Now that Canal Street Elementary School students have moved to a new facility, doors to the old school remain shut with no immediate plans for use of the building.

However, the abandon building is sparking some longtime memories among some members of the community who want to make sure the school’s  history is documented. After all, the old site has provided a facility for  88 years of teaching to mold the minds of young students in the community of Jeanerette.

Barbara Little, a former Canal teacher, said the site and school has a vivid history dating back to the 1920s that is well worth documenting.

Karma Champagne / Jeanerette Enterprise Delores Wallace, from left, Irma Glaubrecht, Barbara Little and Delores Connrs look over memories from Canal Street Elementary School. Advertisement

Little said she took on the task of documenting the history of the school in the 1980s when she was approached about compiling its history  for the archives in  Baton Rouge.

With little record of its history, Little immediately went out into the community and began talking to some of the older residents about the school’s history.

“I’m just glad I was able to document some of this history before these elder community members passed away,” she said.

Little said during the 1920s the school was originally named Jeanerette Colored Elementary School with the Rev. Francis Marion Boley serving as principal. The school was in a wooden frame building with five classrooms and an auditorium.

In the 1930s, Chester Barry Smith served as principal with the school housing grades one through seventh.

Little said the original building burned down in the 1930s and the classes were moved to the Benevolent Society Halls located within the city.

Another wood frame building with seven to eight classrooms and an auditorium was on the site which housed the first grade students and the seventh grade through high school adding one grade per year under the administration of Matthew B. Polk. All of the other elementary students attended classes in the various society halls.

In the  1949-50 school year, the seventh through twelfth grade students moved to the new Jeanerette Colored High, later named the Francis Marion Boley High School. Grades two to sixth joined the first grade students at Canal under the administration of Annie C. Robertson -Moore. The school’s cafeteria serviced both schools as the high school students were transferred to the Canal lunchroom every day on school buses.

Elaine Campbell, who attended the elementary school when it was an all black school in the late 1930s and was a member of the first graduating  class of Jeanerette Colored High after the classes were separated, had some fond memories of her elementary school years at the old Canal School site.

“It was an all black school but we didn’t know anything about black or white at that time.

We all so busy just trying to get our education,” said Campbell.

“I can remember playing basketball outside on a dirt court. It was a happy school. There were a lot of fond memories there.”

Campbell said the thought of integration never occurred to her and her classmates.

“I think it was something the adults wanted more than us. We were just kids and kids think differently,” she said.

With 52 years of teaching experience behind her, Campbell is still thankful she took every advantage to get a good education.

“I’m still teaching and I am loving every minute of it,” she said.

It was not until the 1952-53 school year that the elementary students moved into the new Canal Street Elementary School. The brick building consisted of a principal’s office, a teacher’s lounge, eight classrooms and an all-purpose room which was later made into two classrooms.

The students were brought to the new school from the rural areas from Patoutville and Olivier, Little said.

“The new school boasted of a very good academic program, a fine Parent Teacher Association organization, Boy and Girl Scout Troops, student government organizations and a chorus group,” said Little.

Constance Simmons had attended classes at the Canal site in the early 1960s.

“Although we needed a bigger school to accommodate the students, I still think it is important not to lose the history of the old school,” said Simmons.

“It’s important to document its history the best we can. We need to at least stimulate others to continue its history and have it down as best we can.”

Throughout the years, more classrooms were added to the main building and in 1966 Nolan Duchane became the principal of Canal Street Elementary.

Duchane had attended the school under the principalship of Chester Barry Smith in the 1930s.

“During that time, rules were strict and students had to abide by all the rules and regulations,” said Duchane.

Irvin Moceri took over the administration in the 1969-70 school year during the time when federal government title programs were implemented.

Since that time, the school  has been under the administration of Eugene  “Sonny” Baudry, Gail Viator Geraldine Russell, Glenn Eldridge and currently Conseula Gray. While under different principals, the school  has continued to serve the children of Jeanerette at the same site until the recent  move was made over the Mardi Gras holidays to the newly constructed addition at St. Charles Elementary School.

“There is  a lot of sentimental  memories at the old school, but progress is more important,” said Little.

“It was time for a new facility. The old school was just not modern enough to accommodate modern technology.”

Irma Glaubrecht has been teaching at the school for 38 years.

“I can remember in the earlier years when the classrooms would flood and one time we actually had snakes that entered the classrooms,” said Glaubrecht.

“I never thought I would still be teaching here to see a move into a new school.”

Delores Wallace, who has been teaching at the school for 36 years, had lots of pleasant memories and even a few that  were not so pleasant.

“I can remember when we had no air conditioning. We would walk around with small hand fans to relieve ourselves of the heat and to get rid of the nits,” she said laughingly.

Ruth Conners has been teaching at Canal for 36 years.

“I love the new building, but I had some good memories at the old school,” said Conners.

“We were always like a family in the small setting.”