We're keeping things simple on Wayback Wednesday this week with a short and sweet little collection of photos from October, 2002. Teacher Judy West took the children of the Red Oak class on a nature hike to Purdue's Horticulture Park to enjoy the crisp morning, collect leaves, and hug some very deserving trees.
Do you have favorite photos you would like to share on Wayback Wednesday? Please contact me at heather@msgl.org. Have an outstanding Wednesday!
The MSGL photo archives are a bit disorganized and I usually have to sift through them to come up with a Wayback Wednesday post, but this week the work was already done. After leading the toddler families on this field trip to Lafayette's Columbian Park Zoo in the Spring of 1998, teacher Suman Harshvardhan put together this little photo album for the children.
These kiddos are college freshmen (or nearly) now. Thanks for reading and have a great Wednesday!
We're really reaching back here for Halloween gold - all the way back to 1989. Back in the day, the whole school had a costume parade in the Morton Center gymnasium. It was a big year for bunnies, clowns, and superheroes.
Winter is upon us and the staff of the Wayback Wednesday department is preparing to head south for the season. (The staff certainly wishes this was true.) Okay, we're not really going anywhere but we have discovered a treasure trove of awesome photos. We will be scanning them and organizing them over winter break. When everyone returns in January you can look forward to the beginning of "Building MSGL." It's the story of how our families built the MSGL campus that we know and love today.
To whet your appetites I am posting one photo from that winter of 2000. Look at this photo and see if you can figure out where in the school it is. The first commenter to get it correct wins a free Wayback Wednesday t-shirt. (The staff certainly wishes this was true.) Okay, no t-shirt but you can still be first. Have fun guessing!
Have a terrific Wednesday and an awesome winter break!
The weather forecast calls for all of this snow to be melting in about a week. In case you think you just can't wait that long, here are some photos of MSGL summers past to see you through.
1994 - Digging in the tiny sandbox at Morton Center.
2000 - Hula hooping at Morton Center.
2001 - Hi Cathy!
2002 - The Parent/Infant class posing by the sandbox.
2003 - Waiting for a wagon ride.
2009 - Sack racing at the family picnic at Happy Hollow Park.
2010 - Releasing a newly-emerged Monarch butterfly.
2011 - Summer camp besties.
2012 - Shoveling in the shady sandbox.
2013 - Gardening at summer camp.
It will only be a few more days until warmer, friendlier weather arrives. Until then, take heart! Spring never fails to arrive.
Have a terrific Wednesday.
This week's installment of Building MSGL focuses on the work of the jackhammer, a tool that was put to much use during the first few months of the construction project. Lots of concrete had to be broken up and hauled away so we could remodel the buildings and install new steps and sidewalks.
Tony Harvey breaks up concrete in Building B to make space for new plumbing for sinks and bathrooms. This was one of his least favorite days of the entire 6-month project.
Looking at Building A as the concrete demolition gets underway.
Later that day, it looked like this. Watch that first step - it's a doozy.
Don Harvey and Craig Lamb prepare to take out the upstairs landing.
As the demolition continued, it became apparent that the light-duty jackhammer they had been using was not going to cut through some of the steps. One parent volunteer took a look at the slow progress they were making and set off to find a better solution. Half and hour later he pulled in with a trailer-mounted mobile air compressor and a much more powerful jackhammer. Tony Harvey said that was a real game-changer for this phase of the project.
"We had a little jackhammer that you could plug into an outlet in an airplane bathroom," he joked. "This parent came back with a rig that looked like Iron Man built it. When we flipped the switch on the big one you could see lights flicker in the apartments across the street," he said, once again, joking. "We had been working all day on those steps and in just 20 minutes with the big hammer, they were dust."
The old steps are broken up to make way for the new stairs/ramp that will lead into the upstairs hallway in Building A.
Just for fun, I am including before, during, and after photos from Building A so we can admire the progress from an old church basment entry to a modern, ADA-compliant school entrance.
Before.
During demolition.
Here it is with the concrete walls freshly poured.
Here, the railings are being installed.
And here it is that first summer, looking quite lovely.
Thanks for joining me in the wayback. Have a super Wednesday!
On September 21, 2000, Montessori Parents, Inc. officially closed on the purchase of the property at 2552 Soldiers Home Road that would become the new campus of the Montessori School of Greater Lafayette. To celebrate and prepare for the next step, the board of directors and some staff and parents met that evening in the sanctuary of what was the former Calvary Baptist Church. Board president Craig Lamb offered a toast with champagne served in paper cups.
The next morning, demolition of the buildings began. MSGL parent Tony Harvey coordinated the building project. His father, Donald Harvey, was the general contractor.
These are photos of the front of the sanctuary that is now the northwest corner of the Catalpa Room. When asked about these photos, Tony said that the gold walls on the left were part of the room that lead to the baptistry. "If you came to Calvary Baptist Church and you wanted to be saved," he explained, "you had to go through that room."
This was just the beginning of 5 months of hard and dirty work by many dedicated staff and parent volunteers. Three generations of families came together for one common goal. True friendships were forged. A lot of those people are still involved with MSGL today. I look forward to sharing the few photos and many stories of that time here on Wayback Wednesdays. If you were part of this amazing project and wish to share your stories, please add them as comments to the bottom of these posts or emaill me and I will be so happy to include them in an upcoming post. Of course, any photos you share will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading! Have a terrific Wednesday.