Ridge Street Elementary School collection

The material in the collection is in memory of Ridge Street Elementary school. The school was open in Bowling Green, OH from 1888 to the end of the 2013 school year. This collection is a commemoration to the school, featuring photographs, newspaper articles, printed materials, and some student artwork.

Principal’s Albums, which consist of individual class photos with teachers, make up the bulk of the collection. These differ from other traditional yearbooks because they do not feature individual student photos, candids, activities, etc. The dates for the albums range from 1973-2001. Other photographic materials include a collection of slides, dating from 1957-1994. These include various school activities, such as plays, the annual Halloween parade, field days, as well as staff and students in the cafeteria or classrooms. The rest of the photos are stored in envelopes and folders and are sorted by year, from 1950-2012. These include class photos, student activities, staff, and the school buildings from 1888 and 1931.

Student artwork can be found in scrapbooks. The works are colored pictures drawn by students. The pictures also have a couple of sentences stating their appreciation for staff and the school. Another piece of art shows support and appreciation for Earth Day.

Printed materials in the collection are mostly news clippings, but there are also various school theater performance programs and other miscellaneous items. The news clippings are sorted by categories: People, Community, and Student/School Activities, and then by year within their folder. Of note among these clippings is the discovery of the remains of a horse at the back of the school by a fifth grade class in 1951. Photos regarding this story are presented in the collection, and also information about a graveyard that was near the school. Original photographs can be found elsewhere in the CAC’s general photograph collection (Photo 1983 28, 1-10) and a related article at pOG 2710. Also featured in the printed materials is a brief history of the graveyard and building of the school. Other things of note here are a program from the current school building’s opening in 1931, and a letter from Ridge teacher Alice Roth highlighting the career of Harriet Hayward, an education professor at Bowling Green State University.

Another highlight of this collection is the Ridge School Closing Slideshow, which features details about the school since its opening in 1888 and goes through the 2013. The slideshow is about 9 minutes long. It is a digital slideshow.

The entire collection is very legible and clear, and the photographs are of good quality. It will be helpful to those seeking past school memories, and perhaps historians looking for elementary school and community involvement. The only limit to the collection is the lack of dates for most of the material. Many clippings and photos are missing specific dates.