COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2019 | 7A
Latham from A1
of Cottage Grove itself,
which became incorporat-
ed in 1887.
Established by Henry
Small, Latham first opened
its doors in 1853, though
it was then called Small
School and located just east
of what is now Sweet Lane
and Highway 99.
As the decades ticked by,
changes came to the school
as it adopted the Latham
name and, at one point,
had relocated to land now
inhabited by Weyerhauser.
In 1941, the school made
its final move to its current
location and, the next year,
four smaller districts were
consolidated into Latham.
F
or the hour-long open
house, the halls and
rooms of the school were
filled with people running
their fingers along child-
hood memories, flipping
through class pictures and
greeting old friends.
Brothers Dennis and
Leslie Chapman, former
Latham students, returned
to the school for the event.
“When I started here
there were just four class-
rooms,” said Dennis, who
attended Latham from
1944 to 1952. “You went
two years in the same room
with the same teacher —
No kindergarten, no Head
Start, just boom, straight
in.”
Leslie went to Latham
from 1955 to 1963.
“Mostly what I remem-
ber about the cafeteria was
loving the food,” he said.
Another former Latham
student, Nancy Russell,
said “I remember those
cooks because they made
these really beautiful din-
ner rolls and cinnamon
rolls and maple bars to die
for.”
Leslie agreed. “The
cinnamon rolls were the
best,” he said. “Made from
scratch in that basement.”
Russell lost herself in the
memory for a moment.
“You could smell it when
you walked in,” she said. “It
was just … We knew. You
hit that front door, open
them up and it was like,
you knew you were having
cinnamon rolls or maple
bars that day.”
For many, part of
Latham’s appeal has always
been the intimate atmo-
sphere made possible by
small class sizes — some-
thing which can be lost in
schools with unbalanced
teacher-to-student ratios.
“It’s a dying culture, the
whole culture of communi-
ty,” said Leslie. “We’re such
a mobile society and every-
body’s focusing on their
[phones].”
Dennis
remembered
growing up with a core
group of children.
“There were six of us that
went through first grade
all the way through high
school,” he said. “Our fami-
lies all knew each other.”
The Chapmans’ father
even taught at Latham
briefly, though they admit
he didn’t last long due to
the changing environment
of education.
“When we ‘Spock’ kids
came along, he had a lit-
tle trouble dealing with it,”
Leslie said, referring to the
famed pediatrician Benja-
min Spock. “Teaching and
education changed. The
school hasn’t changed that
much.”
Dennis backed up the
point. “Mrs. Saunders —
my first- and second-grade
teacher — went to school
with our dad,” he recalled.
“She said, ‘Dennis, you
know I have your parents’
permission to spank you,’
and I knew they did. So, I
was a pretty good student
for the next eight years.”
While memories of by-
gone eras abounded, it
was often the unchanging
charm of the school that
struck many attendees Fri-
day night.
“I hate to see it go,” Den-
nis said.
Though many there that
night reiterated Dennis’
sentiment, the possibility
of the school’s closure has
been present on the minds
of school staff and board
members for some time as
budget cuts have gradually
chopped away at resources
over the decades. Enroll-
ment has also taken a dras-
tic downward turn.
“Three or four or five
years ago it was up in the
130s,” said Garrett Brid-
gens, communications co-
ordinator with the school
district. “Now it’s in the
80s. So, it’s been declining.”
In addition, an estimat-
ed $775,000 would have
had to come out of the de-
ferred maintenance budget
to keep the school afloat
and cover everything from
windows to a new boiler to
electrical upgrades.
In giving the school a
proper farewell, Bridgens
and the event’s planning
committee made up 350
stampable passports for
everyone who entered the
school Friday night. On
each page of the passport,
attendees were invited to
visit various parts of the
school where one could
Worship
Directory
COTTAGE GROVE:
6th & Gibbs Church of Christ
195 N. 6th St. • 541-942-3822
10:00am
Christian Education:
