Former students take one more walk-through before Bath Elementary comes down

by Sheldon Ocker

The contrast is stark. The new Bath Elementary, still under construction, is big, shiny and full of promise inherent in its state-of-the-art amenities. Only feet away is the old Bath Elementary, going on 96, faded and long past its prime. But old Bath has something new Bath cannot have: memories.

April 26 was the last day the curious and the alumni going back four generations were invited to take a walk through Bath’s ancient hallways and visit the classrooms, the gym, the music room and the cafeteria.

Robin Rohrich, who attended Bath in the mid-’90s, brought her father, Bath grad Tom, who asked his buddy, Mike McCauley, a Bath alum from the late 1950s, to tag along. Robin’s friend Lindsey Flowers, who also went to Bath, completed the party.

“It was my dad’s idea, but I wanted to come to kick up a few memories,” Robin said.

Her father supplied one. After visiting his third-grade classroom (yes, he actually remembered the precise room), Tom Rohrich recalled an incident that the current generation would have difficulty relating to.

“I remember the classroom and I remember my teacher,” Rohrich said. “He sent me to the principal’s office for talking – he probably gave me three or four warnings – and the principal paddled me. Can you imagine that today?”

Asked if she had heard that story, Robin said, “I knew it happened, but it’s hard to picture my dad getting paddled.”

The school is scheduled for demolition in early to mid-June. The new structure is scheduled to open for students next school year.

Even though Jennie Faivre grew up in Parma and never attended Bath Elementary, she came to see the building with her 7-year-old daughter Jocelyn, who attends Richfield Elementary.

“I just wanted to see the old building,” Jennie said. “But we’re excited for the new building. Jocelyn will be in the second class at the new building.”

Old Bath Elementary is the home to grades four and five, plus pre-kindergarten. New Bath will include grades 3-5; the pre-K kids will move to Richfield Elementary.

Abby and Josh Kruszynski are siblings who attended Bath in the mid-to-late ’90s.

“We came for the nostalgia,” Abby said. “I remember being in a production of ‘The Sound of Music’ here. This is a cool old building. There aren’t going to be schools like this anymore.”

Said Josh, “I used to really like my fourth-grade classroom on the third floor, because you could look out the window to the playground.”

He added that many of the friends he made at Bath Elementary remained friends through college.

Sue Fatkins and Kim Kozar went to school at Bath in the 1970s and hadn’t been in the building for years.

“My husband told me to take something off the wall,” Kozar said. “I told him that was not allowed.”

Asked to recall her best memory of the school, Fatkins said, “I remember being out on the playground and seeing Mrs. Kaufman ride in on her motorcycle. She was the kindergarten teacher and a real character.”

Featured image photo caption: A mural of the original Bath Twp. School, built in 1923, was painted on one of the hall walls several years ago. Photo by S. Ocker