Some things never change. Some things eventually do! Some things shouldn’t~ some should!
Carl and I graduated from Boones Creek High School in 1970~ Two years after we graduated, the schools in Washington County underwent “consolidation”…. that being, all the small county schools were re-districted together, be it into Davy Crocket High School or Daniel Boone High School. So where does that leave the little orphaned brick building on Highway 36? It was old then. And yet it continued being well-used for the next 48 years! Yeah, seriously! I got my calculator out and did the math! Perhaps had we attended City school, said calculator might not have been necessary. (Did I really just say that? Please, my county buddies, don’t slam me! It was a joke!!!) Because I truly loved my Washington County Boones Creek High School roots~! Good grief, it’s where I met my future husband!
Ahhh, I remember that bus ride (yes, back then children actually did ride the bus! And “why?”, you might ask? Well, it was because your Dad had the family’s ONLY car at work! It was a simple time!) Yes, I remember that young boy in the blue mohair sweater on the bus that day….. he was so NICE, and sweet, and funny, and kind. And I was new, having just moved to the community as I was starting the 9th grade. It was huge to have somebody be friendly! And he was. But I digress~ this ain’t no Hallmark movie I’m writing (albeit I do love a good “all’s right with the world and everything ends well” kinda scenario). But this is a reflection about a building….. a stately, solid, stood-the-test-of-time brick building called Boones Creek High School, and then renamed Boones Creek Middle School. She was a grand building and she served her children well.
I looked up some of the history of this school and found an article in the J.C.Press which gave the following background of how she came to be:
In the 1930s, the United States was trying to dig its way out of a recession and president Franklin Roosevelt appropriated money for the building of parks, bridges and schools. One tiny part of the massive $4.9 billion Works Projects Administration was the construction of Boones Creek High School in 1939.
Let me grab my trusty calculator out again — gee, this stately gal has been educating children for the past 80 years! There have been at least 4 or 5 generations within families that have attended there……maybe more! My friend Ashley had told me that her Dad (Pat McQueen) graduated from BCHS in 1961, and then she and her brother graduated from the renamed BCMS in the late 80’s, and then Ashley and her husband Doug saw their children graduate from BCMS in the mid to late 90’s, and then their grandchildren have also come thru the ranks there. But unlike those who’ve gone before them, they won’t be attending the graduation ceremony after the 8th grade. Instead they are now attending the brand-spanking NEW school off of Boones Creek Road!
Some things never change. Some things eventually do! Some things shouldn’t~ some should!
I wasn’t really much of a fan of doing away with the old school originally. When you’re a dinosaur yourself, you kinda like to support and salvage what you can of other dinosaurs! But it was time. It was probably past time, some perhaps thought. And so the work began.
It just so happens that we live in a sub-division which has a front-row seat to the new school and so we watched her progress day after day. That cute boy in the mohair sweater? The one I wound up marrying? Well he just so happens to be in construction himself and so almost every day when he’d come home, at some point in the evening the subject would come up….. “what’d they get done on the school today?” We watched her progress closely!
Some people have commented to us “what a shame you guys lost your beautiful farmland, rolling hills view”. But we never saw it that way. Maybe it was our history with the community and the school, maybe it was our history with construction projects….. I don’t know. But I do know that my husband has said on more occasions than I care to mention: “if our neighbors would just take down those two big trees in their back yard, we’d REALLY be able to see it good.” Me personally, I’m fine with the trees! And I keep telling him, they’ll lose their leaves in the fall anyway and then the view will open up even more!!
Well, school has begun! On August 5th, 2019, the school buses started rolling in. The car line started forming early that morning, as parents began dropping their babies off! (sidenote: they ALL are babies to me….. precious precious little school babes, being launched into life!) It was all so exciting to watch!