Pre-K through 5th
www.6thandgibbs.com
First Presbyterian Church
3rd and Adams St
541-942-4479
Rev.: Karen Hill
Worship: 10:00am
Sunday School: 10:00am
fpcgrove.com
Calvary Baptist Church
77873 S 6th St • 541-942-4290
Pastor: Riley Hendricks
Sunday School: 9:45am
Worship: 11:00am
The Journey: Sunday 5:00pm
Praying Thru Life: Wednesday 6:00pm
Hope Fellowship
United Pentecostal Church
100 S. Gateway Blvd.
541-942-2061
Pastor: Dave Bragg
Worship: 11:00am Sunday
Bible Study: 7:00pm Wednesday
www.hopefellowshipupc.com
“FINDING HOPE IN YOUR LIFE”
Church of Christ
420 Monroe St • 541-942-8565
Sunday Service: 10:30am
Cottage Grove Bible Church
1200 East Quincy Avenue
541-942-4771
Pastor:Bob Singer
Worship 11am
Sunday School:9:45am
AWANA age 3-8th Grade,
Wednesdays Sept-May, 6:30pm
www.cgbible.org
Cottage Grove Faith Center
33761 Row River Rd.
541-942-4851
Lead Pastor: Kevin Pruett
www.cg4.tv
Full Childrenʼs Ministry available
Services: 9:00am & 10:45am
Delight Valley
Church of Christ
33087 Saginaw Rd. East
541-942-7711 • Pastor: Bob Friend
Two Services:
9am - Classic in the Chapel
10:30am - Contemporary in the
Auditorium
First Baptist Church
301 S. 6th st • 541-942-8242
Pastor: David Chhangte
Sunday School 9:30am
Worship Service 11:00am
Youth Wednesday 6:30pm
cgfi rstbaptist.com
S entinel
ollowing the open
house, the gymnasium
filled with attendees to lis-
ten to reflections and cele-
brations of the legacy of a
school with a century and
a half of influence on the
lives of families in the area.
Anne Fisk, principal at
Latham School, hosted the
ceremonies.
“Over the past five years,
I’ve had the opportunity to
meet many of you, meet
many of your children,
your grandchildren and
it’s just been an awesome
opportunity that I’ve been
very blessed to have,” she
said.
Current students of
the school took the stage
to sing songs written by
Latham students in the
1990s and a slideshow of
the school’s history was
presented by Bridgens.
Mayor Jeff Gowing, a
student at Latham from
1968 to 1974, spoke to the
crowd.
“Forty-five years ago,
when I left here, I didn’t
think I would be coming
back and talking as the
mayor, but here I am,” he
said. “This is one of the
first stages I think I ever
stood on.”
Gowing recalled fond
memories of basketball
games in the gym and bi-
cycle races on the last day
St. Andrews Episcopal Church
1301 W. Main • 541-767-9050
Rev. Lawrence Crumb
“Church with the fl ags.”
Worship: Sunday 10:30am
All Welcome
parents working together
to provide a safe, whole-
some setting for multi-gen-
erations of students,” Da-
vis said. “My parents took
great joy in working with
children of parents who
had attended here.”
His parents saw the
school as a center for not
just education, but building
community, he said.
“It was the meeting site
that helped provide iden-
tity to the area,” explained
Davis. “Mom and Dad
would agree when I say
that Latham community
was a beloved extension of
our family. We are grateful
to be part of Latham’s en-
during legacy.”
After students sang a fi-
nal song, Davis rang the
iconic Latham school bell
one last time.
Throughout the event,
questions about the even-
tual fate of Latham School
proliferated the halls,
though board members
and school staff had no de-
finitive answers.
“That’s a great question.
We’ve been getting that a
lot tonight,” Bridgens said.
“That’s obviously going
to be a school board deci-
sion. … The board will go
through a process to figure
out what they want to do
with this building.”
Though no timeline on
that process could be giv-
en, plans have been made
to move Latham educators
currently employed at the
school to other schools in
the district next fall.
It was also acknowledged
that any decisions on what
will be done with Latham
will carry the weight of the
school’s legacy with it.
“There’s definitely a rich
history. You can see that
from the turnout tonight
and seeing everyone here,”
said Bridgens.
(More photos are avail-
able on the Cottage Grove
Sentinel Facebook page and
will appear in next week’s
print edition.)
