Obama to visit LCHS!!!

(Read my recap post of this event here.)

President Obama will be hosting a rally this Thursday (August 2^nd) at Loudoun County High School!

No matter your political party, this is a very historic moment and an honor for Loudoun County Public Schools (and LCHS) to have a president visit one of its campuses. I have never heard of a president coming to a Loudoun County school, but my gut says not to assume this is the first time.

Over the years, a few presidents have lived in Loudoun County. James Monroe owned a manor house at Oak Hill (It’s now a private residence), and John F. Kennedy owned a house in Middleburg, so it is entirely possible a president might have visited in the past.

The event is free, but you need a ticket to get in. Click here or here for more information.

I am so mad I am on vacation this week.

UPDATE: The Leesburg Today has posted a story on the history of Presidents visiting Leesburg.

Gertrude Alexander

   Some would consider Loudoun County Public Schools to be a very progressive school system. While other organizations have only recently put females and minorities in seats of power, LCPS had a black and female superintendent in the late 30's.

   In 1939, Gertrude Alexander was put to the post as Superintendent in LCPS. But how is this possible right in the middle of both segregation and Superintendent Oscar Emerick's term (1917-1957)? Simple. She was superintendent of the African American side of the school system.

   According to this Balch Friends article, she was the person who recommended that all the smaller groups calling for a new black school join together under the County Wide League. Under the League, blacks finally got a non-firetrap high school building, Douglass High School (1941).

   She also invited Charles Houston to Loudoun to speak to the African American community for the first time. (I will properly cite this when I get back from vacation. Apologies). Houston, a famous lawyer, was also very instrumental in pushing for Douglass High School.

   Not much is known about Gertrude. No one at Balch Library can even find a picture of her. I don't know when her term ended or how did her superintendent position relate to Emerick's. This has just been an interesting nugget for you to chew on.

13 High Schools

   Did you know we're about to tie our all-time record for most high schools?

   At one time in the early 20th century, Loudoun County had 13 high schools. In no particular order, they were Waterford, Round Hill, Purcellville, Middleburg, Lucketts, Hillsboro, Unison-Bloomfield, Lincoln, Lovettsville, Leesburg, Loudoun Training School (for blacks), Ashburn, and Aldie.

   Back in that day, a high school was not as easily defined. Some schools only had one year of high school curriculum! Some schools weren't fully accredited by the state. And some were only a high school for a couple of years before being demoted to the elementary level (Purcellville was only open one year as a high school)

This fall, we will reach 13 high schools again. This time, they will all be 4-year state accredited high schools.
The schools are: Loudoun County, Loudoun Valley, Broad Run, Park View, Potomac Falls, Stone Bridge, Heritage, Dominion, Freedom, Briar Woods, Tuscarora, Woodgrove, and now John Champe.

According to the current Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), we will finally defeat our record in 2015, when HS-6 and HS-8 open their doors.

(We have never gotten rid of a middle school, so every time we open a new middle school, we beat our previous record)

(We have yet to beat our elementary school record. It's hard to compete when over 100 one room schoolhouses were built)

Sources:
"High Schools Once Flourished Across Area" by Eugene Scheel
LCPS CIP

(I'm still on vacation. I'm in Alaska, and my connection isn't that good. Hope you're having a great summer!)

Personal Note: Timelines

   I've been fiddling around with a new timeline recently.

   One of the first things I did when I started working here was to make a timeline of when schools opened up.
 

Small sampling of the timeline (and current future school plans)

   It's a great visual aid, especially seeing the school system's growth. Beside it is a timeline chronicling the many renovations over the year. It works fine and dandy, but only for current schools that are still open. It can show if a school is currently a support facility (grey background) or not apart of the school system (no color background), but it doesn't show when a school closes. How do I catalog that?

   The next step was to make a stat chart for schools. I had tabs for when schools opened, closed, original square footage, important history moments, etc. Both the timeline and stat chart work well together, but I still wanted something visual to communicate what the stat chart stated. I needed one place, a "consolidation of schools" of sorts.

   So, you could call this new one Timeline 2.0. It's official name is "Fun Timeline," because I made it for fun, but I think it'll be helpful too.

A sampling of the left side of the chart

   In this one timeline, each school has its own small timeline where I can jot down notes on its history. The colored parts indicate when they were in operation as a school. When the color ends, the school has closed. Their timeline of events still continues on, unless they burned down (like that one school in blue that was only open two years) or were demolished.

   You can highlight a year and scroll across to see how many schools were open that year (right now, my graph is correct up to the 1961-1962 school year!). It would probably give you a headache if you scrolled across it too fast, but I digress.

   The old timeline is still helpful. It's quick to look up. It's also easier to print out (If I've learned one thing about working in an office, it's that Excel is a pain to print out)

   2.0 is still a work in progress. I only realized today I didn't have the old Waterford School on there. Many renovations and important points in time are still missing. It'll get up to par with the other lists soon.