So much reflection has gone through my mind since school began. I guess I’ve “prayed for our schools and school kids” down thru the years….. but rather sporadic, to say the least. Certainly when our own kids were in school, there was no sporadic to it! A battle raged! And I stood in the gap, praying like a warrior! But then our children graduated and life sorta settled into other issues and other priorities. But not this year. This year I have my own personal school right in my back door. I love this school. It has become a symbol to me of “ALL SCHOOLS”. She stands over there receiving her young ones, calling them into her halls and classrooms. And I stand on my porch…. again standing in the gap, praying for those babies as they’re being dropped off. If they knew there was a GrandMoomie across the way praying for them, they might give me a list…. “ok — so if you’re praying, here’s what I need! I need an A in math to bring up that C I got, and I need the teacher to change her mind about us doing an ORAL book report! The written word should be totally sufficient, and just help her understand all that and back off!!!” But ya know…. I’m not so concerned about their grades. I know that will all work itself out. What I’m concerned about is THEM!! I’m over here on this porch praying for those babies to grow up to be MIGHTY WARRIORS OF GOD….. able to do battle in a world where darkness is trying to overtake the light.
On the first day of school I had happened to read Psalm 7:10-11 that morning…. My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.
I’m over here praying that their shield will be with God!! And may they raise those shields as they go into the battle of our world! I’m praying that they would be like David and trust God to make any wrongs right! I’m over here praying for their desires, their choices, their decisions. All of this matters.
We must pray so fervently for their task at hand! It’s their battle and they must wage the war!!! I’ve recently been studying about the life of young David!!! He was SO YOUNG…. and yet he truly saw the battle waging and he rose up and did what nobody else was willing to do! (i.e. Goliath) So I’m praying for THIS GENERATION~ May they rise up with BOLDNESS and CONVICTION, following Christ who leads in triumphant procession!!
Yes, a battle rages — but our God has made way for the victory!! The victory has already been declared….. the victory is Christ!! 2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. ❤️
This morning as I had breakfast out on my porch, God gave me a very special little gift! I literally heard the Pledge to the American flag being given over the intercom system! I couldn’t believe it! …….. “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all” — loudly being broadcast across the valley!
Dear God, in our world today where our teachers have their hands tied as far as what they are able to teach and proclaim about who You are, what a blessing that DAILY our children are being reminded that they live in a nation that was founded under YOU! I pray for this to become a very special TRUTH that these children love and believe always! Every morning that they say it, I would ask that by the power of Your Holy Spirit, You would pierce their hearts with that Truth! May they make the connection…. You are our Creator, You are our authority, it is YOU that has given us this nation we call America! In Jesus name, I pray.
kathyvlittle.com 
One of the things I pray during the week for the schools is that the Lord will keep a remnant of strong Christian teachers and students that will show His love, grace, and mercy. This year I have been praying more specifically for friends’ kids as they start back. I have felt more burdened about it. I don’t know if it’s because mine have almost flown the nest and I’ve known how hard some things have been for them AND how fleeting and important that time is with them.
By the way, I attended Sulphur Springs for K-8. On Sunday, my mom and I were talking about how nice the new Boones Creek school was and future plans for Jonesborough’s schools. I knew Sulphur Springs was old but forgot – built in 1922!! She has had a little face-lift and add-on but her main bare bones are that old. She’s about to hit 100. Talking about a dinosaur! Haha!
I enjoyed reading your blog. I always do! 💕
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I love your prayer, Leslie!! “…….that the Lord will keep a remnant of strong Christian teachers and students that will show His love, grace, and mercy.” Well said, friend!❤️
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Well said Kathy. I remember those days. I went to both and yes there was a different story. Your like one big family and then Daniel Boone was a group of families.
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I love your insight, Peggy…. seeing how the two schools might be different in one sense (one big family) yet still a good thing (becoming a group of families!!)❤️
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As a parent of 7th grader (and a former BC student), thank you! We are all so excited to be in the new school and we so appreciate the community support! We covet your prayers. Just like you said grades will work out. It’s the relationships and bonds that I pray for, to be a good influencer and true friend. Again, thanks so much for writing and sharing!
