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Photo by Jon Anderson

Tammy O'Shields, a former student at Bluff Park Elementary School in the 1970s, takes a photo of Carolyn Goodall, who attended the school in the 1950s, on the day of the 100th anniversary celebration for the school on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Bluff Park Elemetnary School Principal Ami Weems speaks at the 100th anniversary celebration for the school on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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The First Edition Jazz Band from Hoover High School plays outside Bluff Park Elementary School as people arrive for the school's 100th anniversary celebration on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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A photo of Maurice Ramsey's fifth grade class in the 1959-60 school year sits out on display at the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Bluff Park Elementary School students join guests at the 100th anniversary celebration for the school on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Guests at the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Guests at the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School discuss the answer to a trivia question on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Hoover schools Superintendent Kevin Maddox speaks at the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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A Bluff Park Panthers banner hangs on the wall at Bluff Park Elementary School alongside photos of some former student leaders on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Former Bluff Park Elementary Principal David Fancher talks with a Bluff Park student about the answer to a trivia question at the 100th anniversary celebration for the school on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Bluff Park Elementary School students listen during the 100th anniversary celebration for the school on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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A sign celebrates Bluff Park Elementary School's 100th anniversary on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Bluff Park resident Will Pearson, president of iHeart Podcasts, speaks at the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Guests at the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Caroline Adams and a Bluff Park Elementary School student listen to a trivia question from iHeart Podcasts President Will Pearson at the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Photos of former leaders at Bluff Park Elementary School adorn the walls of the school on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Sally Payne and a Bluff Park Elementary School fifth grader talk about the answer to a trivia question as iHeart Podcasts President Will Pearson waits at the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Bluff Park Elementary School students listen during the 100th anniversary celebration for the school on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Posters show different ways that Bluff Park Elementary School students devised to demonstrate the number 100 during the 100th anniversary celebration for the school on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Two Bluff Park Elementary students give an answer to a trivia question given by iHeart Podcasts President Will Pearson at the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Guests at the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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A framed display of photos of the Bluff Park Elementary School faculty for the 1996-97 school year sits out on dsiplay at the 100th anniversary celebration for the school on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato greets Bluff Park Elementary School students at the 100th anniversary celebration for the school on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Photo by Jon Anderson

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato speaks at the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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The First Edition Jazz Band from Hoover High School plays outside Bluff Park Elementary School as people arrive for the school's 100th anniversary celebration on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Bluff Park Elementary School students don their "house" colors during a school assembly.

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The original Bluff Park School building, as restored on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, the day of the school's 100th anniversary celebration.

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Photo courtesy of Bluff Park Dro

Bluff Park Elementary School students spell out ":Be Kind" on their campus prior to the demolition of the old Bluff Park School buildings at the top of the picture.

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Ami Weems 10-30-18 (3)

Ami Weems when she was appointed the new principal at Bluff Park Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, in 2018.

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The First Edition Jazz Band from Hoover High School plays outside Bluff Park Elementary School as people arrive for the school's 100th anniversary celebration on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato, Hoover schools Superintendent Kevin Maddox and former Blluff Park Elementary parent Will Pearson listen during the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato speaks at the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Crests for the various "houses" at Bluff Park Elementary School adorn the walls of the school on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Photos of Bluff Park Elementary School students adorn the walls of the school on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

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Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato speaks at the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

James Black remembers coming to the Bluff Park School in the 1950s when students were allowed to walk home for lunch, dogs came to school with students and sat under their desks and students had to go outside to shake the dust off the chalkboard erasers.

"It took a long time to dust the erasers," Black said with a grin as he stood chatting Thursday with old classmates as they joined together to celebrate Bluff Park Elementary School's 100th anniversary.

The school opened on its current campus at 569 Park Ave. in 1924, current Principal Ami Weems told a couple of hundred guests who gathered Thursday with current students in grades 3-5 in the school gymnasium.

In 1924, there were about 50 students in two classrooms with two teachers, one of whom served as principal, Weems said. Park Avenue was still a dirt road.

More land was given to the school in the 1940s, and there were additions such as a playground and a small library in the principal's office. In the 1950s, a large room with a stage and small kitchen was added, and that became the cafeteria, Weems said.

Between 1964 and 1974, 200 new students enrolled, and "the community worked hard to make sure they had everything they needed for a quality education," she said. "The community was praised for the rapport they had with the school. Parents hosted group dances, Halloween carnivals, pancake suppers, fashion shows and fall festivals."

Civic groups contributed time and money, and the school added a new playground, library, classrooms, lunchroom, gym and restrooms, Weems said.

In the 1980s, the Lions Club and Rotary Club gave new equipment, and the Legislature provided $35,000 for computer equipment, she said. The student population grew, and 16 trailers were added for classrooms, she said.

Bluff Park was annexed into the city of Hoover in 1985, and the Hoover City Schools district was formed in 1987, which moved Bluff Park Elementary from control of the Jefferson County Board of Education.

By 1988, the school had grown to 32 classrooms, and a new Bluff Park Elementary School was built next door and opened in phases in the mid-1990s.

The old school was used for a variety of things, including community education classes, an after-school care facility and community meeting space. The old school was closed in 2010 but then refurbished with help from the city of Hoover and reopened as the Artists on the Bluff facility with art studios and a home for the Hoover Historical Society in 2012.

