A digital rendering of the new Pierceton Elementary School.

On June 6, Pierceton School is holding a public auction. Soon thereafter, it will be demolished to make room for a new school that will, most agree, better serve the students of Whitley and Kosciusko counties. Still, it will be a bittersweet moment for a community that has seen generation after generation walk through the old limestone entrance that reads “Pierceton School 1923.”

Many who attended Pierceton High School before its consolidation in 1971 did so from first through 12th grades, which only strengthened the bonds felt by students who grew from young children to adults within its walls. “You spent twelve years with the same people,” explained Becky Gregory, class of ’64 and president of the 700 strong Pierceton Alumni Association. “We had an extraordinary spirit.” Gregory and other alumni noted how members of the community continued attending sports events, particularly basketball games, long after their own children graduated.

It was (and is, in the case of the elementary) often the case students’ parents and grandparents, even great-grandparents, attended Pierceton. Deb Thomas is Pierceton Elementary secretary and treasurer. You could say she started working there in 1963 while in the second grade when she helped her teacher, Mrs. Faudree, in the classroom after school. Later, as a high schooler, she helped Principal Bill Schuldt in the office. Since then she’s worked 36 years in paid positions, 13 as a bus driver.

“My parents went to school there and so did their five children,” said Thomas. Now her own grandchildren attend Pierceton Elementary. “I’m Pierceton at heart,” she said. “It’s a close-knit bunch.”

Laura Stickler McKee remembered Schuldt blowing cigarette smoke through a handkerchief to show the harmful effects of smoking in health class. “Very memorable!”

Unfortunately, the building where this community grew up, which was built on the ashes of a school gutted by fire, has fallen into decrepitude, and six years ago school administrators started taking a hard look at what had to be done. Whitko Schools Superintendent Steve Clason spoke of a “plethora” of problems that led to the difficult decision to make way for a new school that would meet students’ and teachers’ needs.

“Floors sagging, water issues, heating and air-conditioning issues,” and that was just the start. A new building was the best option for students and taxpayers. “It would cost over a million more to repair the existing structure,” explained Clason.

Architect Adam Weesner of Barton, Coe, Vilamma Architects, said the old building, which had seen a “multitude of additions” throughout the years, is “much larger than what they need in the foreseeable future.” He added the new building will “honor but not copy” the former structure, utilizing a pre-cast concrete that mimics limestone.

According to Pierceton Elementary Principal Nathan Polston, one “exciting new feature” is the learning commons. “This will be a place where students not only go to read and check out books, but to work on enrichment projects, small group instruction, and receive math and writing interventions.”

There will be many technological additions. According to Polston, “Every classroom will be set up to provide support for our 1:1 technology initiative. Each student will have their own device to use throughout the day. Classrooms will also have interactive projectors, mimeo document cameras, dimmable lighting, and integrated audio. Furthermore, classrooms will also have a flat panel TV that teachers can mirror their iPads to while working with small groups of students.”

Polston went on to stress technological improvements. “I am really looking forward to seeing how it will enhance teachers’ instruction and student learning.”

Gregory is heading a group of 700 alumni who are trying to raise $30,000 for a tribute to the “faculty that invested a lifetime,” composed of brick, limestone sections and rosettes from the soon to be demolished Pierceton School. The tribute is planned to be erected on the new campus and designed by . Brick, limestone sections and rosettes will be removed and integrated into a design by Adam Weesner of Barton, Coe, Vilamma Architects of Fort Wayne.

This 1953 photo of an unknown Pierceton High School student is from the Kosciusko Historical Society. Pierceton Alumni President Becky Gregory wrote, “The halls of the old school hold memories of first loves, joys of accomplishments, sorrows of losing world leaders and close friends, laughter from times shared and friendships that will never be forgotten. The memories live on and on. We are hoping to capture this unique time for the annuals of posterity by building a tribute and alumni plaza to capture all that happened there.” (Photo from the Genealogical Library of Kosciusko County Historical Society)