And the West is History: Mason School fourth grade class – 1972

The day after the 57-year-old Central School burned down on March 20, 1950, the District 9 School Board met in an emergency session. It began forming plans for a bond issue to replace the destroyed elementary school that left 350 students displaced. By the next year, the new Mason Elementary School was opened. Here are fourth grade students at Mason in 1972. Their teacher, Virginia Schoser, pictured in red at the back, taught at the Central School and witnessed the fire. She was a teacher for 46 years, retiring in 1975. Mason Elementary closed in 1990 after 39 years. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 03.14.41 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)