ROCKINGHAM — The halls of L.J. Bell Elementary School were buzzing once again as generations of former students and educators returned to the Hawthorne Avenue building one last time, revisiting classrooms and decades of memories before saying goodbye.
Former students and educators gathered for the school’s Legacy Walk, where they reflected on friendships, teachers and experiences that remained with them long after leaving L.J. Bell.
For former student Sabrina McDonald, now Rockingham’s municipal clerk, returning to L.J. Bell meant reflecting on friendships and experiences that helped shape her life.
“L.J. Bell was a part of the beginning of my story. It gave me my first friend (Jenny Hamer), my lifelong best friend (Kisha Ratliff Ellerbe over 45 years of Friendship) , and experiences that helped shape the woman I would become. Buildings may close, classrooms may become quiet, and hallways may eventually be empty—but the memories created within those walls do not disappear.
“Before I left today, I was fortunate to see Geneva Kelly, my music teacher. (I know she’s 90+ years of age) She was an extraordinary educator who recognized the joy and confidence that music could bring into a young person’s life. Through her plays and musical productions, she gave me the opportunity to sing, perform, and experience the magic of being on a stage. Those experiences left an impression on me that has lasted a lifetime.
“Today, I still have a deep love for music, musicals, and theater, and I can trace much of that passion back to the little girl who stood on the stage at L.J. Bell Elementary School. Mrs. Kelly did more than teach music—she helped plant a seed that continued to grow long after I left those school doors. She has blessed my life in ways that I continue to appreciate all these year later. Schools are made of brick and mortar, but their true legacy lives in the people they shape, the friendships they inspire, and the passions they awaken,” McDonald said.
Some of the memories shared during the Legacy Walk extended beyond the classroom, tying L.J. Bell to pivotal moments in American history.
Gene McLaurin, a former Rockingham mayor and state senator, recalled being a second grader at L.J. Bell when he learned that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated.
“I was in the 2nd grade here at L.J. Bell and we were out on the playground and I remember when someone from the office came to tell our teacher that President Kennedy had been assassinated. We all didn’t know what she had told our teacher, but we knew it was something really, really sad because our teacher began to cry. We all walked into the classroom and we sat down, and our teacher explained to us what had just happened. It’s something I’ll never forget the rest of my life.
A few years later, McLaurin witnessed another historic change from inside L.J. Bell as schools integrated and he entered a classroom with a Black teacher for the first time.
“I was in the 6th grade when the schools were integrated. The first black teacher was a gentleman named James Hand, and the principal at the school was Charles Harrill, and he made sure that his daughter, who was my age, was in that first class with the black teacher, because we’d never had a black teacher before. I always admired our principal, Mr. Harrill, for making sure that this school was handling the integration of schools in a straightforward manner. He demonstrated that and showed real leadership by putting his daughter in that class. I was happy in that class, too. I remember going home that day and telling my mom, “Mr. Hand is awesome. He is a wonderful teacher.””
Former L.J. Bell educator Julie Bellamy attended the Legacy Walk with her three daughters, reflecting on the 22 years she spent at the school and the memories her family made there.
“The Legacy Walk was important for each and every teacher, staff member and student to say good-bye to the old Bell. I worked at Bell for 22 years and I have so many memories of students and made lasting memories with some wonderful co-workers. When we said LJ Bell was a family, it was. Saturday I saw friends, parents and prior students. We laughed, took pictures and shared memories. I was able to be there when all 3 of my children were and not too many people can say they shared those formative elementary days with them. The history in those walls will not be forgotten,” Julie Bellamy said.
Her daughters’ memories ranged from an alien arriving at Richmond County Airport to bats making their way through the school.
“I can remember looking forward to Astro the Green Alien bringing his gifts to Mrs. Parsons’ kindergarten classroom. Every week we would study a different letter and Astro would bring items that started with the letter we were learning. For example, we studied the letter A and there would be apples, acorns, and other items. I can still remember the glittery bag of gifts and the printed picture of Astro hanging on the wall. At the end of the year, we took a field trip to Richmond County Airport because Astro was going to fly in and visit us, “ said Paige Bellamy-Loyd. “My classmates and I sat anxiously on the runway with our Astro shirts and green vinyl visors waiting. On the horizon appeared the small airplane and in the copilot seat was none other than Astro himself! We talked about Astro for years after that. Only when I was a senior in high school did I find out that my dad, Gus Bellamy, was Astro himself!”
Meagan Bellamy Burwell remembered another kind of unexpected visitor roaming the halls.
“In kindergarten, we had to stay in our classrooms as we watched Mr. McIntyre, the janitor, run up and down the halls. Unsure of the reason until later, to find out he was chasing bats that made their way into the school. Eventually, the bats were removed and Mr. McIntyre kept us all safe. He was dubbed our Batman until he left L.J. Bell,” Burwell said.
For Heather Bellamy, it was the familiarity of L.J. Bell and the years spent walking through its doors that made the school memorable.
“My favorite thing about L J Bell is the fact that it always felt like home. Every single school morning and afternoon for nearly ten years were spent going through those doors. Kindergarten-3rd at LJB, 4th & 5th grade spent riding a bus with a group of other teachers’ kids from Bell to Washington Street. 6th-8th grade waking the hill to and from Rockingham Middle,” Bellamy said. “You grow fond of a place when you spend that much of time there. The Legacy walk was bittersweet. Each of us was leaving notes in our classrooms with permanent marker, commemorating the lasting marks and everlasting lessons the teachers and the school have left on us. Some notes were funny confessions, and some were extremely heartfelt.”
The school will temporarily move to the former Ninth Grade Academy on County Home Road while a new L.J. Bell Elementary School is constructed. The new facility is expected to be completed during the 2028-29 school year and will replace the current building, which dates to 1952.
Richmond County Schools announced last November that the district had been awarded a $42 million grant through North Carolina’s Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund to construct a new elementary school. District officials have said the existing L.J. Bell building’s infrastructure has reached the end of its lifespan.