South Middle School

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="006fa9e3.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#99FFFF" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >South Middle School<B>   </B></FONT><A HREF="http://www.jaspercountyschools.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.jaspercountyschools.org"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="http://www.jaspercountyschools.org/joplin1/id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.jaspercountyschools.org/jopli"><U><B>Joplin School</B></U></A></div> <div> <IMG SRC="082bcb70.jpg" border=0 width="700" height="439" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> In 1927 the former Irving Elementary school was added onto in order to establish  South Junior High School.  This building</div> <div> was located at 22nd and Wall.  A auditorium and gymnasium was added in 1931.  The old Irving section was torn down in</div> <div> 1954 and  seventeen room addition was constructed.  South Junior High school later became South Middle School.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="086620b0.jpg" border=0 width="610" height="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> December 9, 2011</div> <div> Demolition Begins on Joplin Schools Destroyed in Tornado</div> <div> By Kelsey Ryan kryan@joplinglobe.com</div> <bR> <div> JOPLIN, Mo. — With the demolition of several schools that were destroyed in the May 22 tornado, a chapter of Joplin’s history </div> <div> is coming to a close.</div> <bR> <div> Demolition began Friday at Irving Elementary School, starting a countdown of 60 days to finish the work.</div> <bR> <div> Brad Belk, executive director of the Joplin Museum Complex, is one of thousands of Joplin students who attended Irving Elementary </div> <div> over the years.</div> <bR> <div> “I lived nearby, and walking to school was a very customary thing and it felt safe, and I never worried about going to school,” Belk said. </div> <div> “I had a wonderful time at Irving, as I did at South (Middle School), too. I remember my teachers and they were very loving and caring. </div> <div> I remember it being a big neighborhood school. I can’t say enough about how safe I always felt and warm from the teachers because </div> <div> they really loved and cared about us.”</div> <bR> <div> Belk said he runs by the school still and although he never had any encounters at the principal’s office, he’s peeked into where it was. </div> <div> He said he doesn’t remember much about learning subjects there, but that he hit softballs over the fence and would have to go get them. </div> <div> He was also the first school boy patrolman that was a fifth-grader at the time. The patrol boys would help the younger kids cross the street, </div> <div> he said.</div> <bR> <div> The Joplin School District has been around since 1872, one year before the city of Joplin was officially incorporated, according to Belk.</div> <bR> <div> The most recent Irving Elementary building was built in 1927. In March 1926, the Joplin Board of Education authorized the purchase of land</div> <div> for Irving as part of an extensive school improvement program, according to Globe records, and the site was determined to be “centrally</div> <div> located in the Irving district and is considered ideal.” The land’s purchase price was reported to be $4,100.</div> <bR> <div> “What we’re looking at is a ‘neighborhood experience,’ especially the elementary schools and junior highs, something that was very much</div> <div> a part of that community and neighborhood,” Belk said.</div> <bR> <div> In that same school improvement program that year, the district purchased land around the former Irving location, which is now where Old </div> <div> South Middle School is located. The additional land purchase for Old South cost $2,850 and included two small houses.</div> <bR> <div> “It’s more than just history, it’s memories,” Superintendent C.J. Huff said. “As we do our part, we’re educators, and history is something we </div> <div> study. The decisions we’re making today 50 years from now will be looked at historically. Any time you can preserve history, bricks and mortar, </div> <div> you have the responsibility to save them.”</div> <bR> <div> At Irving, the district is saving headers over the doors, cornerstones, bronze plaques and documents with historical value. Huff said that </div> <div> although he’s not a lifelong resident of Joplin, it hurts to see those buildings demolished.</div> <bR> <div> “I have mixed emotions, like so many in the community who are ready to start over and rebuild, but it’s still hard to see those buildings </div> <div> coming down,” he said.</div> <bR> <div> Huff said he has considered suggesting to the Board of Education that they rename the school Hope Elementary School. The district plans </div> <div> to rebuild the school on land donated by Mercy Health System at the site of the destroyed St. John’s Regional Medical Center, and to sell </div> <div> the current lot as surplus land.</div> <bR> <div> Salvage crews have been sent into the schools to gather student records and other salvageable items. Demolition on Joplin High School </div> <div> and Franklin Technology Center will start in the coming weeks, officials said.</div> <bR> <div> The actual start date depends on the items that are still being salvaged from the site and the historical aspect, including sheet music and </div> <div> other items. The salvage work is affected by asbestos contamination to the items. Every item that leaves the building is decontaminated, </div> <div> which slows down the project.</div> <bR> <div> Huff said that although there is asbestos in the other buildings, the main area of concern with contamination is JHS.</div> <bR> <div> JHS was built in 1958, and Franklin Technology Center was built in 1966. </div> <bR> <div> Other schools</div> <bR> <div> Others schools that will be demolished are Old South Middle School, which was built in 1927; Emerson Elementary, which was built </div> <div> in 1930; and the former East Middle School.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="083bc830.jpg" border=0 width="700" height="387" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> October 2011</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="084bc9e0.jpg" border=0 width="700" height="414" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> October 2011</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><script language="JavaScript1.2"> /* Disable right click script II (on images)- By Dynamicdrive.com For full source, Terms of service, and 100s DTHML scripts Visit http://www.dynamicdrive.com */ var clickmessage="Please send an email if you would like a copy of this photo." function disableclick(e) { if (document.all) { if (event.button==2||event.button==3) { if (event.srcElement.tagName=="IMG"){ alert(clickmessage); return false; } } } else if (document.layers) { if (e.which == 3) { alert(clickmessage); return false; } } else if (document.getElementById){ if (e.which==3&&e.target.tagName=="IMG"){ alert(clickmessage) return false } } } function associateimages(){ for(i=0;i<document.images.length;i++) document.images[i].onmousedown=disableclick; } if (document.all) document.onmousedown=disableclick else if (document.getElementById) document.onmouseup=disableclick else if (document.layers) associateimages() </script></B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>