36 Years Ago
The September 28, 1990 Golden Transcript announced that the school district was negotiating for a piece of land "near Eagle Ridge that could become the home for a new Earle Johnson Elementary School."
Earle Johnson was a music teacher who began teaching in Jefferson County in 1899 and retired in 1954. Learn more about Earle Johnson.
The "new Earle Johnson" opened in the Heritage Dells neighborhood in 1994. In the interim, the name of the school had been changed. Both Hal and Mary Shelton had been actively involved in the schools for many years (in fact, two of their sons had attended Earle Johnson), and Hal had served on the school board from 1958 to 1969. The school board chose to honor them by naming the new building "Hal and Mary Shelton Elementary School." Learn more about Hal Shelton.
In an interesting historical note, in his capacity as a school board member, Hal emceed the dedication of Earle Johnson Elementary in 1960. At the board's request, he came out of retirement to emcee the school's rededication in 1980 and the closing ceremonies in 1994.
