This Saturday, July 27, Lynnwood’s beautiful Heritage Park will ring with the voices of old friends and former school classmates as they meet at the annual picnic of the Alderwood Manor Heritage Association (AMHA).

This year AMHA is honoring all the classmates who attended the W.A. Irwin/Alderwood Manor Grade School before it closed its doors in 1962.

If you were a student at the historic school, please come and join with AMHA to take a step back in Lynnwood’s history. Invite other classmates and family to come along.

AMHA will feature the early Alderwood Manor School in an exhibit which will be displayed in the Cottage (AMHA’s Heritage Resource Center) next to the picnic area.

Time and date: 11 a.m. Saturday, July 27, 2013

Place: Heritage Park—19903 Poplar Way, Lynnwood.

At 11:45 a.m. a group photo of the former students will be taken, and the potluck lunch will begin at noon.

Bring a dish to share with others. AMHA will supply beverages, tables, chairs and table service. A hat will be passed to help cover the expenses.

Since parking at the park itself is limited, additional parking will be at the Little Red School House just south of the park. Turn left on 200th; the lot will be on your right. A shuttle will be on hand to drive you between the Little Red School House and the park.

If there are any questions, call the Heritage Cottage at 425-775-4594. If the Cottage is not open, leave a message and we will get back to you. Hours at the Cottage are Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Once located on the south side of what is today 196th Street, across from the Lynnwood Convention Center, the Alderwood school was dedicated at a ceremony held on Monday evening, Jan. 17, 1921. The brick six-room schoolhouse was first called the W. A. Irwin School, named for one of the men involved in the development of the Puget Mill Company’s planned community of Alderwood Manor. However, the name was a short-lived one. Soon the school became known simply as Alderwood Grade School. It was the first graded school in the eastern section of Edmonds School District 15, replacing the smaller schools that formerly served Alderwood Manor and the various outlying communities.

In 1962, with the proposed building of the Interstate Highway (I-5) and plans to use a large section of the school’s land for the freeway, Alderwood Grade School closed its doors. After some restructuring, the building then opened to house School District 15’s Administrative Offices. In the 1990s its doors closed forever and the building was soon razed. A sign announcing the property for sale now marks the spot where once the voices of children at play could be heard.

Come celebrate with Alderwood Manor Heritage Association at Heritage Park and meet some nice people, share some good food and exchange memories of a long-ago time when we were all carefree children.

 — By Betty Lou Gaeng

An 80-year resident of Lynnwood, Betty Lou Gaeng is a genealogist, historian, researcher and writer who is active in volunteer work for Lynnwood’s Heritage Park Partners Advisory Committee and the Alderwood Manor Heritage Association at Heritage Park. She is also a member of the League of Snohomish County Heritage Organizations (LOSCHO) and the South County Historical Society and Museum.  Gaeng is the author of two books: “Etched in Stone,” which is the history of the Edmonds Museum memorial monument, and “Chirouse” about a Catholic missionary priest who came from France to Washington Territory in 1847 and became a father figure and friend to the Puget Sound area’s Native people.