Final Project

This summer, on one of my trips to the summer institutes, I had the opportunity to explore the old Coats Elementary school in Coats, NC. It was one of those old schools- not the low slung ones that are so common here in the south, but a northern style huge rambling brick school.  The main building itself is four stories tall plus the basement- but there is an attached three story building- the theater is in between them- and an open courtyard with a multi-floor building that I am guessing is the gym/ cafeteria.  (I did not get to explore that one).   There are also numerous long-low more modern buildings that housed the special ed classes, maintenance, other classrooms.  How do I know all of this?  Well, it is easy- everything is still there. Not *everything everything*- for example, most of the desks are gone (or in huge random piles in the maintenance building.)  But the rest? yep.  Rows after Rows of lovely wood and metal theater seats.  Some of the props from the school Christmas play are still on stage.  There is photography equipment, slide carousels, binders, sheafs of loose paper work.  In the special education building there are trays of head phones, dental molds (the plastic teeth things they put in mouths? to make impressions?  Not sure why they are here-), forgotten school pictures of students with down syndrome laying on the floor.  Jumbles of old white computers covered with moss.

In the main office of the school- the tallest building- there is an open safe, unfortunately empty.  The floor is covered though with ribbons and awards for "perfect attendance", "principals list", others.  Christmas cards are taped to a door- some fallen, but most bravely holding on.  There is tinsel on the bookcase.  In the office refrigerator?  Semi-filled 2 liter soft drinks, things in tupperware.

Judging from the dates on the cards and the other artifacts, the school was abandoned just a few years ago- around 2006 (I can't quite remember, and I didn't write it down. argh.).  Not so long ago as to be subject to the stripping of the copper wire and metals for the scrapyards, but long enough to wonder why: a) they obviously did not bother to leave things tidy  b) the ever-strapped-for-resources county (all nc schools are) didn't at least attempt to remove/salvage equipment like the photo-enlargers, shelves, pipes, etc. c) that despite the lack of 'no trespassing' signs, the open gates and the unlocked doors that there is no evidence of vandalism, teen parties, or anything missing except for an area of hard wood flooring that was very carefully stripped up, showing the base boards underneath.  (It was that wonderful, narrow flooring, still keeping its polish over all these years).  Except for pictures- and I admit, one principals and one attendance ribbon, and a giant light bulb as long as my fore-arm, I also left everything intact.  But it is curious- very- I can understand the stack of desks, and even computers, but files? School pictures? Tinsel?  Was everyone so very excited to leave for the new school?

It's funny because in real life, I have never left a pile of stuff randomly behind when moving (and I used to move quite a bit, nature of the beast), but I keep dreaming of going back to places and finding huge heaps of stuff that I have left behind.  Piles in trucks or yards, trash bags of discarded clothes, sentimental things that had gotten ruined one way or the other and had to be discarded, things that I have lost, or that have been taken or given away.  In my dreams I am going through all this stuff, having to decide once again what is worth keeping and discarding, trying to find the few beloved things that I really miss- and can never find.  I am haunted by things, and places, and the ghosts of objects.  Perhaps that is why I am so drawn to the lost and abandoned- what exactly am I looking for?

I hope to return to Coats soon- hopefully with the manz in tow- I only got to explore briefly the ground level of the largest building and the back special ed/ maintenance building. I looked in the others, but did not have time to *really* look, and I know better than to go upstairs alone.  Still- I want to see what else is hidden there, what other things were left behind.  I just might find what I've been looking for.