One last stroll down memory lane at Bragg Elementary

One last stroll down memory lane at Bragg Elementary

Students, teachers past and present come out for final walk- through

WM School District David Peeples pored over relics and keepsakes from his elementary school days and couldn't help but share a memory.

As a first-grader at Bragg Elementary in 1963 he stood on a stage near the school's library for a program.

'The room looked gigantic back then,' he said.

'Funny, it looks like it has shrunk over the years.

'For lack of a better term I was the emcee of the program. I was dressed like Old McDonald, had overalls and would crack a whip when introducing the next skit.'

Peeples was just one of dozens of folks who crowded into Bragg's library last Tuesday evening for the school's Final Walk-Through.

As most West Memphians know by now, Bragg's old building will be demolished in June and a brand new 72,300 square foot school building will be open for classes in August.

Principal Cassie Adams and her staff filled the library with artifacts, year- books, old photos dating back as far as the mid-1950s. Former students, teachers, secretaries and even principals attended and more than one tear was shed.

'I'm heartbroken,' said Lynne Sharp, a principal at Bragg for 20 years. 'I came here two years ago to visit with two of my former teachers who were retiring… I cried then. Then I knew I would cry a lot coming here today.'

Sharp was joined by three other Bragg principals, including Adams, Gertrude Coulter (1979-85) and Terri McCann, who is now the West Memphis School District's assistant superintendent in charge of elementary schools.

Among the students at Bragg during Coulter's tenure at Bragg was current superintendent Jon Collins.

'He was never in the office for anything as far as I can remember, so he must have been a good kid,' Coulter said with a laugh.

'He was my paper boy, too.'

Four local women who all attended Bragg's first year in 1951 were on hand.

Carol Williams, Anita Bell, Donna Marotti and Nancy Daniel were first-graders when the school opened.

'We figure we're the oldest ones here,' joked Williams.

'Wilma Piper was our principal that year,' said Bell. 'This neighborhood is old West Memphis. Where we all grew up. I think we all walked to school back then.'

Bell's great grandson, Bo Bell, is a second-grader at Bragg now.

'It's not all sad,' said Vonne Mynatt, a secretary at the school for 22 years.

'The building is old. What made this building special were the people who worked here and the students who went here. But we needed a new building and I'm sure everybody is as excited as I am about moving into the new building. It is going to be very nice.'

By Billy Woods