"We Truly Are a Family"

By Press release submission

Dec 19, 2021

Utica Community Schools issued the following announcement on Dec 17.

For Don Nowicki, visiting Eppler Junior High School was just like going home.

“It reminds me of our history, and how many people have come before us or are yet to come that keeps Utica Community Schools as one of the finest districts around,” said Nawrocki, Eppler’s former principal.

Nowicki and former staff and students had a unique opportunity to come back to the school for a special tour to celebrate what is the historic heart of Utica Community Schools.

This summer, a series of renovations returned Eppler’s front door to the original entrance to the historic part of the building, first built in 1929.

To celebrate, the district opened that door for returning Eppler to reconnect to their roots and see how it has grown.

Superintendent Robert Monroe said the goal of the event to recognize the generations of staff and students who built the strong foundation for the district’s current successes.

“This was truly a celebration of everything that is great about Utica Community Schools,” Monroe said.

The property where Eppler Junior High School now sits has been the site of a schoolhouse since the mid 1800s. The historic section of the school opened in 1929 and served as the high school until the current Utica High School opened in the late ‘50s. It was then the building was converted into a junior high school and renamed after local business leader and former Board of Education president George Eppler.

“I just wanted to bring back the memories of the fun times,” said former student Twila McGinty, who attended the school in the late ‘50s. “I am so proud of this school – I’ve always been proud of it.”

For returning guests, current Eppler students took them on a tour of the school through the original building, toured classrooms located in the school’s basement level – the only lower level in any UCS facility – and its modern media center.

Students talked to guests about the school’s history, its namesake, unique design features and how the proud history of the school has shaped the experiences they have today at Eppler.

“I enjoyed hearing a lot of the different stories about the school,” said 9th grader Jacob Hedge, who served as a tour guide. “It made me realize that we truly are a family.”

Former superintendent Donald Bemis – whose name is on the nameplate for a series of renovations in the early ‘70s – called Eppler “the true cornerstone” of Utica Community Schools.

“I feel like I was part of the growth, and I’m proud of what has happened here and is going to happen,” he said. “These schools don’t belong to anyone but the people. They are community schools and should be used like that.”

Original source can be found here.