DEMOLITION OF FHS

The land where Fairview High once stood. June 2012. Photo taken by Margaret Kerman Robinson, Class of '68.

THE DEMOLITION OF FAIRVIEW HIGH SCHOOL
BEGAN SEPTEMBER 16, 2011 AND WAS
COMPLETE THE BEGINNING OF NOVEMBER 2011.

Tom Kender, FHS '66, expressed his thoughts about our dear Fairview and has shared them with us as shown directly below. Thank you Tom.

The recent passing of a dear friend and
how she taught me about life
by Tom Kender, November 9, 2011
I lost a dear friend a few weeks ago. She lived to be 80 some years old.... all of those years were great until her slow demise in the last decade. She bore thousands of offspring, ...generation after generation after generation. She survived two World Wars, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War, although many of her children weren't as fortunate.....she lost many of her family in those wars...I'm thankful she didn't have to give any more children up to the wars of today.   She was a beautiful woman. When the sun would shine down on a side of her face, she would glow magnificently and you could see many chapters of her life's story shine through her stained glass eyes. Even though I lived with her for four years, I didn't see that beauty until much later in life during a visit close to her death.   She raised doctors, nurses, lawyers, famous sports figures, a Broadway producer and many other notables. Yet, she treated all of her children the same whether black, white, Jewish, Catholic, orphaned, poor or rich...they were all her children. She taught her children to be proud. She taught her children compassion for their fellow man and woman. She expected you to be on time every day regardless of what your task was. She expected you to complete your assignments when given them. When necessary, she would deal out corporal punishment if it was required.   She was the perfect host. Often having dances in her home, with her family decorating the giant ballroom with appropriate festive colors. She would invite the public to come and see plays and theatrical performances that her children loved to create to showcase their talents.   She would invite all of her children to return over the years to visit one last time and remember some of the moments that molded their lives.   In the end, she stood proudly until her heart pounded its final beat.   She whispered to all who would allow themselves to listen, "Don't be sad, we've all prospered. Take what you've learned from me and try and make a better world"  . As I mentioned, I saw her earlier this year, she was a mere skeleton of herself. But her "eyes" that let the sun shine in gave me warmth and told me, "I'll be fine".   I'll miss you great lady......I'll always remember you and our family.

The Dayton Public School's built a new school that was completed for the start of the 2011-12 school year. The new school, Fairview PreK-8 School at Fairview Commons, is located at 2314 Elsmere Avenue near the corner of Elsmere and Hillcrest.
It is recommended to call ahead if you wish to visit the new school.
Office Phone: 937-542-4590.

Alumni shared photos of demolition work as shown below.
Thank you very much!
CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO ENLARGE IT.

See more photos at this link for the FHS Class 1958 website.

"…is so sad to see our past disappearing but we can’t go back…what great memories we have…oh lets have one last dance in the gym, like we use to after games! Everyone come…and I want to dance with every single guy there!"
Nancy Kemp Kistler, FHS Class of 1965.

September 27, 2011. Photo taken by Alan Gaines, FHS Class of '66.

September 22, 2011. Photo courtesy Dennis Huddleston, FHS Class of '65.

September 22, 2011. Photo courtesy of Dennis Huddleston, FHS Class of '65.

September 20, 2011. Photo courtesy of Tom McLefresh, FHS class of '62.

September 20, 2011. Photo courtesy of Dennis Huddleston, FHS Class of '65.

September 16, 2011. Photo courtesy of Dennis Huddleston, FHS Class of '65.

September 16, 2011. On this day the actual demolition began. Photo courtesy of Dennis Huddleston, FHS Class of '65.

Pre-demolition work took months. Asbestos and other items
were removed for abatement purposes. Then came the heavy
equipment. Time was near for the walls to come down.

August 27, 2011. Photo courtesy of Dennis Huddleston, FHS Class of '65.

June 1, 2011. Photo courtesy of Richard Early, FHS Class of '64.

June 1, 2011. Photo courtesy of Richard Early, FHS class of '64.

May 28, 2011 . Photo courtesy of Alan Gaines, FHS Class of '66.

May 28, 2011. Photo courtesy of Alan Gaines, FHS Class of '66.

May 2011. Photo courtesy of Jim Lied, FHS class of '62.

OUT WITH THE OLD - IN WITH THE NEW
Easy to say but it still hurts.
We will try to provide as many photos as possible of the new school.
Bruiser, our Bulldog mascot, now has a new home there.

The new Fairview Commons PK-8 School is located at Hillcrest and Elsmere. Photo by Alan Gaines, FHS Class of '66, May 28, 2011

The Four Freedoms plaques once hung above Fairview High School's library door. They are now displayed in the new school.