The schools were closed in 2021 and demolished in 2022 when Shawnee’s new pre-kindergarten through sixth grade school was opened. Springfield Township trustee John Roeder frequently passed by the former schools and saw an opportunity.
“There is a lot of history with myself and my family at Reid School and the significance of their being in Springfield Township, and I wondered what we could do with them,” Roeder said. “I saw a lot of people who wanted bricks, and we thought why don’t we save the Springfield Township sign?”
There was support at a school board meeting, leading Roeder and fellow trustees Jim Scoby and Tim Foley and Fiscal Officer Mark Smith to work with contractor Tony Smith of Smith’s Wrecking, another Springfield Township resident. While the Springfield Township signs from both schools and the Possum School sections were preserved intact, the Reid School sign was damaged. It is still being held by the group as is the Possum sign for a possible addition sometime in the future.
Reid was dedicated in 1921 and expanded and remodeled in 1938, while Possum was opened in 1923 and renovated in 1939.
The trustees worked with David Mollett Jr. of All N All Masonry on the new monument. Bushes were taken out in front of the flagpole in the yard in front of the township building and replaced with a brick façade on cinder blocks in a V-shape where the monuments were mounted.
LED lights are also being added as well as landscaping and a plaque.
“Starting with where they came from, this turned out really nice. It’s great to preserve our history,” said Roeder, who was a member of the first freshmen class at Shawnee High School.
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