History of Grant

You might say Jim Nyborg is stuck in the past, but what a sweet past it is.

For nine years, Nyborg has been compiling the history of Grant Elementary School, which opened in its original building in 1899 and has continued at its present location since 1980.

He’s been in contact with dozens of former Grant students and, with the help of other Grant graduates, has organized ongoing reunions three times a year. The next meeting is Oct. 23 at 11:30 a.m. at Old Country Buffet on North Division Street.

“There are lots of memories,” said Nyborg, who graduated from Grant in 1951 and now lives in Spokane Valley.

The group has assembled more than a dozen binders filled with class rosters, photographs and other school memorabilia. Nyborg has 1,376 names of Grant students so far.

The achievement is significant because many of the school records were destroyed in a fire in 1960, he said.

Since Nyborg got out word about his quest, he’s been met with eager response from other former Grant students.

Bob Hoaglund, who graduated from Grant in 1951, said his mother, father and sister attended Grant and that all four of them had the same eighth-grade teacher, Olive Bennison. Hoaglund has been working with Nyborg on the research.

When the two get together, the memories come flooding back. There are stories about the teacher who used to run to the furnace room to smoke cigarettes and the music teacher, Evelyn McCrea, who lived to 101.

They recalled winter sledding and bonfires on Ivory Street next to the school. “People brought potatoes and we baked them in the fire,” Nyborg said.

“We had so much fun doing that,” said Hoaglund, whose parents ran a grocery in the neighborhood.

Another member of their group is Virginia Danke, who still lives in her childhood home in the Grant area and was the head of Ti-Girls cheer group for the Grant Tigers. Hoaglund’s sister also was in the group.

About 40 former Grant students gathered for a picnic last month. The get-togethers began in 2000, when 14 people showed up.

In an essay about this group of old schoolmates, Nyborg wrote, “When people hear that we gather as grade school schoolmates, they say it cannot be done, but we are evidence that it can happen and it does happen when we get together.”

Part of Nyborg’s success is luck. Frequently when he goes out or travels he makes new Grant School contacts, like the time he was talking about his efforts during a concert intermission and found out someone in front of him went to Grant, too.

“Different people send Jim different things,” Hoaglund said.

Among his memorabilia, Nyborg still has his school safety patrol badge, a green “G” letter and a plant stand and watering can he made in shop class.

Nyborg said he is seeking old photographs, especially those from inside old businesses. The group is open to anyone who went to Grant, and Nyborg said, “We want to encourage any Grant School attendee and people from the Perry Street community to share with us in this gathering.”