Back in days between the years of 1945 to 1953 there was always a rivalry between the Emerson School and every other school.   Emerson was always the school to beat in any event ranging from a spelling bee to a sporting event.   Well, as a former Emerson student, this competitive spirit was instilled into me as well so when I encountered a former Grant School classmate (Ed Jursnich) assembling a large Grant School display for the Butte Mining Museum I went into full gear to assemble an Emerson display equal to or better than the Grant’s.

      As a starting point, I determined I needed a picture of the school.   This was not going to be an easy task since the library, archives, and school district did not have a picture of the Emerson or, for that matter, a picture of any school.   At one point in time I served on School District #1 curriculum committee and I can remember pictures of the grade schools hanging on the wall at the school administration building.   When I inquired about their whereabouts I was told they went the way of the Butte landfill.   I then changed my direction and instead of finding only the Emerson I thought I would try to find pictures of all the schools.

      I began my quest by returning to the Butte Archives where, in old city directories, I found the list of all Butte schools in operation in 1953 as well as their addresses.   I then went to another room at the archives to research the year book section and I began to search for my classmates of 1957.   Butte Central yearbooks list the grade school of every senior so this discovery was a big help.   In short order I was able to name one or two individuals from every school on my list and my task began.   If my call was made to someone who did not have a picture they would almost always give me a referral.   Hundreds of phone calls later, in almost a two-year period of time, I finally had a picture of every Butte school of 1953.   The word was out that I was on this quest and on occasion I would get a call from someone offering me a picture.   Such was the case with the I.C. School.   On St. Patrick’s Day in 2007 I received a call from a former priest at the I.C. telling me to come to the Finlen Hotel and get the picture.   Oh, I loved these kinds of phone calls.

      Next came the challenge to get the eighth grade graduation picture for every school.   This was much more difficult than the school pictures.   Once again, the word spread about my research.   One day, a lady walked into my office, introduced herself and said she wanted to do a pictorial for her Butte Central H.S. 50th reunion in 2007.   This was exactly my ultimate goal!.   So, after an explanation of what I had done and planned to do, we started a great working arrangement, and, I might add, a long-standing new friendship.

      I could write a book of what we did to get pictures.   Some stories were funny such as the reason for not being able to find a picture of St. Ann’s and others were sad such as the burning down of the Whittier School.   The hardest to find were the I. C. and St. Ann’s.   Getting the names for all those eighth graders is still a troublesome project.   I think I’m down to four schools that have no names.   Guess what one of them is … the I.C. (Immaculate Conception)

      I finished the project for the BHS 50th reunion in 2007.   The large display is housed at the Butte Archives.   Placemats were made for all classmates who attended the reunion.   Since then I have made displays for four other class reunions and just assisted with a display for the 2012 Butte Central 50th reunion.   The schools are also found in various places around town.   The East Side Athletic Club has all of them.   Very seldom a day goes by that I don’t get a call for a picture;   a request that I happily oblige.   I know how hard it is to find a favorite school of almost 60 years ago.

      Now, I have just finished the history of the Emerson School, complete with pictures of the three different schools.   I am collecting graduation class pictures from as far back as I can go.   I have wonderful memorabilia assembled.   I am nearly ready to push the Grant School to the back row and let the Emerson assume its number one place at the Butte Mining Museum.