Cottage Grove
200 Gateway Blvd.
Cottage Grove, OR 97424
4
(541) 942-5400
Mon. - Sat. 8am - 9pm
Sun. 9am - 8pm
Ed & Kori Sowa
Independent Owner-Operators
Seventh-day Adventist Church
820 South 10th Street
541-942-5213
Pastor: Kevin Miller
Bible Study: Saturday, 9:15 am
Worship Service: Saturday, 10:40
Mid-week Service: Wednesday, 1:00
CRESWELL:
Creswell Presbyterian Church
75 S 4th S • 541-895-3419
Rev. Seth Wheeler
Adult Sunday School 9:15am
Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am
website www.creswellpres.org
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541-942-2471
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Our Worship Directory is a weekly feature in this
newspaper. If your congregation
would like to be a part of this directory,
contact us today!
C ottage G rove
F
of school.
“There’s so many memo-
ries of this school. I really
hate to see it go away,” he
said. “It’s going to be such
a sad thing to see this place
go, but I know it’s inevita-
ble and we’ll move on.”
Next, Tom Davis, son
of influential past Latham
principal Cal Davis, re-
flected on the deep con-
nection his family had with
the school.
“Thank you very much-
for gathering today to
reminisce about our com-
munity and say goodbye
to a little piece of us,” Da-
vis said. “My parents, Cal
and Doris Davis, loved the
Latham and London com-
munities. They treasured
the people and treasured
the schools.”
Davis spoke of his fa-
ther beginning his 33-year
career at Latham in 1952
teaching eighth grade,
driving the school bus
and helping the janitor
while his mother substi-
tute-taught there.
Later, his sister would
teach first grade at Latham,
where her daughters also
went, and his brother
would hold his wedding
reception in that very gym-
nasium.
Davis walked to the back
of the stage to point at a
basketball jersey hanging
on the wall. “This No. 1,
I wore in 1960,” he said.
“Our family has many,
many fond memories.”
Davis listed efforts by his
father to make children’s
enrollment at Latham
worth remembering.
“He built a glass bird-
house outside his office
window so all the kids
could come in and watch
the birds nest. … He
wired a sound system in
this gym so that the kids
could square dance for P.E.
class. He built an electric
scoreboard that included
an eagle that he had hand-
carved,” he said.
“This school was a deep
effort of many teachers and
St. Philip Benizi, Creswell
552 Holbrook Lane
Sunday 8:30 AM
Living Faith Assembly
467 S. 10th St. • 541-942-2612
Trinity Lutheran Church
Worship Services Sundays: 9a & 11a 6th & Quincy • 541-942-2373
Youth Worship Sundays: 11a (all
Pastor: James L. Markus
ages welcome)
Sunday School & Adult Education
Mondays: 5:30p (6th-12th grades) 9:15am
Sunday Worship 10:30 am
Non-Denominational
Comm. Kitchen Free Meal Tue & Thur
Church of Christ
5:00pm TLC Groups
1041 Pennoyer Ave
tlccg.com
541-942-8928
Preacher: Tony Martin
United Methodist Church
Sunday Bible Study:10:00am
334 Washington • 541-942-3033
Sunday Worship:10:50am & 5:30pm Pastor:Lura Kidner-Miesen
www.pennoyeravecoc.com
Worship: 10:30am
umcgrove.org
Old Time Gospel Fellowship
103 S. 5th St. • 541-942-4999
“VICTORY” Country Church
Pastor: Jim Edwards
913 S. 6th Street • 541-942-5913
Sunday Service: 10:00am
Pastor: Barbara Dockery
Join in Traditional Christian Worship Worship Service: 10:00am
Message: “WE BELIEVE IN
Our Lady of Perpetual Help MIRACLES”
and St. Philip Benizi
Catholic Churches
1025. N. 19th St.
541-942-3420
Father John J. Boyle
Holy Mass:
Saturday Vigil – 5:30 PM
Sunday – 10:30 PM
For weekday and Holy Day of
Obligation schedule see website
OLPHCG.net
Confession: 4 PM to 5 PM
Saturdays or by appointment
engage the school one last
time by flipping through
old pictures, getting a
photo taken, signing one’s
name on the main hallway
wall or adding favorite
memories to an online col-
lection.
“We wanted this night
be a night where people
could come and reflect
and have an opportunity to
walk through the building
one more time,” Bridgens
said. “It’s bitter-sweet, so
we tried to strike the right
balance of this being a cele-
bration … it’s a celebration
of all the amazing people
who made up this school
over the years.”
541-942-3325
116 N. 6th Street
Cottage Grove, OR
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1325 Birch Ave.
Cottage Grove
birchavenuedental.com
541-942-2471
Tammy L. McClung DDS • Park W. McClung DDS
