BY MERLE MONAHAN/CONTRIBUTING WRITER

merlemonah@aol.com

IVOR—The Ivor Elementary School, which served hundreds of students for some 40 years, was recently torn down.

Workers spent a few weeks tearing down the building, which closed in 2001 when Nottoway Elementary School opened.

“It’s so sad to see it torn down,” said Roslyn McClenny of Franklin, a secretary at Ivor Elementary for 20 years. “When I drive by, I think of my days there. Just seeing the school brings back so many memories.”

Former teacher Jane Bailey of Ivor feels the same.

“I often see some of my students who are now adults and we talk about our days there,” Bailey said. “It’s hard to see the school go.”

Former principal Howard Benton of Suffolk spent some of his most rewarding years at Ivor Elementary.

“I actually asked to be transferred there,” Benton said. “I had been principal at both Boykins and Courtland Elementary for 10 years each and felt like I needed a change. I had heard good things about Ivor. The principal before me, Lewis Clayton, had done a great job. We had wonderful teachers and a well-behaved, ready-to-learn student body.

Benton, who remained at Ivor for 10 years, said he believes the school was built during the late 1950s.

“I know it was built before integration in the ‘60s,” he said.

Initially, the school was for students in first through seventh grades. When the county schools consolidated, sixth- and seventh-graders were transferred to the middle school and the elementary schools picked up kindergarteners and younger children.

“They were good days,” Benton said. “I shall always treasure my days there and the friendships I made, including those with the families of the students.”

Southampton County owns the property and will attempt to sell it.