Eatonton and the Old School History Museum recently lost a dear friend and cherished member of the community. Dorothy (Dot) Kelly Shaw passed away at age 95, but she left a rich legacy of Eatonton history with us. If you have visited the Museum’s Historic Classroom on the north wing of the Plaza, you may have perused her book of Eatonton School class photos or the wall of teacher photos outside the classroom. Both are amazing collections and will remain on permanent display. But let me tell you more of the story…
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Dot Shaw attended elementary and high school in the school building, now known as The Plaza Arts Center, and always had special memories of those years. Soon after the restoration project began in 1998, she approached Tom Rosseter, chair of the project, and told him she wanted to be part of the effort. She was quite precise and told him that she wanted to create “The Book.” Tom welcomed her and asked, “What book?” She told him that she wanted to get as many photos as possible of the classes of students who attended the school. She also wanted to collect photos of all the teachers who taught there from 1916, when the school building opened, into the 1970’s when the building no longer served elementary and high school students.
Tom was so impressed by her ideas and her enthusiasm that he invited her to also serve on the museum board, and she accepted. Over the next years, Dot filled “The Book” with class photos matched with names of the students. She even searched back as far as 1899 and included some photos of the classes that attended school in the former school building – the building that burned to the ground on that fateful day in 1916.
She often regaled the museum team with stories of how she explained her project to people she did not know or convinced the children of deceased teachers to send her the photos. She did not use a computer but collected them all by making phone calls and writing letters to former teachers and the families of those no longer alive. Her finished work is a treasure-trove of memories; and it was truly a labor of love!
Dot’s efforts did not stop there, however. At a board meeting, she reminded us that all classrooms used to have both a large photo of George Washington hanging on the wall and an American Flag for students to pledge allegiance to the USA. She supplied those two items as well. Board members recall that Dot also brought other historic Eatonton items to our meetings – sometimes to share a story and sometimes to donate to the Museum for future education of our visitors.
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On a personal note, Dot Shaw was my very first friend in Eatonton in 1994. I am very thankful that my husband Tom and I purchased her family home and that we get to live in the 1882 house that her Kelly family had owned for almost 50 years. I will miss her smile, her kindness, and the many conversations we had over the years. I am richer for having her as my friend.
Sandra Rosseter, Director
Old School History Museum