Old school memories

The public has one final chance to walk through the buildings Saturday.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- As the memories of pupils, staff and teachers she worked with over the years race through her mind, Sandy Bilovesky's eyes fill with tears.
"This is hard," she said, looking around her third-grade classroom at Garfield Elementary on the city's south side.
"You can't help but think of all the people who were here, but are now gone."
Bilovesky, who's taught at the school since 1980, is one of an elite breed: She and her colleagues are the last people who will ever teach at the school, which closes for good this week.
Edison Junior High School on Church Street, just down from McKinley Memorial Library, also is being closed.
The buildings will be open from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday to allow residents to walk the halls one final time.
Second home
The 98-year-old Garfield building served as the first school for generations of south siders and has become a second home for many who've passed through its halls.
"I'm from Niles, but never even knew the south side existed when I was growing up," Bilovesky said. "Coming across the viaduct was a long trip and we were never allowed to do that. But now, this has become my home. It's like my family is here."
Garfield Principal Cheri Raschilla has worked in the building six years and realizes it's an emotional time for staff and pupils.
"I don't actually think it has sunk in with all of the students yet, especially the little ones," she said. "It may not hit them until they walk out on the last day."
And on that last day, a long-standing tradition will get a new twist.
Normally, children in kindergarten through fifth grade are brought outside and then the sixth-graders are announced and come out to rounds of applause.
This year, each class will be individually introduced as they leave the building.
"We will need a lot of tissues that day," Raschilla said.
She said Garfield has always been a unique school in that the close-knit neighborhood atmosphere finds its way into the building.
Since most pupils walk to and from school each day, parents and teachers often have a chance to interact on a daily basis.
"It really is a family here," she said.
For some pupils, Garfield is a family affair. Fifth-grader David Elliott, who will attend the new Niles Middle School next year, is the last of his family to attend classes there. His older brother and sister, his mother, an uncle, his grandmother and even his great-grandfather all went to Garfield.
"I really like this school," he said. "I want to stay here one more year. I like the teachers. All my family went here."
Staying connected
One former Garfield pupil, Robert Marino, decided to stay connected with Niles City Schools and is now principal of Edison Junior High School.
The junior high building, which originally opened in 1914 as the city's high school, houses seventh and eighth grades. It was the high school until the 1950s, when it became one of two junior high schools. In the 1980s, it became the only junior high.
Marino said Edison pupils and staff may have some sadness, but most are excited.
"We've had some time to prepare for this," he said.
Plans to close Edison and open Niles Middle School started almost three years ago.
Most pupils, like eighth-grader David Kiefer, don't have much sentimental attachment to the 89-year-old building and are ready for a change.
Kiefer said he's a little disappointed he won't get to attend the new school, but is looking forward to making the transition to the high school. He added most of his friends don't seem sad about Edison closing and getting torn down later this year.
"I suppose it's a good thing they are closing the building, since it's already falling apart," he said. "We got all the history we need from it."
Some of the staff, however, feel a little differently.
"It's like anything else in life," said Andy Kostraba, a guidance counselor at Edison since 1975. "There are a lot of good memories, but it's time for a new building and a change."
Kostraba thinks as the pupils get older, they will develop more of an appreciation for the building.
"They will probably get more of that sentimentality as they age," he said. "Especially the eighth-graders, since they are the last to graduate from here."
City landmark
Fred Smith, who attended Edison in the early 1980s and has worked as a district custodian since 1992, is already feeling a bit wistful.
"It's been a landmark in this city for so long," he said. "Even passing by this area is going to be different. The building won't be here, it will just be a bare spot."
Smith said he understands the reasons for making the transition to a new building that will offer the latest technology for pupils, but it's still hard not to think of the significant role Edison's played in the community through the years.
"Think of all the faces that have passed through these halls," he said. "I guess now we can focus on all the faces that will pass through the halls of the new building."
Tracy Ledsome, another former Edison pupil who teaches eighth-grade language arts there, echoes Smith's sentiments.
"It's a little bittersweet for me," she said. "For a lot of us in Niles, our roots are here. I think the closing has a little more impact on us, and our parents."
Ledsome said she's always had an appreciation for the history associated with the building. As a pupil, she sat in desks that still featured inkwells.
"I used to think, 'If these walls and desks could talk,'" she said. "There's a familiarity in it. It feels like home. I think people are going to really miss that comfort zone."
slshaulis@vindy.com