Sterling Community Center Annex

 

[Update August 2023: This school has now been demolished. Check out Sterling Annex DEMO DAY 1]

   It's one of those few buildings you drive past and say, "that's looks interesting," but you keep driving by. This is the former Sterling Elementary School.

   This school opened in 1946. It bears a resemblance to the G.W. Carver School (Opened c. 1945-46, now the Carver Center), yet they aren't identical buildings.

   Until the mid-60's, this building and Ashburn Elementary School (now the Staff Training Center) took care of all the elementary students in the Ashburn/Sterling area of Loudoun.  Now there are about 12 elementary schools, each one bigger than both older schools combined. The currently-open Sterling Elementary School opened in 1964. The 1946 Sterling was still used as a school at least into the 1970's, but it was renamed Sterling Annex. I am not exactly sure when it finally closed. When it did, Loudoun County Public Schools used the building for storage.

   Two years after constructing Sterling Community Center in 1977, Sterling needed another building. There was not enough space and time at the one building for the amount of activity and people that visited the Center. The Sterling CC Advisory Board lobbied for use of the former Sterling ES. They were granted their wish. Loudoun County's Parks & Recreation Department signed a 5-year lease for its use in May 1981. After a large renovation, the former school building opened as the "Sterling Annex Community Center" on January 2, 1982.

   Sterling and Eastern Loudoun would keep growing. A 1992 manuscript on the history of Sterling's community centers noted that "Rapid residential development has begun to put a strain on the existing facilities." That growth would continue on for the next few decades.

   The 1992 manuscript also warned that "Development of Route 28 could affect the very existence of the Annex Facility." This also became true. For its whole life, Sterling had been a few buildings away from the Route 28-Church Road intersection. In 2005, as part of a Route 28 improvement project, a new huge interchange opened to drivers at that intersection. Sterling Community Center Annex was spared, but the road in front of the building was disconnected from the main line of traffic. Getting to the Annex was now more complicated.

   With the overpopulation and the lost connection at their Annex building, Parks & Rec decided to build a new, larger community center. As the new Claude Moore Community Center opened in 2007, the aging Sterling Community Center Annex closed its doors. County Staff recommended against reusing or renovating the building further. And so the building sat empty.

   The building is still its original size, never having received an addition. It's on a very small parcel of land. Other than the school and its gravel parking let, there is a baseball field and a playground.

   As I've said, this school location is not easy to navigate to due to the interchange. You have to pass by it, then turn down some back roads to reach it. (If you want to try to reach it, its address is 22084 Shaw Road, Sterling, VA 20164. Or, just aim for Belfort Furniture, it's right down the road)

Looking from the front entrance. The clover intersection is dead ahead.

   When I was originally thinking about this post a year ago, there was little information online on the school. Now, I can't even find those sources anymore.

The top of the flagpole has been cut off

Many plants are staking a claim to the building

The backside of the Auditorium!

Lovely Side Door

Shot from the side door. The school is basically one straight hallway.

   School buildings like Sterling and the first Arcola that have already been community centers scare me. Unless someone can find a new use for these old buildings, they will probably be demolished. Personally, I can see either school getting demo-ed for something else. Sterling doesn't have that much space on the property; bulldoze the school, get rid of the baseball field, and you have a sizable lot for a new building and parking lot. Arcola does have a lot of property that could be used, but it isn't close to many things, which could hurt re-use efforts. I can only hope for the best.

At least the grass still gets mowed.

Read all Sterling Annex Posts:
News on the Sterling Annex Building (2013)
Sterling Community Center Annex - 2016 Update
Sterling Community Center Annex - 2017 Update
Sterling Community Center Annex - 2018 Update
Sterling Community Center Annex - 2019 Update

Sterling Community Center Annex - 2020 Update

Sterling Community Center Annex - 2021 Update

Sterling Community Center Annex - 2022 Update

Sterling Community Center Annex - 2023 Update

Sterling Annex DEMO DAY 1

Sterling Annex DEMO DAY 2

Sterling Annex DEMO DAY 3

After Sterling Annex - 2024

[While this article was posted in 2012, all of the pictures were taken in 2011.]

[Updated 5/20/2016 with added information: from Fall 1992 Manuscript "History of Sterling Community Center and Sterling Community Center Annex" by Lynn G. Balanc, available at Balch Library; from VA State Route 28 Wikipedia, section on Improvement Projects; from Google Earth and it's Historic Imagery feature; testaments of two Sterling Annex alumni from the 60's & 70's, and from a Board of Supervisors Public Hearing Report from July 8, 2015]

Happy 4th of July!

   This may seem like it's 4 days late, but I was just in Hillsboro last night for their 4th of July celebration. They shoot their fireworks off right behind the elementary school and the community center! It was fantastic.

   Hillsboro has a wonderful small town feel. Well, it is a small town to begin with, but the town looks great and is well taken care of. There also seems to be a great sense of community. Everyone came out for this celebration. Although, with everyone coming out, it was hard to find parking in town. Trying to get out afterwards was also challenging, yet we achieved both. 

