Wayne School Demolition In Tiny Ohio Town Brings About Impromptu Reunion

Wayne School in the tiny town of Jacksonburg, Ohio, is being torn down following an extensive history.

Its demolition has turned into a reunion of sorts for the school's former students and their families, according to WLWT. A handful gathered to reminisce and share memories of the teachers they lost to the 1977 Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire.

The incident in Southgate, Kentucky is the third deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history. More than 200 were injured and 165 died from the incident.

Jacksonburg had a population of 52 at the time, and lost 13 residents to the fire -- including one-third of Wayne School's staff, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. Teachers chose to finish out the school year with substitutes. The school closed just 10 years later in 1987 due to declining enrollment.

During the demolition Wednesday, excavators came across a 1914 time capsule. Inside, a penny from 1911 and documents listing student names.

"The first name listed, Shaffer Schenck, is my grandfather," former student Mike Schenck told WLWT.

A group in Warner Robins, Georgia is fighting to save their local elementary school from the same fate. School officials are planning to tear down Rumble Academy as part of a school improvement project, but residents say the building should be saved as a notable piece of the town's history.

The building, constructed in 1945, has served several roles including housing the local high school and a junior high school. The Telegraph reports.