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Well said, Tracy! And I loved your prayer about our children’s relationships and bonds, and the influence they are having! Matter-of-fact, I have loved having lunch on the porch and being able to hear the kids out on the playground playing! The sound truly does carry over across the valley!! It’s such sweet music! And while I haven’t gone so far as to involve binoculars (!!! I truly am not some kind of crazed stalker 😜) but honestly, I have found myself looking to see if there appears to be a child off on a corner of the playground alone… seemingly without a friend! And I’ve prayed for them and for them to feel the love and kindness and worth that comes from the gift of friendship!
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Thank you for this sweet reminder and encouagement. I love reading your blog. As teachers, we need to keep in mind that we may be the only ‘Jesus’ they see that day. Give an encouraging word, pat on the back, warm smile and thank the Lord for this gracious opportunity.
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I love this, Amy! And I love your heart that has such a reputation for always loving her students well! I know that in our culture today, many of our “believing” teachers probably feel somewhat frustrated at having their freedom to verbally share Christ stifled! But we must never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit to take those very kindnesses you mentioned…. that encouraging word, that pat on the back, that warm smile….. all of these are evidences of Christ’s love….. and by the power of the Spirit these children can begin to make the connection and begin to grasp what His kind of love looks like! Praying for you to have a wonderful year as you invest in the lives of these little ones!❤️
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My child graduated from BCMS, and my granddaughter attended the old school, and now the new one. I too, am grateful for the wonderful, Christ-filled people who make up the teachers and staff of this new school. If you have lost faith in the character of kids these days, I invite you to meet some of these wonderful kids.My granddaughter and Tracy’s daughter are, and have been very close friends. No worry about good relationships, and I know that their circle of friends are the type that will take care of that child that is sitting alone, because I have seen them do it before.
Thank you for praying for our kids!
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Your note is an encouragement! What a blessing that these girls are mindful of those “needing a friend”! ❤️
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Folks, my siblings and I attended Boone’s Creek School (1-12). My older brother would have been 82 yrs young last month. So BCHS has always been a big part of our family and who we are.
I work in the construction industry also, ( yes still working at 76) and I mention that only because back in April of this year I was on a job site next door to a middle school in South Carolina and to my amazement, I heard the loud intercom come on with an obviously students voice reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag. Being the old soldier that I am, I immediately jumped out of my truck to stand for that!! God bless them all. I spent 21 years in the army for that flag and I live it and love it!!
Pat McQueen was a good friend and classmate of mine too!
Thank you all for the update on BCHS!!
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That’s fantastic, Mr.Ball, that you’re still hard at it on the job site at 76!! God is obviously blessing you with strength and good health! I love that in SC you also got to hear the Pledge to our Flag recited!! And being the soldier that you are… I say THANK YOU! Our country is indebted to all our servicemen! 🙏❤️
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And the tears flow….I’m one of those who embrace change – I love nothing more!
I,too, have anxiously watched the construction – but from a little different view point – I was blessed to see the staffing of the new school and to see which families would choose to be a Bar for life. And it has been a special God-given treat! I choose to believe each person is there because God ordained it so.
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Take a minute and try to imagine the staffing ‘construction’ that occurred while the building was being completed. The research, meetings, and prayers that went into selecting every precious soul from the principal to the bus driver. What a joy!!!
i love this post, I love this pictures, and I love you
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Oh WOW, Elaine!! That’s right….. Central Office! I know when it was getting close to time for school to start, there was still LOTS of construction going on with the exterior! Carl and I would wonder what the interior was looking like — were those teachers itching to get in and see their classrooms and get them set up? But were they “ready enough” to do so? But where even WAS their classrooms!! How would they even know? Enter the picture — Central Office! I bet you guys have had one more BUSY SUMMER! And what an amazing staff of people there to do that job! People like you who don’t just fill a spot but pray about it and research it and give great consideration to it all! I loved your comment….. “I choose to believe each person is there because God ordained it so.” Amen and amen!!! ❤️
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Hey Elaine!! We’re riding over the mountain to Durham to see the grandbabies and I was reading Carl what you wrote! His comment cracked me up, as his mind went back to memories of you and Dickie!! He said: “I remember when Elaine agreed to be his girlfriend!! That was one HAPPY GUY! He came into the gym telling everybody!! And he’s STILL that happy about it!” Isn’t that just the sweetest testimony of yours and Dickie’s love story!!