   The fireworks show wasn't as grand as Ida Lee's show, and I guessed that beforehand. It was a small town show, and it fit the town and the community nicely. I felt like this was how eastern Loudoun County was before its massive growth. It felt authentic. I'm glad I came out, and I hope I get more opportunities to come out to Hillsboro in the future.

Lucketts CC Renovation Progress

July 1, 2012

   Parks and Rec continues to renovate all of its properties. Today, we are focusing on the old Lucketts School, now Lucketts Community Center. My mom used to work at the new Lucketts Elementary School (1972), so I used to be in this area a lot, especially for the Lucketts Fair and helping hand-churning the ice cream one or two times.

Yum. Lucketts Fair, 2009.

   Lucketts Community Center is housed in Parks & Rec's oldest school building. The school opened in 1913 (Hopefully, someone realizes its 100 anniversary is next year and is starting to plan a celebration). It had two renovations in 1919 (probably the back classrooms) and 1929 (the auditorium). In 1972, it closed for the new Lucketts ES, right next door. The building was in such disrepair, it condemned as a firetrap, most notably the upper floors. The Lucketts Fair was actually created during this time to raise funds to restore the building. In 1982, it joined the Parks & Rec family and became a Community Center.


Before and Afters:

Most of the bigger exterior changes can be seen from the side view from the parking lot:

May 2011

July 2011

July 2012

   The school's hyphen has been widened on both sides. The old hyphen had doors on both sides (and one side with an ADA ramp), giving Lucketts 2 of its 3 entrances. Now, there are 2 entrances. The new hyphen has gotten rid of the doors, while there is now an ADA ramp up to the Auditorium.

It was a really tiny hyphen. May 2011

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Lucketts Fair, 2009

July 2012

   The exterior looks a lot better with a fresh coat of paint and without all the A/C machines.

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    Prior to when I first visited in 2011, they had removed the cupola from the top of the building.

May 2011

July 2011

July 2012

   The cupola and bell are now fully restored and back on top of the building.

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July 2011

July 2012

   The cupola has been restored, the roof covering and windows have been replaced, and the walls have received a fresh coat of paint. Looks great.

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   This view through the front doors has changed a lot:

July 2011

July 2012

   They added a second set of doors! Just past the doors is still the old staircase.

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   Looking to the left through the front doors:

July 2011

July 2012

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And now to end with some random pictures:

New ADA entrance ramp into the Auditorium

A peek through the new doors leading into the Auditorium:  

Old looking light and bulb, but both new. They look great.

   Lucketts Community Center is a nice sized property, with a good mix of many fields and tree-shaded areas.

A great playground

Some tree damage by the gazebo from Friday night's mega storm

The Lucketts property is still in use during the center's renovation. Its activities continue in temporary trailers on the other side of the parking lot.

The renovation should finish up later this year. I can't wait to see it open!

Sources:

Lucketts Community Center Website

"250 Years of Service, Loudoun County, Virginia" Loudoun County Office of Public Information

Piedmont Virginian newspaper, April 4, 1973 (from Balch Library)

Recent Reads: Alice in Loudoun Land

   Looking through old files, I came across an old typed script titled "Alice in Loudoun Land." It was a show put on by the Music Committee for the Spring Music Festival, a possible predecessor of today's All-County Chorus. I saw some other programs for other Music Festivals, it didn't seem like the other ones had stories along with them, so this seemed to be something different than the norm.

   Based loosely on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, in "Alice in Loudoun Land," Alice follows the White Rabbit down a hole and ends up in the County of Loudoun! The Rabbit, the Narrator, and a "Charm" proceed to give Alice a brief overview of the history of Loudoun and its various towns and villages. (I have a full overview of the plot at the end of this post)

   Intermingled in the story are many songs. A Glee Club sang Indian Love Call, America the Beautiful, Wild Blue Yonder, Jacob's Ladder, Were You There?, and Old MacDonald Had a Farm. 2nd and 3rd graders sang Billy Boy, while 4th and 5th graders sang Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree. A boy named Stephen Foster had his own musical number of Camp Town Races. This production also featured many dance numbers, including an Indian Dance, a Milk-Maid Dance, a Virginia Reel, a parade of wooden soldiers, and a square dance. It was quite a production.

   It was performed on May 13, 1955 at the old Hillsboro stone school, now the Hillsboro Community Center. It's a short script, only 5 pages long, although the show would have made up for time with all of the many songs and dances. It's... cute, in a sort of old-timey way. It's more a music festival with a script than a show with songs. And that's totally fine for that sort of thing.

   My favorite stage direction was "Small children throw paper airplanes in audience." I wouldn't give kids the power to throw a projectile into an audience ("Oh god, they shot my eye out!")

   Attached to the script was a note to then-Superintendent Oscar Emerick, asking if he, his wife, and/or his staff would like to attend.

   A quick google search reveals this show has no online presence. I'm glad I could shine some light on this forgotten piece. Although, this will probably the first (and possibly) last post on "Alice in Loudoun Land," unless a revival happens in the future.

Sources:
LCPS Records
Loudoun Times Mirror May 1955

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The plot overview and other remarks are continued below: