MEMROIES WILL REMAIN AFTER MAY GREENE CLOSES

May Greene Elementary School has been a community fixture for so long that many people can't imagine life without it.

"I can't believe they're closing it," said Delia Campbell, whose oldest son is a sixth-grader at the school. "It seems like they could save the building or find some way to keep using it."

Campbell, who attended May Greene with her four siblings and countless cousins and other relatives, is saddened because the school, at 1000 Ranney, is scheduled to close this summer after 78 years of operation. She said May Greene has "always been there," and she hates to consider sending her youngest son to another school.

"We lived right down the street, so we had to walk to school everyday," Campbell said. "We played there and did all kinds of things there. What's going to happen down there when they close the school?"

May Greene was once thought to be one of the finest and most modern in the state for its size and cost. However, decades of use by thousands of children and teachers have taken their toll on the building, administrators said.

"I love this school and I'm crazy about the kids," said school principal Dr. Barbara Kohlfeld, who has worked in the building seven years, all but one as an administrator. "It's got a fabulous history. I'm really happy to have had the six years I had here as principal and the memories that are wonderful, but it's progress to see us getting updated facilities."

The building, along with Washington Elementary School, is scheduled to close after construction on the new Blanchard Elementary School is completed this summer. Administrators have said Washington will probably be razed. May Greene, however, could be sold to one of several civic and religious organizations interested in the site.

"It's kind of sad to see it have to go because it holds so many beautiful memories," said foster mother Evelyn Porter, better known around May Greene as Auntie Botchie. "I'd like to see it used by somebody after the school leaves."

Educators said parents like Aunt Botchie and Campbell have made their time at May Greene special. Children whose families settled in the school's neighborhood years ago have grown up and are now sending their children to the school. It's fun to see how those children have turned out and to imagine what their children will do, they said.

"One of the wonderful things about May Greene is we have so many great teachers and we have formed so many friendships with teachers and students here," said Mary Ann Lewis, who has been at the building longer than all but one other current teacher. "What's interesting is the fact that I can tell by their faces before I even look at the permanent record that those faces have been there before."

Lewis, the school's unofficial historian, said she has too many favorite memories about the school to count. However, she probably enjoys the myth about the building's namesake the most.

"The kids all think Miss May Greene is buried under the gym," she said. "That's always been the story, and every year the kids will tell me that's where she is."

Although that particular myth probably won't transfer when teachers and students move to a new school, Lewis said those attending Blanchard will be able to experience most of what makes May Greene special, including pictures, clubs and even teachers.

"It's not just the building, it's the programs and the things that go on in the building that are important, and those things will go on to Blanchard," Lewis said. "That's part of our history and we definitely want to preserve that."