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Love this post and all these pictures!!! As a former BCHS Class of ’67, our memories we will have forever!!! Love the new school and attended the opening day and ribbon cutting. It was awe inspiring as a new American Flag was presented by Woodmen of the World, and then placed onto the flag pole by ROTC students from Daniel Boone. The crowd then saluted and gave allegiance to our awesome flag representing our wonderful country. And Kathy, what a blessing that you could hear that Pledge being proclaimed over the loud speaker flowing out through the valley!!! Wow……this gives me chills!!! Thank God for all those who planned, gave of their time and resources, and had the vision to see it through. Those precious “babies” sure are blessed!!!
Anita Hodges Taylor
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I love your comment: “Thank God for all those who planned, gave of their time and resources, and had the vision to see it through.” So true!! A magnificent new building like the one off Boones Creek Road doesn’t just happen!! Check out what Elaine G wrote! I hadn’t even considered a lot of the planning process that took place from the administrative standpoint! We are truly blessed in our community that our babies have this new facility! May God bless them with wonderful memories, as we also have had with our stately brick building on Hwy 36!
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Hi Kathy what sweet memories.My mother graduated from there in 1942 then I was in the last graduating class of “71” . Mama said they only had a couple of boys because of the war they were all in the service.That school like others have been thru alot of prayers for safety of students.Young men that had barley had time to live to enjoy life were called to war to serve their country.Mama said they wrote letters and had prayer service every day for them.Thank you everyone for your prayers for our children.
I have a granddaughter that’s a sophomore she takes Bible class and is in a club called Fish. I thank God our children are still able to have those classes and clubs. I do fear that if just one person( filled with Satan) objects to it they will put a stop to it. Let’s also pray that out school and others will be able to continue to honnor God in this way. My granddaughter”Lizzy”tells each teacher to ” Have a Blessed Day ”
She said the other day one of them stoped her and said thank you, you Have a Blessed Day too and a child shall lead them. Sorry I kinda got off the subject. Any who😊 Prayer works look at all our wonderful children,grandchildren and great grandchildren that all came from a God fearing place in East Tennessee.📖🙏❤😘
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I have so enjoyed reading everybody’s thoughts — we all have a story!! A beautiful God-written story! And thank you so much for sharing about your family’s story! That’s fascinating to think about what Boones Creek School was like in the early 40’s for your mother! I remember when I was there the Vietnam war was the issue and several of our graduates were going off to war upon graduation. Some didn’t return. Our school has seen sorrows and joys…. and thru it all God is faithful! Blessings to you and your sweet family! And yes… that Lizzy — she herself is such a blessing! Our miracle baby all grown up now!!❤️
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Kathy, I love this post. I’m not from this area, but I’ve put down my own roots here for the last 18 years. And both my in-laws graduated from BCHS, and my son, Caleb, attended the middle school when we first moved back to this area. Enjoyed hearing your roots with the school and the history of this school building in the community. But, I must say, your view of the new school and that you heard the pledge to the American flag is my favorite part.
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I sometimes forget you aren’t a local TN gal! You’ve been here long enough that we claim you as our own!! ❤️❤️❤️
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What a special writing this was! I enjoyed it so much. It is good to look back and appreciate but not to stay back and wallow in the past. These memories are part of you. They have helped to mold you. You can see the hand of God all along the way. Keep up the praying for the battle is waging and we need us grandmothers staying vigilant.
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“Look back and appreciate but don’t stay back and wallow” — you have such wisdom, oh sister of mine!! I love how you worded that! And I love you!!!❤️
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