History came to life Thursday in Black Creek when hundreds of people combed the halls of the Bryan County Board of Education’s new central office.

At an open house hosted by the BoE, members of the community got a chance to see all the changes that had been made to the building, which used to be Black Creek Elementary School.

The building now has ample office space where classrooms used to be, an open lobby, a board meeting room, a museum room, a technology lab and much more.

The unveiling of the renovated building brought many residents from both ends of the county, including some who went to school there, taught school there and others whose families went to school there.

Linda Miller and Ebra Shuman Stevens were chatting with one another in the museum room and reminiscing about their time spent in the classrooms there.

Stevens, who began school there in 1957 as a kindergarten student, said she was very pleased with the remodeling. A lot of her family went to school there as well, she said, which made her thankful the building was not torn down.

“I am so glad they did something with it instead of letting it deteriorate or bulldoze it to the ground,” Stevens said. “I’m glad they decided to utilize it for the Board of Education — that’s fantastic.”

Miller, who worked at the school as a teacher’s aid during the 1970s, said the remodeling of the building as a whole was beautiful. But she said she was also a little sad the building wasn’t the same as she remembered.

“I like it — it’s different,” Miller said. “I watched as they were remodeling it, and it broke my heart. I saw the classrooms I worked in and it brings back many memories.”

Read more in the Jan. 28 edition of the News.