Reputations (and History) Matter

We were talking about reputations, last week - discussing whether or not a person should care​ about what other people think of him/her.  In the middle of that conversation, I recalled my first teaching assignment at the Page-Woodsen Fifth Grade Center in Oklahoma City.  The school has a rich history, including being the venue for a number of historic guest speakers and performers.

I have introduced the school in previous writings - read about my first teaching assignment, this update, and another update - but I continue to learn about its history.  The good people at Abandoned Oklahoma took interest in the school several years ago, and they have put together a terrific video to describe the history, wax to wane.

I had not understood some of the nuances of the school - that it was originally built as a white school.  Once racial lines moved in the city, the building was reassigned to the black community.  African-American students would not have been accustomed to such amenities, especially in that era.  To hear that the first principal escaped slavery in his earlier years is astounding.

More to the point, the community was devastated to see the building abandoned and in danger of razing.  There was too much history in its walls and the people who understood that yearned for restoration.  It was never going to be brought back as a school, but other purposes, and a sizable investment, were in store.