Shepherdstown Elementary School students participate in their school’s new building groundbreaking festivities along with their principal, Nancy McManus, and members of the Jefferson County Board of Education. Toni Milbourne

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Shepherdstown Elementary School staff, students, Jefferson County Board of Education members, dignitaries and community members were all on hand for the official groundbreaking ceremony of the new Shepherdstown Elementary School building, at the intersection of Flowing Springs Road and Gardner Lane.

Superintendent Bondy Gibson-Learn welcomed all who were on hand with words of thanks to all who took part in making a long-time dream a reality.

“There are so many to thank,” Gibson-Learn said, as she noted students and staff who devoted time to deciding what they wanted to see in the new school, as well as state officials with the School Building Authority, who helped secure the building’s funding.

She commended the voters who passed the bond to allow for construction of not only Shepherdstown’s new school, but also Ranson’s. In addition, she made special mention of members of the Local School Improvement Council, who have advocated for the new school for years.

Several members of that council were on hand for the ceremonial groundbreaking. Dennis Barron and Joe Spurgas said they served on the council from its inception, and have been diligent in bringing the needs of the Shepherdstown community to the attention of school board members.

“We’ve been looking at this need for 12 or 15 years,” Barron said. “It has sometimes been difficult to get our concerns out there, but we had many meetings with Dr. Gibson-Learn.”

Barron pointed out there were many safety concerns at the current elementary school building that helped spur on the talks for a new school.

“The roof, the windows — everything is outdated,” Barron said.

Barron is one who would know of the evolution of the school over the years. Both he and Jefferson County Board of Education member Mark Osbourn were in the initial first grade class at the school back in 1957. With fond memories of the school in his mind, he has worked throughout the years to ensure Shepherdstown Elementary remained an exceptional school.

“It was a community. We knew everybody,” he said, regarding his schooldays at Shepherdstown Elementary, adding that there were only two classes of each grade there, back then.

According to Osbourn, it was not just the school that had the community feel, but the town itself and all it had to offer.

“I probably wouldn’t have gone to college if Shepherd wasn’t on my doorstep,” he reminisced. “It is a gift to all the kids in the town, the county and the neighboring area.”

Another former student who came out to share in the groundbreaking excitement, was town council member Cheryl Roberts.

“I remember that the teachers were so nice,” Roberts said, mentioning she began attending Shepherdstown Elementary in the second grade. “The school was close-knit and I have fond memories of how we were treated, as the ‘new’ kids.”

“I came from a segregated first grade into a desegregated second grade,” Roberts said. “I remember Mrs. Piercy — she was so nice, and she followed so many of us through until we graduated.”

Attending the elementary school at the same time as Roberts was G.R. Welsh, who sold the land to the JCBOE. Welsh’s family owned the property since the 1960s, selling part of the land for the construction of Covenant Baptist Church.

Welsh recalled his days at the current school building, remembering looking out of the window at the trains passing by.

“I watched train cars with tanks on them that were being shipped to Vietnam,” Welsh said.

He said his hope is that students who will attend the new school building will take advantage of their opportunity to get the best education possible.

“This new school will allow that to happen,” Welsh said, adding that he has hopes the students will learn about the history of the local area — not just the property on which their school sits, but all of the history of the entire area.

Gibson-Learn summed up the day, when she spoke of the children who will attend the state-of-the-art facility.

“The kids deserve the best of what West Virginia has, because they are the best of West Virginia,” Gibson-Learn said.

JCBOE member Donna Joy, whose children attended school in the current Shepherdstown Elementary building, shared her excitement on the upcoming construction.

“I’m so excited for the students and the staff,” Joy said. “It will be so nice for them to not have to worry about the many maintenance issues and focus solely on the educational experience and making new memories.”