Former students say goodbye to Towslee Elementary School

BRUNSWICK — People who attended, worked at or sent their kids to school at Towslee Elementary School said goodbye to the building one last time by walking the halls and looking at old photos on Thursday during the Towslee Takes a Bow celebration. The 2022-23 school year is the last year students will be attending the school. Therefore, Thursday's event showcased Towslee's current and former students. Yearbooks and class photos, which spanned across decades, were on tables for attendees to view. Bekkah Whelan attended Towslee from 2000 to 2006. She said she decided to visit the school one last time because she missed the chance to revisit Edwards Middle School, which she also attended, before it was torn down a few years ago. "I haven't been back to the school since I came here," she said. "I wanted to come see it and see how much it changed." In 1968, Dave Rote was a first grader at Towslee. He said his friends called him, and the group decided to revisit the building, which ended up being a positive experience for him. "It looks the same," he said. "It's smaller. It looks so big when you're little." There was also a room dedicated in memory of former Towslee Principal Bill Parschen who had the role in the '80s and '90s. Videos and photos of Parschen were displayed throughout the room to remember him 24 years after his death. "People talk about the memories of Mr. Parschen and what he was able to achieve as the principal of that building," Brunswick Schools Superintendent Jason Niedermeyer said. "We're a proud school district to have been able to have people of that caliber leading our district." Niedermeyer said the district was pleased with the number of people who decided to stop by to celebrate the school and its history. "People were able to walk down memory lane," he said. "It was really nice to have C. R. Towslee's family. His grandchildren came and just to have conversations with them and allow them the opportunity to walk through the building one last time, it was really nice." Currently, about 310 students attend Towslee, which is about half its capacity. Niedermeyer said in the next 10 years, it is estimated that the district will have 500 fewer students enrolled than there are today, which equates to an entire grade level's worth of students. "When we look at our enrollment across all of our buildings, we felt that it was the financially responsible thing to do to close Towslee Elementary School at the conclusion of the 2022-23 school year," he said. Next school year, Towslee students will attend Applewood or Huntington Elementary school, but the history of Towslee will not be forgotten, Niedermeyer said. "I'm working with (the Brunswick Historical Society) closely to identify parts of the history of the building that they're interested in taking in order to be able to preserve the history of Towslee over at the Brunswick historical site," he said. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.