SAUGUS — Sitting at 54-56 Essex St. is a building that harkens back to 1894 when it was known as the Cliftondale School. Now, it continues to stand tall after the threat of demolition as the Marleah E. Graves building, thanks to the work of some Saugonians, including Janice Jarosz.
“I have no idea how I got involved. My late sister lived across the street and in that house over there, and I visited her years ago, and I’d hear the kids playing over here and the bell ringing. That’s all I knew,” Jarosz said.
One day, Jarosz was looking at the newspaper and saw that the place was being sold to a builder, and she thought that it was a terrible idea because “it was such a beautiful building.”
“So, I got together some friends, and that’s how it was done. One thing led to another, and we were just so lucky. I’ve racked my brain for decades, but I have to say it was divine intervention because I had no talent. I had nothing,” she said.
Jarosz spoke about some of the history of the building, including the teacher it was named after, Marleah E. Graves, and she showed off a photo of the teacher that hangs in the hall.
Graves taught at the school for 47 years and was a beloved teacher, and was even named the National Elementary School Teacher of the Year in 1970. Jarosz, who is also the author of “‘The Golden Leaf’ Love Affair,” had a chapter of her book that included students remembering their time with Graves and her dedication as a teacher.
Another picture hanging on the hall opposite Graves is one of Charles William Milton Bond.
“Mr. Bond in Cliftondale had the largest cigar business in the country. Girls would be in their houses, wrapping up cigars. It’s fascinating,” she said.
She continued that the M.E.G. had a big open house and members of the Bond family had come.
“All of the great-grandsons came, and it was so wonderful. They were so happy too because the whole thing of it was he gave all of the property, the church next door, and this property here, to the town with the stipulation that they would name the school after him, but they never did,” Jarosz said.
She combed through records to see if the naming ever happened, but it was nowhere to be found, and an empty space even sits on the building where his name was meant to be.
“Everything about this school we left the way it was. We did put a new floor in, though, because it was pretty bad,” she said.
Some of those pieces of history within the school include a cloak room, chalkboards, and a stunning banister.
Jarosz said that so many people made it possible to do the work the building needed and keep it standing for all of these years. One example of this kindness was when they were looking to put a kitchen in the building, and McCormick Kitchens, who were about to throw away a set, gave it to them for free. She also mentioned Dennis Gould as a major help and contributor.
“We’ve just had so many wonderful people,” she said. “What used to be RESCO gave us a $20,000 grant. We kept saying, ‘Hey, this might really work.'”
Jarosz said that many people use the place as a hall, as it is affordable, telling her son, “We have to be good to everybody.”
Now, Jarosz is hoping to continue fixing up the building, with one of the major things being making the building handicap accessible and installing new doors.
The plan now is to have a raffle calendar set for June, with each day being a new item that someone can win. Those items include a $25 Prince Pizza gift card, $50 cash, a M.E.G. Foundation free room rental valued at $375, and a $850 Weber Genesis Grill.
You can enter the raffle by heading to the M.E.G. on Wednesday or Thursday from 5-7 p.m. Anyone with questions can contact Linda Ross at 617-686-4645 or Jarosz at 339-222-2178. It is a $10 donation per ticket.
