#OldSchool: Demolition of Glick School Begins

By Greg Pierquet, Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Marshalltown Times Republican
The day began a month-long process of tearing down the 105-year-old Glick Elementary School at the corner of Linn and Third Streets.

Life-long Marshalltown resident Richard Keese, 49, attended Glick from third until fifth grade. He stopped by Monday morning to do some reminiscing and watch the old building fall.

“I have a lot of memories from going to school here and playing with my friends in this neighborhood,” he said. “You hate to see an old building like this go, but there comes a time when you have to move on.”

Keese remembered stopping in at Lowe’s Flowers before and after school to buy candy.

“It’s amazing to think about how long it took to build that school and all the people who used it — and it takes so little to tear it down,” he added.

Lee Hedum watched the side of building coming down in the afternoon. Hedum served as a custodian at Glick for 18 years. He talked about the trees planted around the lot — dedicated in the memory of past teachers and residents — as well as the history of the building and the great people who worked there over the years. Point to a bush, and Hedum remembered when it was planted and by whom.

“There’s a lot of history in that building,” he said. “It seems like just about everyone who grew up in Marshalltown went to Glick at one time or another.”

Dan Cretors, DeCarlo Demolition general manager, said it will take the company about a month to clear the debris after the building is down. Center Associates Business Manager Diane Baker, whose company bought the property with a federal Housing and Urban Development grant, said TSP Inc. architects will be designing the complex and Gethmann Construction will be building it.

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T-R Photo Credit: Greg Pierquet
Center Associates brass was on hand Monday morning as machinery took the first bites out of the old Glick School. They are (l-r): Marty Wymore, board member; Diane Baker, business operations manager; Susan Wear, board member; Mike Bergman, CEO and Board Vice President Jim Lowrance. Long-time Marshalltown residents stopped and watched, drivers gawked and children walked by after school to catch a glimpse of Marshalltown history crumbling at the whim of a wrecking crane on Monday.