Pine Bluffs students celebrate their elementary school turning 50. The event featured speeches from principal Sue Stevens.

Students past and present gathered at Pine Bluffs elementary for a ceremony honoring the 50 years the building has housed learning and growth in the community.

Principal Sue Stevens welcomed everyone and gave a history of how the building came to be and changes made over the years.

“In 1961, board members of Laramie County School District No. 7, Dale Scheel, Wayne Macy, Bob Palm, Melvin Larson, James Souders, and John Prosser, were anxiously awaiting the completion of a new elementary school building,” Stevens explained.

Currently Laramie County consists of only two school districts and LCSD2 is the home of Pine Bluffs, Burns, Carpenter and Albin schools. Stevens told of the “rickety” condition of the school that was replaced and described how children “told tales of being able to see daylight through cracks in the bricks.”

The California-style design of the Pine Bluffs elementary building was drawn up by a former music teacher, Robert Hill. Stevens explained the low spread out design was a switch from the tall building it replaced.

Now the elementary might be 50 years old, but much has changed along the way. New windows have made the building more green, warm and energy efficient. Green chalkboards were replaced with dry-erase boards. Carpeting was added to rooms and computers set up in what was once simply hallways. The library and two classrooms were added in the ‘80s and as Stevens listed the improvements the children cheered out with her what the latest and “best” improvement was, “a new playground!”

Out of the children currently enrolled at Pine Bluffs elementary, 40 percent have parents that attended the school as well, Stevens said, noting the strong ties to the community. Also emphasizing the connection between the community and the school was mayor Bill Shain, who spoke to the students of the importance of the school and children in it.

LCSD2 chairman Esther Davison shocked the students during her speech. Davison explained she did not attend the elementary school, because she was in high school already. She pointed out a member of the crowd from the original 1962 kindergarten class. Davison went on to earn gasps and cries of horror as she told the students what did not exist in 1962, like iPods, computers and most horrifying of all, video games.

The celebration also featured singing the birthday song, of course, but also the school song. The school song was written in 1986, by the students of the school at that time, with the help of their music teacher who explained the process to today’s students and then led them in the song.

The celebration was completed with former students and teachers joining with the current students teachers and esteemed guests for birthday cake.