A school’s new purpose

By Patrick Johnston
Published: May 16, 2008

There were first-day jitters and May Day memories.
There were pop quizzes, choral recitals and favorite school lunches. There were tears, fears and cheers.
For 40 years, Bluff City Elementary has been the second home for thousands of Eufaula students. The first students attended while our troops were in Vietnam. The final students rejoiced this month as 75 troops of the 1103rd returned home.
This time next week, there will be no more Bluff City as we know it. Due to the reconfiguration of Eufaula’s three elementary schools, Bluff City will no longer serve as a K-5 school.
It’s a bittersweet ending for Bluff City students, parents, teachers, staff members and volunteers who loved this school. We’ve always enjoyed the short trip to State Docks Road where we were always greeted by a friendly face – whether it was a veteran employee or a first grader with a snaggletooth grin.
But we’re also reminded that Bluff City is more than a building. It’s a place where friendships were formed, where students were introduced to the joys of learning and where memories were made. Those wonderful acts will still occur next year, and for decades to come.
Many teachers will be at the reconfigured primary and elementary schools next year (now known as Western Heights and Sanford Avenue) where they will share their love of learning with current Bluff City students and several hundred other students. Those youth will continue to receive an excellent education – no matter what school they attend.
No, we won’t have Bluff City, Sanford Avenue or Western Heights schools next year (the other two schools will have new names). But we will still have dedicated teachers and bright students, assuring that our kids will have a chance to thrive in the future.
We’ve featured a few former Bluff City students in this edition of The Tribune. Their candid memories are fun to read. Yet we know that there many more stories to share. Please feel free to share your thoughts on http://www.eufaulatribune.com. We’d love to hear your stories. (We wouldn’t mind hearing from a few Sanford Avenue and Western Heights veterans, too.)
Past and present Bluff City students will be glad to know the school will still be a place of learning next school year. It will be the new home of the HOPE Academy. That assures the quaint building will continue to play a key role in the education of our youth.