Lindley Park takes turn hosting Centennial bash
By Kathi Keys
Staff Writer, The Courier-Tribune
ASHEBORO - Fifty-one years ago, young Asheboro students carried their
books down East Academy Street along Main and Elm streets and up the hill
to their new school on Cliff Road.
That new school was Lindley Park Elementary, and on Monday night, it
celebrated its 51st birthday along with its observance marking Asheboro
City Schools' Centennial.
Nearly 300 people, young and old, turned out for the celebration, which
featured a program of more than half an hour devoted to the highlights of
each decade since the school opened on Jan. 24, 1954.
Prior to Lindley Park's opening, students attended Asheboro's Fayetteville
Street School, which was at the corner of East Academy and South Fayetteville
streets, where Carolina Bank stands today.
The new school, for grades 1-6, was one of several projects paid for
through a $975,000 bond issue in the early 1950s. Lindley Park was touted
the year before it opened as being a modern school which would have 20 classrooms,
a cafeteria, library and auditorium.
"Each student took a pile of books and with the teachers following
us, we went down Academy. ... There was no cafeteria (yet). That's what
I remember about my first day," said former Lindley Park student Richard
Garkalns, who was interviewed for a video depicting the past 51 years. He
added that he walked with a female student, Susan, who later became his
wife.
Retired music teacher Rose Patterson also was part of that procession
to Lindley Park. "It was great fun to have this brand new school. We
had so many students (at Fayetteville Street) that some came in the morning
and went home at lunchtime and another group came in the afternoon."
Principal Dr. Hazel Frick welcomed the community to the school's 51st
birthday celebration and the 100th anniversary of Asheboro City Schools.
"It has taken a lot of commitment and hard work from a lot of individuals
over the years," she said.
Before the audience was taken down memory lane, 11 fifth-graders led
the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance and presented a modern version of
the pledge.
Each grade was assigned a separate decade to spotlight during a procession
featuring each decade's flag poster and in a video. The audience was also
invited to sing the Lindley Park school song, which was written by Don Callicutt,
a member of the 1966-67 student council.
The school also contained many historic displays for the public to view
and attendees were entertained by the "Barrister Boys," a group
of local attorneys (Ricky Cox, Ed Bunch, Frank Wells and Dick Roose), most
with ties to Lindley Park.
The city school system's next Centennial celebration will be held at
North Asheboro Middle School on Feb. 18. The community celebration is planned
on the actual anniversary, March 6, at Asheboro High School. The concluding
event will be held April 10 at Balfour Elementary School and include the
Early Childhood Development Center, now located at the old Balfour school.
Copyright 2002, Stephens Media Group
|