buildings.
Even as severe thunderstorms swept through the area recently, the group continued its salvage operation.
Couldn't stop
Steele said the group had spent much of the day Nov. 10 removing items from the high school. When the storm began in earnest, they couldn't stop.
"There were things sitting outside, and we couldn't just leave them," she said. "We were probably crazy to stay out there, but we couldn't just drop everything and run."
The group is salvaging items from the old Leetonia High School and Washingtonville Elementary School buildings before the structures are demolished. Steele said the group plans to try to sell the salvaged items to raise funds for the alumni association.
Earlier this year, the board sold most of the contents of both buildings at auction, but Steele said there are still many memories left.
The group wants the stadium victory bell and its brick tower to figure prominently in design for the new stadium to be built a few blocks north on Walnut Street near the new school complex. Cornerstones and bricks from both buildings are also included in the group's design, she said.
Steele said the victory bell is the original school bell from the first Leetonia school. The bell rings whenever Leetonia football teams score, and at the end of victorious games, she said.
Prompted larger effort
Thoughts of saving the bell led to the larger salvage operation, Steele said. She was sitting with friends at a football game in September, and said the bell shouldn't be lost.
"I told them we need to save the bell, and they said 'Why just the bell?'
"The board approved my ideas and the alumni association put me in charge of the project."
The group worked frantically until last week, when it had to stop because crews are now removing asbestos from the buildings.
"We took out heating grates, doors, whatever we can salvage," Steele said. "Most of those doors are solid oak and still have the original brass hardware."
Steele said the group believes people will be interested in the pieces of their past. If not, the group will lose only the time invested, she said.
More information about the group's effort is available at www.leetoniaalumni.org.