A special thank you to all those who have participated in our “I Remember Rippey” series. Your remembrances have allowed readers to share in our town’s history, activities, sports, school, church and daily life covering 150 years. We will continue collecting your stories through April 30. Phyllis McElheney Lepke is serving as our volunteer coordinator and stories may be sent to her at Rippey150@gmail.com.
There are many more wonderful articles to enjoy if you click on this link to reach the Rippey Library website: https://www.rippey.lib.ia.us . Then from the home page, click on Rippey History/Genealogy and you’ll be taken to a wealth of articles and news clippings, many provided by Rippey historian Jean Borgeson. Jean is a tireless researcher and great story teller, so you can continue to read about Rippey into the future.
Rippey poet Nancy Bardole Hanaman shares her feelings and writing talent in this remembrance as the Rippey School was closed.
Farewell To The Rippey School,
1921-2012
The walls will cry,
And so will I,
As children go from here.
No bells will ring,
Or children sing,
When school days end for all.
The building stands,
As many hands,
Found learning through these doors.
Yet time for friends,
Will never end,
For students young and old
The lights go out,
No one’s about,
Yet memories live on.
Nancy Bardole Hanaman
May 23, 2012
Student at
Rippey Consolidated School, 1951-1962
.
The Walls Came Down:
Farewell to the Rippey School Building
Dedicated to students, parents, teachers and those who had the vision to lay the corner stone in 1920
Drive by slowly,
Once proud school,
Now a stark brick shell,
As the building fell,
Memories flood in.
Days gone by,
Young children venture forth
Kindergartners head to the second floor,
High School kids march on to the floor above.
Memories wander through the ghost of hallways
Into the old gym.
First day of school,
End of the year picnic and games.
Box socials,
Families gathered for PTA meetings.
Class with the most parents attending
Won a prize.
My mother came to this place
A young school teacher,
Met a young banker at Epworth League,
Watched his car glide past en route to lunch.
A newcomer stayed 59 years.
Proud building stood tall,
On the edge of town.
Rising on the rich black soil.
Bricks and mortar clung together
Building a home for young learners.
Generations trod the uneven steps,
To enter the hallowed halls,
Children, teachers, parents.
Music echoes from the vacant band room,
Basketball players charge down the court,
From 6th grade Lions Club Games to High School youth.
My sister, Sharon, fast as a speeding bullet,
More points than any others.
My heart breaks as the walls come down,
Not just the building but a lifetime of memories,
A place always there when we journeyed from distant places.
Brick by brick and load upon load of refuse,
Make the journey to places unknown,
The cathedral of learning
Reduced to a grass graveyard.
Nancy Bardole Hanaman
Oct. 4, 2014