BETHLEHEM, Pa. — On Saturday, countless alumni, retired teachers, administrators, and staff gathered at the former Edgeboro Elementary School to celebrate the institution’s impact over its century of existence.
Walking the halls of the building that now houses the Bethlehem Area School District Education Center, swarms of former students and employees of the elementary school enjoyed a day of meeting friends old and new, searching for themselves and loved ones in school photos, and looking over a plethora of memorabilia spanning decades into the past.
Strolling their old stomping grounds, people from the community and some who have since moved quite a distance away took a trip through time, checking out newspaper clippings of school events, reminiscing about technology classes over old computer punch cards, and sharing tales of what each room used to be when they were in grade school.
“Today is Edgeboro Day in the city of Bethlehem, in honor of this milestone 100th anniversary, and on behalf of the residents of this city, I honor the history, the present and the future being built by Bethlehem here on our north side."BASD Assistant Superintendent Dr. Maureen Leeson
Among the memorabilia, attendees also enjoyed performances from the BASD Alumni Band, a short presentation covering the facility’s history, and some light refreshments.
But as for that missing time capsule… it’s still missing, administrators and organizers at the event confirmed.
Officials believed the time capsule — buried 45 years ago — was located under a grassy mound on the building’s surrounding property, but it wasn’t found when they began digging a few months back.
If anyone has any information about its location, BASD Communications Coordinator Barbara Clymer said anyone is free to email her to help with the effort.
A century of education in Bethlehem
“One hundred years ago, on September 3, 1924, the Bethlehem Area School District opened the doors of Edgeboro School, welcoming students from kindergarten through sixth grade,” Clymer said to the crowd.
“Edgeboro School remained open until the 1978-79 school year, closing in June of 1979 and then quickly opening as the Education Center in August of 1979. I am so excited to share all the memorabilia with you today that we have collected.”
After thanking the committee members and alumni who helped procure the wealth of artifacts assembled and assisted in setting up the event, Clymer turned the microphone over to Superintendent Jack Silva, who quickly questioned any of the coordinator’s former teachers as to her conduct as a student.
To be fair, he did assume “she was probably one of those really good kids in class.”
“As you know, a school isn't just where teachers teach and students learn. It's really an embodiment of the aspirations of a community, right?” Silva said.
“And the Edgeboro community has its unique qualities to it. It had a beautiful school that still has a profound impact upon the overall Bethlehem community serving as the Education Center. I've been fortunate to be here for the last 14 years, and now for my second year as superintendent, I can tell you the stories of this building live on. The people who have worked here are still very well regarded,” Silva said before inviting Assistant Superintendent Maureen Leeson to read a proclamation from Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds commemorating the day.
Reading the proclamation — while triggering the audience’s learned behavior to speak in unison upon every utterance of the term “whereas,” to the chuckles of many — Leeson noted the former school’s role in serving as a station for children to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, and building a love for the arts and sciences, before beginning a new life as the Education Center.
“Today is Edgeboro Day in the city of Bethlehem, in honor of this milestone 100th anniversary, and on behalf of the residents of this city, I honor the history, the present and the future being built by Bethlehem here on our north side,” Leeson said.
Teachers and students dive into history
Ron Szabo told stories of his multiple roles at the institution, including interim principal for a year, followed by some time as a second- through fifth-grade teacher the following year, and then rounding out his time as a sixth-grade teacher.
After that, Szabo came into an administrative role as a curriculum specialist for math, science, business and technology, serving at the building for another decade.
Szabo said he had a fun time chatting with former colleagues and students as they explored a wealth of memories attached to the old elementary school, which was a welcome break from some involved work leading up to the event.
“It was a fun experience, because one of the things that I did is I researched all the old superintendents since 1924. So I was doing a lot of work on the internet to try to find people, and also I went to Liberty and Freedom and went through the yearbooks. So that was a challenging thing to do,” Szabo said.
Intermediate unit teacher Barbara Doster shared her story of instructing at the school right out of college in 1972, where the school implemented open-concept learning for the first time.
“We had fourth, fifth and sixth grade mixed up for our homerooms for three years, and we did a three-year cycle, working with six teachers. Our desks were in the hall, so we had good team concept. It was very interesting,” Doster said with a broad smile.
Szabo jokingly suggested the idea of doling out shovels and asking attendees to dig up the yard to find the missing time capsule, with Doster adding if that had happened, it might have been a good idea to plant memorial trees in the myriad holes across the property.
Examining an old photo of the school band, Richard Groman was able to locate his father, who was a drummer, in the back row.
“It was a fun experience, because one of the things that I did is I researched all the old superintendents since 1924. So I was doing a lot of work on the internet to try to find people, and also I went to Liberty and Freedom and went through the yearbooks. So that was a challenging thing to do.”Ron Szabo, former Edgeboro teacher and district curriculum developer.
Groman said it was a pleasure to return to the building — he only tends to come around to pay his taxes — and see the wealth of photos, documents, equipment and other relics on display.
“I brought pictures in from my class, when I was going here, because I kept all my grade school photos, so they're here somewhere too,” Groman said, adding he intended to visit one of his teachers from his time at Edgeboro, who is now 97, after the event to share some stories.
Sisters Cheryl Vargo and Joan Vargo Krem attended the school together in the 1970s, and both agreed there were plenty of good memories of their time there.
Incredibly, their family connection extends even further back into the school’s history, making for a timeline of fond memories and long-lasting friendships.
“I think we're most excited to share the pictures with our dad, because he is now 87, and he remembers it like it was yesterday. I think we're here almost on his behalf, to take pictures of the books and everything, because it feels like for him it was just yesterday, and he has all these stories about all the trouble he would get into here,” Joan Vargo Krem said with a laugh.
