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Witter birthday good as gold

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By LENORA LAKE

llake@tampatrib.com

Published: November 25, 2009

NORTH TAMPA - The past and present linked when Belle Witter Elementary School celebrated its 50th anniversary recently.

Former students, staff and parents joined current students, staff and parents on Nov. 14 for a program, reception and family picnic with games. Some attendees had changed roles over the years. Among the participants were former students who had been or currently are on the faculty at the school at 10801 N. 22nd St.

The celebration had the theme "Fifty Years of Memories ... Future Full of Promise." The format was much like that used at the dedication in 1959, with "America the Beautiful" sung by the chorus, the program moderated by the principal and an address given by the Hillsborough County schools superintendent. Then it was J. Crockett Farrell; this time, MaryEllen Elia.

Elia said 2009 is, in many ways, like 1959, with the nation recovering from a recession and unemployment high.

"Everywhere around, people were building; USF was developing," Elia said. "We had little time to design it (the school) and build it, so we used the plans for the recently built Egypt Lake Elementary."

The school was named for a teacher who began her career in 1888 in Illinois and taught in Hillsborough County from 1900 to 1941. Most of the years were spent at Hillsborough High School, where she taught Latin, said school board member Doretha Edgecomb.

"She wasn't a political figure, didn't run a school or head the school district," Edgecomb told several hundred guests. "She was well-respected, expected much from her students, and did whatever she to needed to do to see they succeeded."

When Witter opened, the surrounding area was heavily wooded and construction was booming, recalled Larry Hayes, who in 1959 was a sixth-grade student at the school.

"There were kids in every house - a neighborhood swarming with 10- to 12-year-olds," said Hayes, who lives in Virginia and traveled to Tampa to speak at the ceremony.

The school underwent renovations in 1998 and 2008. It has had nine principals and been the meeting place for teachers who have married each other.

The school, which has 95 percent of its students on free or reduced lunches, received an A grade from the state of Florida.

Principal Anna Brown said the school has a "rich history and strong community support."

Former student Hayes agreed. "We loved the building; we loved the teachers," he said. "We were very poor, but what helped us was we knew our teacher loved us."

Correspondent Lenora Lake can be reached at (813) 259-7662.

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