Wednesday, September 9, 2020

They Never Learned

 

A "Today in History" piece in the Sunday Times caught my eye on September 6.  The article dealt with the Olyphant School Board leasing space inside a Catholic school in 1950 .  It needed the space because Olyphant's junior high school had been condemned.

I wasn't around in 1950, but I was there in 1977, when a half high school/half elementary school in Olyphant was condemned because it was a fire trap.  By then, Olyphant was part of the Mid Valley School District.

As I have said before, the real tragedy during this whole sorry episode in 1977 was that the people of Olyphant and the school board thought that horrid structure was just fine.  The fact that a daytime fire could have killed dozens somehow escaped them.

Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.  Truer words have never been spoken.