LAWRENCEBURG, Tenn. (WTVF) — We are in the thick of fall activities here in middle Tennessee. This Saturday, there's an event aimed at helping preserve a piece of local Black history.
"Upstairs is where they had the projector and everything, you'd see movies," said James Dailey, walking through an old school building. "I wasn't part of it, but we had our own little basketball team and everything."
When he's in this building, James takes a few quiet moments. It's then this place truly takes him back.
His memory is of a school building with a long staircase going up from a then two-lane road.
"I believe there were only three classrooms," James said. "I went here 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade from 1962 to 1964."
It's a school built on West Gaines Street in Lawrenceburg in the 1930s. Then, it was the only school Black children could attend in the community.
"We used to play with the white kids and everything," James said. "We were real friendly. Once we went to school, we were segregated. We didn't understand it."
James is now hoping to save this place, working with the group The West Gaines School Community Center Incorporated. The group told me it's been about 18 years since the building was used for anything. They believe that's a shame, considering the history of the place and the sort of stories it could tell.
"Part of our mission is to converse art, culture, music, history, and science," said the group's secretary Onezean Otey.
They're looking to turn the building into a community center. Onezean said there are major hurdles including expensive interior and roof damage.
Fundraising efforts are mostly based through a website now. On Saturday, a fall festival is planned on site from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. to help tell the building's story.
"We sat at the table or went out to the playground to eat," James said, walking through the old cafeteria room.
James believes they're the third group to try to save the building. He doesn't want to lose a place with such deep-rooted memories for himself and others who lived local Black history.
"I can actually see myself about four-foot tall, happy, having fun, running around," James smiled. "It's all happy memories. We were all just like a big family here."
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
It's truly the small things that add up to a great day - and Warrick in Lebanon is having a big impact. His familiar face is becoming a staple in one part of the community and inspiring closer connection in the simplest way. Enjoy his warm personality! You may even feel inclined to wave to a stranger today, too.
-Rebecca Schleicher
