Oak Hill Elementary PTO celebrates "A Century in Bloom"
Oak Hill Elementary was once Oak Hill High School, which closed when Freedom High School opened in 1973
Oak Hill Elementary School is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
The Oak Hill Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization came together on Saturday, April 25, for “A Century in Bloom,” a spring fling in celebration of 100 years since Oak Hill was built.
“It’s going to be similar to a very small-scale festival,” said Melanie Miller, the PTO’s spring fling chair, ahead of the celebration. “We opened it to the public (and) anybody that wanted to come set up.”
The free event, running from noon to 8 p.m., was on the school’s football field and offered $10 wristbands for entry to bounce houses, games, and a touch-a-truck event.
The Oak Hill emergency response team, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, and the Limbwalkers Tree & Crane Service all brought vehicles for visitors to admire.
Soul Food Island food truck served meals at the event as well. Their usual menu includes entrees such as fried catfish, chicken, pulled pork, and smothered beef liver and onions.
“In the afternoon, we’re also doing a dunking booth,” Miller said. “We’ve been doing coin wars with the students, and they’ve been bringing in their cash and change to try to get their teachers — the top three teachers will go in the dunking booth.”
Funds raised at the event go toward a variety of teacher appreciation initiatives, such as pies and desserts at Thanksgiving, provided lunches throughout the year, and occasional duty-free lunches.
Miller hopes that, starting next year, PTO will provide a school-specific technology grant, allowing teachers to utilize software in their classrooms that would otherwise cost too much to implement.
A LITTLE HISTORY
Miller said that even though she grew up on the other side of Morganton, her husband and his father both attended Oak Hill as children, and now her daughter attends third grade there.
She explained that Pam Lookadoo, a local that also attended Oak Hill Elementary, would likely be at the event, presenting a bit of history on the school.
The gymnasium is one of the oldest buildings on campus.
Lookadoo, who had a prior commitment with the Scouts and therefore couldn’t be present all day, said she planned to still be around and bring some yearbooks for reference.
Lookadoo’s father was principal for nearly 30 years, back when principals lived on campus, she said. Her family lived in a house that sat between the high school and the elementary school when Oak Hill covered all grade levels.
She reflected on the time, saying that the school was really self-sufficient and for the locals.
“The school was a gathering place for the entire community,” Lookadoo said, explaining how locals used tools on campus to fix things in their home, churches used the cafeteria for meals, and the Ruritan club used the campus for fundraisers.
The Oak Hill High School Class of 1973 donated this “Buddy Bench” to the school’s playground, which is now in place of the original schoolhouse.
High school students came to borrow the key to the gym, often leaving it cleaner than they found it. Many of the local families didn’t have running water or hot water, so children could bathe at the school.
Home economics classes washed clothes, a nearby farmer used leftover food to feed his pig, and the list goes on.
“That’s what happens when you have a school that’s owned by the community,” Lookadoo said.
WHAT’S STILL THERE
Amy Fry, the PTO’s teacher liaison, took a few moments out of her day to point out where buildings used to be and highlight the school’s rich history.
Bleachers still stand a short distance from the school building, a physical testament to when the school’s layout looked completely different.
Once Freedom High School opened in the 1970s, Oak Hill High School students began attending Freedom, making Oak Hill a kindergarten through ninth grade institution.
Aside from the annex and the gym, built in 1956 and 1957, respectively, the original school was torn down. The district erected the current elementary school main building, now pre-k through fifth-grade, where the football field was and put a playground where the former school building stood.
From concrete bleachers still standing just yards from the school’s side to a bench dedicated to the playground by the Oak Hill High School Class of 1973, remnants of the history still stand around the campus, inviting future students to remember the past.
