Stories shared at Paradise School reunion

Former Paradise School students gathered before the Fourth of July for their third annual class reunion.

Students from as far away as Lacey, Washington spent the weekend sharing stories about their time attending the Paradise elementary school.

The Paradise School was built in 1910 on land provided by the Northern Pacific Railroad. The school initially started out with grades K-12, but quickly transitioned to elementary grades only.

Employing 126 teachers over the years, the future was clear with the departure of the railroad, which started the decline of the town’s population. By 2013 student enrollment was down to five students.

Concerned citizens began to repurpose the building into what it is today.

Dave Colyer, Paradise Board President, has been instrumental in organizing the school reunions with the help of numerous volunteers. In attendance this year was Karval Colyer-Pickering, who first attended the school at the age of five years in 1944.

Colyer-Pickering’s involvement with the school started as a student, and later as a mother of students. She was hired as a cook, then as a clerk for 30 years, and was involved in the transitioning of the school with Sanders County to what is now the Paradise Center.

Also attending the reunion was the oldest surviving student, 99-year-old Betty Meyer, who first attended the school at age 6 in 1930.

Meyer said she spent two years as a first grader at the school.

“I was dumber than a box of rocks,” she joked.

She went on to enlist in the Women’s Army Corp as a truck driver in 1944 during World War II.

Several major improvements have taken place during the last year. Elevators have been installed for access to both the upper and lower floors, and construction is ongoing for the new roundhouse to display railroad equipment and other related items.

Around 50 alumni attended the reunion along with around 30 family members.