Evans City Legacy
Evans City Legacy
Evans City School has quite a storied history!
The facility first began its life in 1939 as a high school and received its first addition in 1944.
The new elementary school, known as Complex “B,” was completed in 1953. The “shop wing,” or one-story section of Complex “A”, was built in 1958, and the cafeteria wing and Complex “C”, once a separate building, were built in 1959. In 1989, an addition/renovation project was completed, creating 54 new rooms, including two music rooms, a computer room, a lobby and elevator, and library and library support rooms.
With several major additions to the front wing and areas between the wings, the school was configured in the 1990s to handle the distribution of grades separately in each wing, with all grades using a central core of shared facilities, including the library, health suite, cafeteria, music rooms, art rooms, and computer rooms.
After nearly 84 years of educational excellence, it was decided to close Evans City School as it became cost-prohibitive to continually repair interior and exterior elements of the school's nearly 140,000 square feet. Before the doors closed at the conclusion of 2021/2022 school year, Evans City alumni walked through the halls one last time and reflected on their time in the building.
Photos, yearbooks, jerseys and letterman jackets were displayed throughout the school. Ronald McCormick, an Evans City High School graduate of 1954, explored the memorabilia with his daughter, Kathy Senn, a 1979 graduate.
“I came from a one-room schoolhouse and started her in eighth grade,” McCormick said. “It was so big, I was scared I wouldn’t find my way around.”
Evans City Mayor Dean Zinkhann looked back on his time at Evans City High School with fond memories. Zinkhann played basketball and football for the school and noted the feeling of camaraderie and happiness among all students.
“Everyone got along so well, and everyone liked each other,” Zinkhann said. “I’ve got so many great memories there.”
The sentiment was shared with Evans City Elementary and Middle School alumni alike. Evans City was a foundation for friendships, learning, and lifelong memories.
Janine Pittman attended Evans City School from kindergarten in 1959 until her eighth-grade year.
“It’s so exciting, it’s been a blast,” she said. “I think friendships were really cemented here. People I’m still friends with today.”
Childhood friends Kathy Voltz and Jeanne Graham also recalled the importance of their alma mater.
“I learned my love of reading at this school,” Voltz said.
“Everyone was pretty equal. There weren’t cool kids,” Graham said. “You were friends with everyone.”
Opening the school to the community was a way to recall all of the memories made at the school before its final bell.
Take a trip down memory lane in a commemorative video made to celebrate the 80 years of Evans City Elementary/Middle School, Thanks for the Memories - YouTube.
