In the fall of 1971, with a newly acquired Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education and Library Science from Madison College, I began a career as an elementary librarian which spanned many years. From 1971 – 1974, I worked at New Market Elementary School while also receiving an
M. S. degree from Madison College in 1974. Today, I continue to volunteer for the New Market Area Library, doing story times and helping with other children’s programs for, not far from the school where my teaching career started.
The brick building in which I worked was built in 1931, and opened to students on January 15, 1932, as the New Market High and Graded School. The location now has a street address: 9184 John Sevier Road. In 1959, when Stonewall Jackson High School opened for students from New Market, as well as high school students from Triplett High School in Mt. Jackson, the building became New Market Elementary School. It continued as an elementary school with grades one through seven until Ashby-Lee Elementary School opened near Quicksburg for primary students (grades K-4) from the New Market and Mt. Jackson areas. Kindergarten classes were added to the elementary schools in Shenandoah County in 1975. The former New Market Elementary became New Market Middle School in 1975. The New Market School closed in 1991, when North Fork Middle School opened, and middle school students were moved there.
In 1971, I lived in Harrisonburg, Va, and commuted with three other young teachers to New Market. I had not even applied to Shenandoah County Public Schools. However, Shenandoah County Public Schools called the Madison College Placement Office, who gave them my name. The late Tom Snyder called me to schedule an interview; I interviewed with Sigrid Reger who was principal at New Market Elementary. I got a call from Mr. Snyder offering me the library job at New Market Elementary School, which I accepted. Mrs. Reger moved to the school board office before I started teaching that fall, but I recall her coming to New Market Elementary to talk to me, leaving a nice note.
The principal all four years that I worked at New Market Elementary was the late John Breneman. Another recent Madison College grad, Malinda Wellard (now Gordy), also interviewed for the 1971-72 school year. We both had library science and elementary education degrees; she got the second-grade job, and I got the librarian job. Later, we found out that our mothers had graduated together from Broadway High School in 1947. I commuted from Harrisonburg with Patti Earhart, Barbara Leadingham, and Lucy Snider. I remember that the day we were getting off school for Thanksgiving break, it started snowing very hard as the busses were coming in. The school was told to turn the busses around to take the students back home. I remember our carpool driver that day slipping and sliding down Interstate 81 as we returned to Harrisonburg!
The school had two sections of each grade from first to seventh, as well as one Special Education Class, for a total of around 175 students. Other teachers and staff whom I recall are Anna Lou Harpine, Janet Dellinger, and Sue Foltz, Secretaries (one at a time!); the late Jacquelyn Meadors, the late June Mathias, the late Lelia Stark, Rachel Yoder, the late Rosalee McNeal, the late Katy Shank, the late Frances Burress, the late Martha Newland, the late Mildren Tutwiler, the late Shirley Hepler, Wayne Jones, Brownie Barber (now Ritenour), Jane Gaidos, Wanda Atkins, Wesley Lambert, Helen Lutz, William Zirk, Jackie Sullivan (now Smoot), JoAnn Good, Marilyn VandenHenbgel, Judy Mauller. (New Market Elementary School had yearbooks for only three of the four years I worked there, so I may have missed some names. My name was Karen Lantz all four years that I worked at New Market Elementary School.
When the Shenandoah County Schools no longer needed the former New Market Graded and High School building, the building was given to a non-profit 501 (c) 3 group which opened The New Market Community Center there in 1992. The Community Center rented meeting space and space for special events to groups, hosted an annual arts and crafts show, and more for the next two decades.
In 2021, the New Market Community Center ceased operation and gave the building to the Town of New Market in early 2022. The Town continues to rent space to BNR Dance Studio which was started by Kathy Hurd-Carillo. BNR Dance Studio is now under new management with former dance student Brandy Getz. Harvest Church (Pastor Bruce Kipps) has held Sunday services in the building since 2008 (in the room that was the library when I worked there!).
The Town of New Market has contracted with Frazier Associates for preliminary engineering for the future of the Community Center; an August update on the Community Center was mentioned at the April 2024 Town Council Meeting, but no details were given at the recent August 2024, meeting which I attended.
