Demolition of the old Jennings High School, which later served as Jennings Elementary School, is underway and many former students are saying goodbye and remembering their time spent at the school that shaped them into who they are today.

Located at the corner of Florence Street and East Academy Avenue, the school has had generations of students pass through its hallways since opening its doors in 1953 as a high school and later as an elementary school after completion of the new Jennings High School until a new elementary school was built.

With so many memories of the school, former student Connie Davis Hebert said the demolition is bittersweet.

“It’s sad because of the memories, but I understand it needed to come down because it was kind of dangerous and people were going in and it does cost a lot to keep it up,” she said.

Hebert, a member of the Class of 1970, said the memory that stands out the most for her was the band room because that’s where she spent a lot of her time.

“We were a small band and like a family because we spent so much time together with Mr. Paul Myers, who was the band director,” she said.

As a teenager, Hebert said she got to travel with the band to perform in Mexico City, at the World’s Fair in San Antonio and in Tampa, Florida.

While she has fond memories of her time at JHS, she said it was also a challenging time for the students faced with integration, a fire that damaged part of the school and the Vietnam war.

Celia Joe Black, a 1973 graduate of JHS, cried seeing the structure come down, but supports the School Board’s decision.

“I support the School Board’s decision to remove what will become a very expensive burden to the taxpayers if left empty,” she said. “The decision was based on the best interests of the community and to promote progress.”

Black said the structure might be coming down and people may be sad, but students who attended classes there will always have their memories.

“The building will be gone but the impact of the experiences I had inside it and the people I shared them with will stay with me all of my life,” she said.

“We can’t live in the past,” she continued. “As a friend told me, generations sweep in and replace out history with their new view. We actually did the same thing without realizing it. I’m going to cherish my memories and look forward to making new opportunities for the next generation.”

Chris Spires, a 1983 graduate of JHS, said the school is a place that carries many fond memories from another time in his life.

“There were a lot of memories and families there back in the day,” Spires said.

Spires fondly recalled the football team going to the state championships at the Superdome in 1982.

“There were a lot of state championships in Jennings, but we were the first team to go to the Superdome to play,” he said.

Sadly the team loss to Eunice, but it was a night to remember, he said.

He also recalled football pep rallies as a fun time for students.

“Parents would check students out of the elementary school to bring them to the high school for the pep rallies,” he said. “Back then we held them in the auditorium. That was a big thing for those little kids. They would remember it and look forward to going to high school.”

Plans for the site have not yet been made public, but many in the community see it as an opportunity for growth.

Charlie Williams, who graduated from JHS in 1972, is not as sentimental about the old school. He sees the demolition as a positive move and a way to prevent an abandoned structure from becoming an eyesore.

“Somebody else can shed a tear, it won’t be Charlie Williams,” he said. “I say bring out the bulldozers and excavators and get it done and cleaned up.”

Williams said the building would be too costly for anyone to restore.

“It served us 50 years, so it’s time to bring it down,” he said. “It’s out with the old and in with the new.”

Williams hopes the city’s recreation department will make use of the space to expand its facilities. The area also has potential for providing more housing for the city.

Hunter Logan, a 1984 graduate of JHS, said there is no use to keep the building if it was not being utilized.

“If somebody can do something better with it, then I’m for it,” he said.

Logan remembers sitting outside eating lunch with friends.

“Most of us sat outside on the picnic tables out front to eat our lunch because most of brought our own lunch,” he said.