Celebrating 100 years

It didn't take long for a large crowd to gather last Saturday at the 100th Anniversary Celebration at Cardwell School.

Shortly after 10:30 a.m., the school gymnasium was packed with former students, staff, and community members who were taking time to visit and look at various exhibits. Some of the items on display were a replica of the town of Cardwell in 1918 built by current students, a classroom set up on the stage to look like one similar to 1918, and a timeline about the history of the school.

Among those in attendance were Debby Wagner and her daughter Miranda Martinson, who both attended the school. Debby said her mother was also a teacher at the school in 1939 and at this time met her husband who was a local rancher. Both said they have so many memories about the school.

Dr. Gayle Sacry has a deep history with the school and fondly remembered a time in the early 1950's when he and his friend Jack Patrick went swimming in the basement. He said Jack's mother was a janitor at the time and his family lived at the school from around 1948 to 1953. He recalls a spring flood that sent water into the basement that at the time had no pumps. Sacry said he spent many hours in the summer at the school with Jack exploring.

Sacry and his brother both graduated from eighth grade at the school while his parents both graduated from high school in Cardwell. He also remembers the building as a gathering spot for the local community.

Looking around the packed room, Sacry said he was not only impressed with how many people were in attendance, but that the school has been there for 100 years.

"They did a nice job building it and they do a great job taking care of it," he said.

Martinson was also excited about the amount of people adding it was truly a crowd of all ages.