The Clarksburg community tried to stage a parade for its 250th anniversary seven years ago, but the sniper quashed that plan.
Residents tried again the following year during Clarksburg Day, but they were unable to get permission to close the roads.
And what a parade it will be, with 25 units signed up to march, including the Clarksburg High School Band, floats representing the past, present and future of the school, and engines from the Damascus, Hyattstown and Clarksburg fire departments.
The parade will begin at 11 a.m. at the intersection of Public House Road and Ebenezer Chapel Drive in Clarksburg Town Center, turn on to Clarksburg Road, cut through Spire Street to Frederick Road, and then march along Frederick Road to the school on Redgrave Place.
Principal Sunny Lee, who is the longest-serving principal in the history of the school, will lead the parade.
"It's my privilege to be here," she said.
Lee, who described herself as a city girl from Korea, said she has learned quite a bit from the rural community.
When she arrived at Clarksburg Elementary 13 years ago, the makeup of the school was predominantly white students, many of whose families go way back in the community.
Today, Clarksburg Elementary has a diverse student population with nearly as many Asian-American students as white students, as well as a fair number of Hispanic, African-American and Native American students.
In the last five years the school grew in population — at one time to 740 students — but it has always maintained its small-town character, she said.
The Clarksburg Historical Society is organizing the parade, after which the celebration will move to the school and the historic schoolhouse next door. A formal ceremony with proclamations from the county and state will start at 1 p.m. in the school gymnasium. Light refreshments will be served afterward in the all-purpose room
Activities there are being organized by two staff members, Karen Earp and Kathleen Adamczyk.
Earp, like many of the students, has connections to the school that span generations,
"My family has been involved with Clarksburg Elementary School for almost every generation it's been open except the 1930s," Earp said.
Many in the community can name the generations of relatives who attended classes there.
Historical Society President Eloise Woodfield attended the school in the late 1940s and early 1950s; her daughters, Alethia Watkins and Tarra Woodfield, attended the school in the late 1960s and early 1970s; and her grandson, Greg Pumphrey, 11, attended the school until his family moved a few years ago, she said.
Clarksburg Elementary Student Government Association President Olivia DeReggi, 10, a fifth-grader, likes going to the same school her father attended.
"It definitely brings back memories, a lot of positive experiences — the fun it is to be a kid, watching your own kids do the same things you did," Tom DeReggi said.
He remembers a generation gap between him and his parents but expects the gap to be smaller between him and his children.
"I think some of that generation gap isn't as large when you're growing up in the same town," he said. "For me it's kind of cool."
Adamczyk's research found Clarksburg is not only the oldest elementary school in Montgomery County, but is probably the oldest in the state, she said.
Clarksburg Elementary started out in November 1909 as a one-room schoolhouse, with bathroom facilities outside, she said. A second classroom was added in 1949 and more in 1952 and 1955, Adamczyk said. After a kitchen was added in 1949, children brought sandwiches from home and mothers took turns making soup for lunch, Woodfield said
The original two-room schoolhouse was taken off the building and moved next door in 1972, Adamczyk said. The current office suite was built in the hole left by the schoolhouse.
The historic schoolhouse was placed on the National Historic Registry in 1975; however, it was nearly demolished in 1982 when the current building was renovated. Parent Don Maxie led the fight to save the building.
Many former students and teachers are planning to return for the celebration, Woodfield said.
"It's just going to be like a very huge reunion for past, present students that attended there — a grand way to get together," she said.
The Clarksburg Elementary School centennial parade will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at Public House Road and Ebenezer Chapel Drive in Clarksburg Town Center. The route will take it along Clarksburg Road to Spire Street, Frederick Road to the school on Redgrave Place. Expect road closures along the route from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The historic schoolhouse and the elementary school will be open for tours from noon to 1 p.m. and 2-3 p.m. Artifacts and pictures from the past will be on display in the old schoolhouse.
A celebration ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. in the school gymnasium. The school is located at 13530 Redgrave Place.
For more information, call the school at 301-353-8060.
