Former community school hosting free birthday party
Stecoah – As over 200 members of the surrounding area stood with their eyes focused on the single object in front of them, a photograph that has stood the test of time was captured.
Some 100 years later, there will be an attempt to re-create the magic made when the Stecoah School was dedicated in 1926, as plans for another massive picture outside the historic building in southeastern Graham County are just one component of what attendees will experience when visiting the now-Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center for a 100th birthday party Saturday.
"It's a time to get together and celebrate," said Rick Davis, a member of the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center's board and a former science teacher at Stecoah School. "There's a lot of history here. I'd love to see people sit down and reminisce; tell old stories about special things that happened here.
"We want to have anyone that has an association with the school itself – graduates, teachers, workers – come and just enjoy the day."
The school itself was never overcrowded – when Davis started in 1975, he said there were 180 students altogether – but the sprawling campus has a line-up of activities planned that might make elbow room hard to come by:
* The aforementioned Dedication Day photo recreation;
* Several class reunions will be held inside the Lynn L. Shields Auditorium;
* Musical acts throughout the day, including the Stecoah JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians) band, from 11 – 11:30 a.m. Their set will conclude with the playing of "Happy Birthday."
* A hot dog lunch;
* Open access to pickleball, basketball and cornhole.
* A raffle for tickets to an upcoming "An Appalachian Evening" concert.
The event is free to the public and will begin at 11 a.m.
"The idea is 'Building on the Legacy to Inspire the Future,'" program director Karen McCracken said. "That's why we have the 'Stories and Seeds,' to connect with this place and the county. Those stories inspire us to be our best selves, looking forward.
"As a community, we inspire each other, strengthen each other and build each other up."
McCracken added that the various chalkboards that still adorn walls in many of the old classrooms are currently numbered 1-100, in hopes that visit will write down their favorite memory from their time at Stecoah.
Stecoah operated as a K-12 institution until 1987, when the high school was consolidated. K-8 pupils still reported to the building through the opening of Robbinsville Middle/High School in January 1993.
Davis shared ideas of renovating the former gymnasium into a multi-purpose building, as well as the expansion of the popular 0.3-mile fitness trail that covers the circumference of the campus.
"Looking back, the building now is probably in better shape than it was then," Davis said, adding that a massive restoration and renovation project took place when the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center launched as a local non-profit in 1996. "People care about this place.
"Look at how beautiful it is now."