Hundreds say goodbye to Gilles-Sweet School
By Kevin Kelley
Fairview Park
Published July 6, 2005

Fairview Park School Board President Tom Davis and Harriet Beekman, a student at Gilles-Sweet when it first opened in 1925, lower the American flag for the last time at the old school. (Photo by Larry Bennet)

Hundreds of former students and community members gathered Saturday to say goodbye to a city landmark — Gilles-Sweet School.

The school will be torn down starting Aug. 1. As part of the $50 million Gemini Project, construction of as new, larger school on the same site will begin in April 2006 and should be finished to welcome students in kindergarten through grade five in the fall of 2007.

At Saturday's open house, former students, teachers and staff gathered in front of the building for a final group photo. In a special ceremony, the American flag was lowered from the front flagpole for the last time by longtime city resident Harriet Beekman, 85, who was a student at Gilles-Sweet when it first opened in 1925.

Eileen and Ann Marie McLaughlin, sisters who attended Gilles-Sweet in the early 1970s, said they were both sad to see their old school go.

Eileen said the school was pretty much as she remembered it.

"Besides some of the offices that have been partitioned, everything looks about the same," she said.

"It will be nice for the children to have a new facility," she added. "I'll always have the memories."

Ervin Folley, right, who served as principal of Gilles-Sweet from 1967 to 1975, chats with Assistant Principal Katherine Manwell during Saturday's open house. Inset: Folley from a faculty photo in the late 1960s. (Photo by Kevin Kelley)

Eileen McLaughlin recognized her former principal, Ervin Folley, as he walked the hallways of the building he used to administer for the last time.

"He chose me one morning to ring the announcement bells," she said, recalling Mr. Folley always wore a bow tie and even that his birthday was Jan. 15.

"You made a big impression on me," Eileen told Folley.

Folley used to say "The world's best boys and girls attend Gilles-Sweet School," Eileen recalled.

"They really were the best kids," said Folley, who served as principal from 1967 to 1975.

Folley, 87, said the building looked better than ever. Although he was sad to see it being torn down, he acknowledged that it was the cost of progress.

He also fondly remembered the faculty and staff that worked with him.

"The principal had an easy job with all of these wonderful people around," said Folley, who now lives at Rockport Retirement Community in Rocky River. "In retrospect, they were wonderful (years)."

Kay Bennet of Bay Village and her sister Elsie Peterman of Fairview Park page through a scrapbook during an open house Saturday at Gilles-Sweet School. Both attended the school in the 1920s. (Photo by Larry Bennet)

Elsie Peterman began attending Gilles-Sweet in the first grade in 1928. There was no kindergarten at the time, explained Peterman, who still lives in Fairview Park.

"We feel very badly about it coming down," said Peterman, adding that she was opposed to the Gemini Project.

Over 150 persons signed the guest book, officials said. Dozens more took time to record their thoughts in a memory book.

"I remember my childhood revolving around this school and hate to see it go away," wrote Becky Marshell.

In the gymnasium, the original dedication plaque from 1925 was on display, listing the superintendent, Lewis F. Meyer; the general contractor, R.S. Ursprung; and architects Fulton & Taylor. In a classroom, several tables held old class photos and PTA records.

Gilles-Sweet hosted classes in grades kindergarten through grade six through 1982. Since then, the building has been leased out to other educational organizations.

Since it opened in 1925, the school has been named after two local soldiers who died during World War I. Frederick A. Gilles, 24, died of toxemia and influenza Oct. 1, 1918 in France. His father, Nick Gilles, served as custodian of the school for 15 years.

Nick Gilles' home and grocery store were located at the present-day Emerald Necklace Inn Bed and Breakfast at 18840 Lorain Road. Owner Gloria Cipri-Kemer displayed Gilles family memorabilia she has collected over the years during Saturday's open house.

"Family members have come to stay (at the Emerald Necklace Inn) and they have sent me various family items," she said.

John H. Sweet, 23, was killed in the Battle of Argonne Forest in France on April 9, 1918.

The new school will also be named after Gilles and Sweet, both of whom are interred in Fairview Park Historical Cemetery on Lorain Road.