Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Monday, July 14, 2008

 "I was spanked by Mrs. Julia R. Ewan herself!"

 That’s just one of Janis Gilbert’s vivid memories of her years attending the namesake elementary school, which is closing this spring just one year shy of the century mark. The 99-year-old school will be replaced by the $14.5 million Liberty Elementary School, set to open in August.

  The middle cog of a three-generation Ewan Elementary family, Gilbert spoke fondly of the school and its leaders.

  “You just got a sense that it was an old, historic Kentucky school,” she said. “We did a lot of Kentucky history, I remember.”

  And she lived it, too. The first time she watched television in school was when teachers brought black-and-white sets from home for students to see astronaut John Glenn. And she recalled her teachers crying when President Kennedy’s assassination was announced over the loudspeaker.

  As a child, Gilbert lived on Liberty Road and walked to school, sometimes spitting over the edge of the old bridge on Henry Clay Boulevard.

  But back to that spanking…

  When she was in first or second grade, Gilbert and a young pal hid out at the end of P.E., ignoring the teacher’s whistle to line up and go back into the building. They decided instead to head to the nearby bird sanctuary and play outside awhile longer.

  Her friend even climbed on the sundial – and that was their undoing.

  Then-Principal Mrs. Ewan, sporting cat-eye glasses and a cardigan sweater, caught the pair and marched them to her office.

  “Mrs. Ewan whipped the fire out of both of us,” Gilbert recalled. “My mother walked up in her apron and did not ask one question, grabbed me up and spanked me all the way home.”

  Ovana Rush, who taught at the school from 1940 until her retirement in 1982, confirmed the principal’s firm hand. “You knew how far you could go and how far you couldn’t go,” she said.

  Rush also shared pleasant memories of the school. “To me, it was the finest of times, and I enjoyed every minute of it,” she said. “All the kids I taught are my kids.”

  But it was not always easy. Early on, the Army kept cavalry horses across a field from the school, and wartime rationing affected the annual carnival. Students brought in what sugar their families could spare, Rush said, noting, “My room had the candy booth.”

  On a lighter note, the teachers always would dress up in their hats, gloves and high heels for monthly meetings with the superintendent. “Some of the (other) teachers called us the snobs of the county teachers,” she said.

  But “it was just a wonderful place to work. The teachers got along beautifully. There was no fussing or scrapping.”

  Rush did have her share of pranksters in class. One boy – whose eyes would just twinkle when he was up to something – once stuffed corn silks up his nose to make a mustache. Another time, he tied a girl’s dress sash to her desk.

  “I was about to pop with hysteria,” Rush said. “I just got so tickled at them.”

CLOSING FESTIVITIES
Julia R. Ewan Elementary School, 350 Henry Clay Blvd.
12:30 p.m. Thursday May 15: Students in all grades will perform “99 Years – a Musical Trip through the Decades,” and Principal Vickie E. Burke will speak at the school assembly. Students, staff members and former staffers will receive souvenir buttons featuring a picture of the front entryway with the name of the school and the dates 1909-2008.
7 p.m. Thursday May 15: The evening program for the public will follow the same format as the school assembly. In addition, Superintendent Stu Silberman will speak, and the portrait of Mrs. Ewan will be presented to her family. A reception will follow.
1 to 3 p.m. Sunday May 18: Fifth-grade volunteers will take groups of visitors on tours of the building. Memorabilia will be displayed, and light refreshments will be served.
Contact: Joni Maloney, library media specialist, (859) 381-3462.