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Last day of class � for good Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Monday was the last day for the Applegate school, where 96-year-old Ashton Foerst graduated high school 77 years ago. Earthquake risks make the school too dangerous to use, school officials say. By PAUL FATTIG APPLEGATE � As Ashton Foerst looked up at the red-brick school building, he recalled an old ditty from his youth. "No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers� dirty looks," he mused. "But I never believed that,�� he added. "I liked this school." Yet there will be no more teachers in the historic building that was Applegate High School where Foerst, now 96, graduated in 1923 and spoke as class valedictorian. And no more pencils, no more books. The school year ended Monday, the last day the two-story building with the bell tower (circa 1910) will be used for classrooms. Since the high school closed in 1926, the original building and an addition (built in 1912) have been a principal part of Applegate Elementary School. The school houses grades one through eight. About 180 students attended this year. Three Rivers School District decided to stop holding class in the old building at the end of this school year after structural engineers concluded the brick building would pose a substantial danger to students during an earthquake. Engineers told the district that reinforcing it would cost $1 million, and those improvements would ensure only the building�s safe evacuation. The four classes using the building will be held in portable classrooms beginning this fall. The school library also will be moved to another building. "This is the last day the old building will be used for people," Principal Jan Figoni observed as a couple of youngsters scampered past her on Monday�s last day of school. "We�ll be using the building for storage from now on. "It�s a wonderful place," she added later. "We�re all saddened by this." The tower�s bell rang for the last time during a regular school day at the end of recess Monday afternoon. "They used to ring that bell every morning," Foerst said during a visit to the school Monday. After high school, he went on to graduate from what is now Oregon State University, in 1928, and eventually retire from teaching agriculture at Grants Pass High School. "I never concede that I taught � I presided over a class," said Foerst, who is known for his wry wit. He retired to a farm in Provolt not far from where he lived when he attended Applegate High School. "We were lucky there was a school here," he said. "We appreciated the Offenbachers and the other old-time families that built this school." Foerst sometimes rode to the Applegate school on a horse-pulled buggy. More often he walked to class behind the horse his sister rode. "No, we didn�t have a bus," he confirmed. "We mostly walked." There was no cafeteria. Everyone brought a cold lunch from home, he said. He stopped in front of the old tower to ponder a small satellite dish. "I wonder what that gadget is," he said of the antenna used to pick up educational television and computer programs. "Yeah, part of today�s education," he concluded. "Well, they hadn�t thought that up yet when I was here. Or maybe it was still in the thinking stage." Foerst walked a bit farther, then stopped again to look at the bricks. "They made those bricks in that kiln which used to be up around the corner," he said. "They didn�t have to haul them very far." That brick building rang with the words of valedictorian Ashton Foerst his senior year. But Foerst doesn�t recall the speech he gave in the school 77 years ago. "I don�t think it made much of an impression on the world," he said. "It wasn�t a very big class. There was only seven of us." Yet the old brick building provided a good foundation for a lot of students over the years, he said. "People tell you this is progress, so you have to accept that," he said of the decision to stop using the old building for classrooms. "Besides, reminiscing is bad for the liver," he added. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA