About 55 former students from Ellett School in Ellett Valley held their 34th reunion at the North Fork Baptist Church picnic shelter in early September with a covered-dish picnic and an evening of reminiscing.
After the meal, the group was entertained with a variety of activities, reported Carlene Walters Woolwine who attended Ellett School from 1946 to 1953. There were seven grades.
Mrs. Woolwine led the folks in games taking them through each month of the school year by drawing student’ names and giving them gag gifts. Several other fun games were enjoyed, she said.
The seven veterans were recognized, presented gifts and thanked for their service. They had served in various branches of the military, including World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, the National Guard, and the Reserves. The oldest among the entire group was 92-year-old Roy Brumfield who was a prisoner of war in World War II and a student at the school in the 20s.
These reunions began in 1983.
“We had almost 200 people in 1983 and several teachers. Most of the teachers are gone now. They come from everywhere to come,” Woolwine said.
One of the original black slate chalkboards from the school is stored at North Fork Baptist Church. The reunion committee has the original school bell and several original 1930s and 1940s textbooks including ‘Dick and Jane’.
Numerous school pictures of former students and a large display of candid photos of all 33 previous reunions are viewed at each reunion.
Ellett School served the community from 1908 until the fall of 1963 when students and teachers were transferred to the new Margaret Beeks Elementary School in Blacksburg. Ellett School itself was demolished two years later, but its memory continues, writes Mrs. Woolwine.
The reunion is held every September on the Saturday after Labor Day at North Fork Baptist Church in Ellett. Anyone who ever attended or taught at the school and their families is invited to attend the annual September event.
