People pick keepsake bricks in Oshkosh, June 28, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Keepsakes are going quickly at the school district office in Oshkosh.
Bricks from the former Webster Stanley Elementary and Middle School are available.
It didn’t take long for people to arrive at the Oshkosh Area School District Office Wednesday morning. On the pallet outside, 200 bricks are packed with about 70 years of local history.
Teresa Doemel was the first to officially pick.
“My husband and I attended Webster Stanley Middle School. Our kids attended Webster Stanley Middle School. I used to be secretary at Webster Stanley Middle School. So the building is very fond to my heart. So a lot of memories,” said Teresa Doemel, Oshkosh.
Not long after, Dave Cartwright and his daughter Haleigh Cartwright are searched for just the right brick.
“I went to Webster. Pre-K through eighth grade. And I kind of wanted a little something to remember that, other than like my yearbook, so stuff like that. Have a part of the school,” said Haliegh Cartwright, Oshkosh.
People are allowed to take three of the roughly 2 x 4 x 8-inch slabs. The supply comes from the piles about three miles to the east. Demolition of the old Webster Stanley Elementary and Middle School started earlier this month. District Superintendent Bryan Davis says keepsake bricks make fitting tributes.
“Certainly having a piece of the building for some people is important. So we just want to be able to provide that as an opportunity as we say goodbye and then we welcome Menominee Elementary School on that site coming up in the fall of ’24,” said Bryan Davis, Oshkosh Area School District Superintendent.
Back at the pallet, the bricks are going quickly. Karin Derenne didn’t go to Webster Stanley, but her three kids did. She says each of these bricks is a story.
“I think Oshkosh as a community really appreciates its history, and so things like this are very sentimental and meaningful, because they connect us to our past,” said Karin Derenne, Oshkosh.
What is she going to do with them?
“I don’t know yet, but something special,” she said.
If you didn’t get your keepsake brick, there will be another opportunity Thursday outside the Oshkosh Area School District Office at 215 S. Eagle St.
The offer is scheduled to run from 4-6 p.m.
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