But in 2017, Hoover school officials decided the majority of the old school was in too poor shape to keep, and the artists and historical society were forced to leave. School officials decided to demolish the majority of the old building but kept the original two-classroom building for history's sake.

Black and several of his old classmates praised the decision to keep the original two-room school and refurbish it to resemble its original form.

In 2013, the school dedicated its Panther Track, giving students and the community a safe place to run, Weems said.

Photo courtesy of Bluff Park Dro

Bluff Park Elementary School students spell out ":Be Kind" on their campus prior to the demolition of the old Bluff Park School buildings at the top of the picture.

The school has long been committed to provide a quality education, Weems said. In the 1980s, the math team placed first in the county and won the county chess tournament three years in a row, she said. In 2018, Bluff Park was honored as one of 50 schools in the state with significant reading gains for third graders, she said.

Now, the school has 12 teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and three more pursuing that certification, Weems said. Bluff Park Elementary has had four of the Hoover school district's Teachers of the Year in the last 10 years, she said. And last year, Bluff Park was named one of the top 25 schools in Alabama, she said.

"You do not do all of those things without an expectation of excellence," she said.

Last year, the school had a theme of "Leave a Legacy." "We talk to our students all the time about the fact that you don't have to wait until you're a grownup to leave a legacy," Weems said. "You can start doing that right now. It's not just about being a good math student or a good reading student. It's about being a good kid. It's about character, and that's what counts."

Weems said she's exceptionally proud of the people with who she gets to work every day who continue to make a difference in the lives of children and leave a legacy behind them.

Weems came to Bluff Park in 2018 from Deer Valley Elementary, where she was assistant principal.

Photo by Jon Anderson

Ami Weems 10-30-18 (3)

Ami Weems when she was appointed the new principal at Bluff Park Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama, in 2018.

"This was my dream job," she said. "I have been in education for 23 years, and there was no other place that I ever wanted to serve as principal than Bluff Park Elementary School.

"We have something that a lot of schools do not have," Weems said. "We have students in this school that they are fourth generation Bluff Park. ... I think that speaks volumes. It just shows that people want to be here."

The hardest week of school is the last one each year as fifth graders are thinking about transitioning to middle school, she said. "Yes, they're going to another incredible school, but there's just something great about Bluff Park. Kids want to be here. Kids love their school. They enjoy their time here."

Hoover schools Superintendent Kevin Maddox said he recognized early after arriving as superintendent a little over a year ago that the Bluff Park community is different.

"Having a community school is very special," he said. "Lots of schools today are not community schools the way that this one is. It's a community pride that you have in your school."

The fact that the community is walkable makes it a lot like a Mayberry type of place, Maddox said, referencing the fictional small town on "The Andy Griffith Show."

Photo by Jon Anderson

Hoover schools Superintendent Kevin Maddox speaks at the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

"It's such a benefit for our students to be able to walk to school and to develop those friendships along the way," he said. "We have phenomenal teachers in this school, and I'll bet you that that's been the case for 100 years."

The playground equipment today is probably much different than what was in place 100 years ago, "but the same spirit applies -- laughter, friendships, an occasional squeal here and there and a few injuries along the way," Maddox said. "It's such a special place. I'm happy to be here in celebration of 100 years of history. Think about the number of students who have come through Bluff Park. ... the number of parents who have volunteered their time and energy, who have invested in their children, the teachers and staff who have given everything they have."

Guests at Thursday's celebration also saw a video from Gov. Kay Ivey and heard from Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato in person.

Will Pearson, a 1997 Hoover High School graduate and Bluff Park resident who is president of the iHeart Podcasts division of iHeart Media, overseeing operations in New York City, Atlanta and Los Angeles, served as Thursday's main guest speaker.

Pearson said he actually attended Gwin Elementary and his wife attended Shades Mountain Elementary, but they knew they wanted to settle in Bluff Park and had two children who came through Bluff Park Elementary.

He led the crowd, which contained a host of current and former Bluff Park students, teachers, staff and parents, in a "pop quiz" with fun trivia questions tangentally related to Bluff Park Elementary or old photos of the school.

Many guests who came spent time reminiscing after the ceremony at a reception in the cafeteria.

Black and some of his classmates from the 1950s recalled what life was like in the old school, much of which was torn down.

Photo by Jon Anderson

Guests at the 100th anniversary celebration for Bluff Park Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

Carolyn Howton, who was a member of the last seventh grade class before seventh and eighth graders were sent to a new Homewood Junior High School, recalled how crowded it was when they were in school.

"We had classes on the stage, in the cafeteria. There was a little cubby hole we called a library, and it was used as a classroom at one time, too," Howton said. "Kids were coming out of our ears."

Linda Sully remembered the old wooden floors, which were sometimes slippery. "You'd come in, and they had oiled them, and you had to be careful," she said.

Howton also remembered that sometimes, during the winter when it was cold, students tricked their teacher into letting them all go home early by slowly individually going to get their coats out of the cloak room. Their teacher would ask if they were cold and send them home early, she said.

Some of them, like Black, had never been in the current school building and were impressed with the facilities and quality of the school.

"I think it's magnificent, and I think they're doing a magnificent job," Black said. "I just wanted to come back. Love it. It was great -- great memories."

Bluff Park Elementary's PTA put on a community social Thursday night from 5 to 7 p.m., including carnival games, sports games, live music, a cakewalk and a car show featuring vehicles from different decades.