Red Brick School Remembrance

On Tuesday evening, Oct. 19, Red Brick schoolhouse alumni and friends gathered to share memories and say goodbye to the building on Dover Center Rd. in Westlake. The 101-year-old building, which served as a school until 1968 and then housed Westlake Board of Education offices, has been vacant since 2003. It is slated for demolition later this year.

(click photo to enlarge)

  • Lysa Stanton, president of the Westlake Historical Society, spearheaded the effort to reunite former Red Brick students at the building one last time before its demolition.
  • Former students of the Red Brick school pose on the fire escape of the building, near where they used to line up for class pictures. Pictured are: (back row, l-to-r) Don Bowman, Scott Thompson, Carl Schell; (stairs, ascending) Kathleen Hlavin, Sarah Hughes and Cheri Schell.

  • Dave Pfister of the Westlake Historical Society offers a fitting tribute to the 101-year-old school.
  • Will Krause holds the flag during the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
  • Former students came forward to share their memories of the school. Don Bowman recalls playing marbles in the stairwell in Kindergarten, and seeing the class on the level below his through a worn hole in the floor.

  • Phyllis Spooner Dunn brought her Dover megaphone to the ceremony. She still remembers who taught in every room in the building.

  • Sarah Hughes remembers a kind teacher, and still has a Santa Claus craft she made in Kindergarten.

  • Phyllis Spooner Dunn takes her turn at ringing a ceremonial school bell. Members of the crowd passed the bell around and rang it 101 times, once for each year of the Red Brick’s history.

  • Red Brick alumni and friends bow their heads as a recorded version of Taps is played. The solemn moment brought tears to the eyes of some in attendance.

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