It’s been 50 years since the first students walked through the doors of the brand new Farmington Elementary School. Now those kids are adults but still have fond memories of attending the school. Former students and teachers reunited at a recent celebration to commemorate this milestone. 

“The school used to be on the hill where the Vista Center is now,” said Trudy Johnson, one of the first sixth graders. “I attended all of elementary at the other school and fifth grade was the highest level. In the new one they added sixth grade so I was the oldest twice.”

It was exciting to be in a new school, she said. “Back then it was in the middle of nowhere. There were no houses. The teachers seemed so old at the other school and there were new upbeat and cool teachers at the new one.”

Johnson said they got to help name the mascot. “We voted for the Roadrunner. He was fast and smart in the cartoons.”

Classrooms were open back then, she said. “Mr. Robb was my teacher and he’d have stuff at the back of the classroom. The walls could open into one big room. The library was also open with no walls.”

Johnson grew up in the area. “My kids went there and now my grandkids go. It’s changed over time but it’s a good school.”

“I look back on the old school and it was a beautiful building,” said Sue Wiggins, who was also in the first sixth grade class. “It had a grand staircase. The new school had carpet and a ramp. It was a beautiful building too. It was a single level which was novel because the other school had two levels and the fact that it was all open was really cool.”

Kellianne Carlson is currently a teacher at Farmington Elementary but also attended the school as a child. “I was a student there and loved it,” she said. “I thought I had the best teachers in the world. They did so many fun things. I still have boxes at home. I use some of the things I did then – it’s been at least 30 years – because it’s so fun.”

The school brings the community together, she said. “It has such a welcoming atmosphere making it fun learning and working together.”

Carlson said she got to work with her sixth grade teacher. “It was weird but great. She is such a great mentor. I saw how much they cared for students when I was there and wanted to do that and make a difference in a student’s life.”

When she was a student there, Carlson said one of her favorite crafts was apple head witches. “You had to cook them for hours. It was a simple little crafty thing but it was fun to do around Halloween. We’re still doing that 30 years later. I show mine to the kids. They’re (witches) still here.” 

The best thing was the teachers were excited about learning, she said. “They instilled that in us. They made learning fun.”

It’s a tradition oriented school, said Carlson. “We’re mixing the old traditions with the new ones. I think it’s a great school – that’s the reason I haven’t left.”λ