A Major “Goodbye” in 2022: The Tearing Down of Cannon School

Continuing with our goodbyes from the year 2022, we’ve looked at Fagen Auto Parts, which is gone, but the structure still standing for just a while longer.  Then the Roselawn Fitness Center; closed by the now retired Chip and Sharron Runyan, but with the historic Roselawn School Building hopefully still having another chapter.  We talked about Garfield School, now closed, but still standing for District 118 storage.  But for many the most emotional moment of the year was the tearing down of Cannon School.

In early March, District 118 accepted a bid for destruction work, and Cannon School at 1202 East Main was coming down.  It had closed in January of 2016 after significant flooding that had occurred from the just passed holiday break.  And over the years, indoor water damage continued to grow and multiply.

After the bid was accepted, District 118 Director of Building and Grounds Skip Truex stated that continued water infiltration had made the building beyond repair, to the extent that $15,000,000 would have been needed to simply be able to even walk into the building and do anything.  Then, the work to make it an actual school again would have cost several million more.

Many understood the situation, but with heavy hearts, such as former Cannon teacher Sandy Lucus, who taught there for 35 years.  She had her eyes, as many still do, on what could be done then and in the future at 1202 East Main.

AUDIO: This is not just another building, the has roots to Danville.  And I would like to see them save what they could.  My idea is I would like to see, to make that into a small community park.  It wouldn’t be very large.  Save the arches and the Joe Cannon name up there, and the sidewalk where the flagpole is. 

The vote to tear down did not stop some determined alumni from asking “what if.”  Alice Pollock was someone we spoke to often, including at the Cannon School site, as the tear down was happening.

AUDIO: We wish that the school board would have looked a little deeper to see if there was another purpose that could have been made with the building; maybe a senior citizen or some kind of a community center.  We tried various options, like trying to get it deemed into an historic landmark.

A cornerstone time capsule from over 100 years ago, when the building was first constructed, was recovered, and later opened at the Vermilion County Museum.  Unfortunately, the items inside had suffered significant damage over the years and were mostly unrecognizable.  It was a bittersweet moment for many that August day at the museum, especially District 118 School Board member Johnnie Carey, a former Cannon School Principal.  But just the same, she was glad to see a great crowd at the museum, a crowd of so many people that simply wanted some closure.

AUDIO: I think the turnout is what’s more important, in that you have so many Cannon alumni that came out to see this.  Yes, it’s disappointing.  But the thing is that they got to see it.

And that day at the Vermilion County Museum was not a complete disappointment for those looking to look back, as there were many donated Cannon School items and yearbooks on display.  Meanwhile, many are looking forward to this coming spring, when the Vermilion County Administration Building, still remembered by some as the old Danville post office, is officially named for Uncle Joe Cannon.