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Madison School on Wheeling Island Marks 100 Years

Students and Faculty Plan Weeks of Event

Photos by Joselyn King Madison School kindergarten teacher Nancy Peluchette stands in “Madison Square Garden” at Madison Elementary School with students, from left, Xavier Loos, Rosella Martin, Ava Rayford and Neveigha Bush.

WHEELING — When it opened 100 years ago, Madison School on Wheeling Island was among West Virginia’s largest school facilities, with an enrollment of more than 900 students in grades 1-9.

There were plans to build a swimming pool at the school, but there was no cafeteria and there were no meals prepared for students. Up until the mid-1970s, most students walked home for lunch — with those living in North Wheeling trekking across the Wheeling Suspension Bridge or Fort Henry Bridge each way.

Today, Madison School is an elementary school with fewer than 300 students in grades pre-kindergarten through grade 5. The students enjoy playing, reading and classes outside in “Madison Square Garden” — the site of the once-proposed pool.

The auditorium/gymnasium was renovated into a cafeteria, where all students now receive free breakfast and lunch each day.

No child is permitted to walk home across the bridge, and there’s also a dental clinic on site.

Madison School celebrates its 100th birthday on Thursday, Oct. 6, with a week long slate of centennial events set to kick off on Saturday. The week will include the opening of time capsules, a parade of students and staff past and present, and a celebration dinner.

– The opening of the school’s 100-year-old time capsule, located within its cornerstone, kicks off events at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1. Members of the Knights of Pythias placed the cornerstone back in 1916, and a number of today’s members are expected to be present to assist in its removal.

The event is of significant importance to the organization, explained special education teacher Barb Randolph, organizer for Madison School’s centennial celebration. The oldest written records retained by the Knights of Pythias date back to 1922, and it is expected the organization placed some of its history from 1916 in the cornerstone.

Those items found in the cornerstone will be extracted and placed on a table for the community to view — but not touch, she said. After the centennial, the items will find their next home within the display case at the school.

– At 9:30 a.m. Oct. 3, Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott is set to present a proclamation to Madison celebrating its centennial.  During the assembly in the school’s multi-purpose room, a second 70-year time capsule will be opened, and each grade will also present its contribution to a 125th-anniversary time capsule to be placed after the centennial celebration.

– In 1916, the school’s opening was celebrated with a grand parade. And at 1:15 p.m. Oct. 4, this parade will be recreated by Madison staff and students past and present, and members of the community.

It is set to begin at the House of the Carpenter and end at Madison’s playground. All Madison students will have centennial shirts, and will be carrying American flags — just like at Madison’s opening 100 years ago. There will be a public open house from 4-5:30 p.m., ending with a performance by the Madison Melodeans in the gym.

There also will be an open house at the school’s dental clinic, which will be dedicated to the late Dr. William Grubler. Grubler started the clinic in 1967.

– On Oct. 6, a ticketed centennial dinner will take place at 6 p.m. at the school. Speakers will include Ohio County Schools Superintendent Kim Miller, as well as former principals of Madison School.

Although Wheeling Island doesn’t have a lighthouse, it has had Madison School for 100 years to serve as an anchor and “shine as a beacon of stability and strength” within the community, according to the teachers and a principal who have worked there.

Former principal Roger Warren was present for the school’s 50th anniversary in 1966, and went on to work 36 years at the school — witnessing much of the more recent history at Madison. He began as a guidance counselor in 1965 and served as principal from 1985 until his retirement in 2001.

“When I first started there that Island group was a close-knit group, and they were concerned about education and the school,” he said. “I feel in love with the Island, and those people. Even though, for many of them it became a  transient community. (Madison School) was their lifeline. … In my personal life, it became like a second home to me.”

He remembers there being about 750 students at the school at the beginning of his tenure, and that there always was a strong amount of parental involvement at Madison. A PTA meeting often brought in 200 people from the community.

As enrollment began to decline throughout Ohio County Schools, officials decided to consolidate some schools and establish middle schools. Madison lost its upper grades and older students, and the former “Red Building” adjacent to the school was razed to make room for a playground.

Although there was declining enrollment, there also were a higher number of transient students who came to the school, according to Warren. The staff worked toward establishing programs to help any struggling children succeed.

“After the junior high left, the atmosphere changed. We were just dedicated to helping … being there to do what we could for them,” Warren said. “Students were lacking when they came in, so we were always looking for programs to work with them. The staff was dedicated to improving these children and getting them on task.”

Under Warren, Madison achieved state and national Blue Ribbon status by 1996.

New Principal Andrea Trio took over the job of principal at the start of the current school year, and she said it has been an exciting time as the school has been planning for its centennial.

“It’s been very rewarding,” she said. “There is a real school family here, where the members work diligently hand-in-hand to assure that students’ success is at the forefront.”

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