Alma Schrader commemorates 50th year

The present students of Alma Schrader Elementary School swayed and hand jived in poodle skirts and leather jackets for people from the school's past.

The elementary school gym was full of former teachers, students and administrators Thursday night as they gathered to celebrate the school's 50th anniversary.

Principal Ruth Ann Orr joked that many of the students hoped to meet Alma Schrader during the event. Schrader, the school's namesake, would be 124 years old if she were still alive, Orr said.

"We are very honored to carry on the traditions she set forth," Orr said.

The school, near Dennis Scivally Park, opened Sept. 1 1959. It was named after the longtime principal of Mae Green School in June of that year, months after Schrader died. Schrader spent 50 years with the district working as a teacher and principal, including 34 years at May Greene.

Throughout the evening, former students shared memories and retired teachers were honored. All the former administrators were present for the program, including Vince Raddle, Roy Glass, David Giles and Frank Ellis.

"These four gentlemen set such high standards for me," said Orr, who has been the principal of the school for eight years.

A current administrator shared his boyhood memories of the school and its longest serving principal. When he visited his grandparents during summer vacation, Neil Glass, director of administrative services, said he begged for the keys to the building so he could play in the gym.

"I hope you don't get in trouble for that," he said to his grandfather Roy Glass, who retired in 1988 after being principal of the school for 21 years.

Neil Glass said he calculated that over the years the school has served 30,000 people, including 4,000 students.

Julia Unnerstall said she experienced the school in many capacities as a parent, teacher and student. Unnerstall, a counselor at the school, said many Alma Schrader teachers and lessons remained with her as she advanced through bachelor's and master's degrees.

"I always thought, 'Would this meet Miss Harris' approval?'" she said, referring to Wilma Harris, a longtime teacher at the school.

Unnerstall went to the school in the 1960s and 1970s. She returned in 1996 as counselor.

She later said she appreciated seeing the school as a student and an adult.

"When I returned as an employee, I was amazed at how small the hallways seemed," she said.

She also said the school has developed a strong sense of community.

"We take care of our family here," she said.

The evening featured a fourth-grade musical revue. Students dress in 1950s clothes performed songs ranging from the 1950s to present. The program concluded when the crowd sang the school song, which was written in 1959 by Howard Abernathy, a sixth-grade teacher.

"If I e'er go away for a year or a day, I'll be thinking of my favorite school," they sang.

abusch@semissourian.com

388-3627

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