Document text
Editorial: So long, old friend This will be a difficult week for Briscoe Elementary School families, and perhaps, the old guard of Ashland. The venerable brick building that's greeted millions of visitors to Ashland since 1949 as they trekked into town from the north is closing its doors in seven days. When it comes down to it, Briscoe will cease to exist as a well-worn, much-loved K-5 campus because Ashland has changed so much - we're wealthier, we have bigger, nicer homes, and we're getting older, which means there's fewer young families with children to be spread among five elementary schools. We'll still have Walker, Lincoln, Bellview and Helman, where youngsters will expand their minds and launch themselves into this world. But Briscoe will be gone - a place where so many of Ashland's kids literally grew up and turned into the fine people they are today, living here and around the world. Tidings education reporter Amber Fossen has been digging into Briscoe's past recently, talking to former students and staff. A common theme evolved: this was a place of wonder and excitement, a sometimes magical educational playground where best friends were made, students succeeded, parents got heavily involved, and teachers and staffers looked out upon the faces of young ones walking - at times running - through the halls in an atmosphere of pleasure and learning. We've also looked at the future. After all, school doesn't end for the Briscoe Trees. They'll become Helman Dragons and Lincoln Lions next year. They have fears, they have hopes, but most of all, we've found, they have a keen sense of sadness that something is ending, a time that will never return again. We sympathize with them. We support them, and we support the two new schools that will take these children under their wings. All of us have known this sense of disappointment in our lives, some earlier than others. It's unfortunate, but it is reality. So we move on. That is the final lesson our Briscoe kids will learn at 265 North Main Street, when the bell rings at 12:30 p.m. on June 4. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -