Sean Dengler.

While driving by the North Tama school building recently, I saw the new addition being constructed on the northeast-eastern side of the school. The wave of construction will help push the school forward. This is like all the other additions to the school which have been made over the years. While from the ground the additions might run together, from a satellite view, it is different. Each addition is different from another being put up to help push the school a better way forward.

Seeing the different adaptations the school building has taken on over the years while on one city block of land is creativity to a tee. Every school which continues to grow and adapt for the future goes through this process. From this bird’s eye view, North Tama looks like a jigsaw puzzle in the best way possible. I am not the first to discuss the school additions thanks to George Kadrmas’ pieces in the Telegraph, but I believe the additions show the importance of the school’s formation.

Looking from above, one can see the original school building. While not the original building since that one went up in flames, the first part of what became the high school for North Tama stands in the middle of the original block the school sits upon. Like other old school buildings dotting small towns across Iowa’s landscape, it stands different as there are no broken windows and zero no-trespassing signs. It is the part of the school which all other additions lead to. It still stands despite all the additions to the school.

One part of the original building I have never seen but only heard about is the original gym. If my memory serves me right, I have only heard of the original gym being located where the lunchroom now exists. This part of school history has always been fascinating. If I am remembering right, I hope one of Traer’s historians reaches out about this part of school lore.

The elementary addition is one of the more unique additions being long, narrow, and only one story. With the glass window hallway extending from the original building to the elementary, it provides a distinctive experience. It felt like a big deal as an elementary student traversing to lunch in the depths of the larger high school.

Another addition is the multipurpose gym with what might be the All Sport logo still hanging from the walls. It has been a while since I stepped foot in this gym so I could be wrong. The original flooring was unlike any I have seen since. Many days playing basketball, five base kickball, and other games in this gym. Finally, the new front addition to the school provides a more artistic look to the facade. This also added better locker rooms and classrooms.

While an architect might scratch their head wondering, “What has happened to this school?” It is a school which is surviving and doing its best to provide the best for its students. Everyone might not agree entirely with the mission, but this school has gotten these additions through the perseverance of many generations of northern Tama County residents. For those whose children have or currently are attending as a Redhawk, each has or is making an impact to make the school better for each generation. This also applies to other schools. What makes a school is not the building, it is those who pass through it.

Sean Dengler is a writer, comedian, now-retired beginning farmer, and host of the Pandaring Talk podcast who grew up on a farm between Traer and Dysart. You can reach him at sean.h.dengler@gmail.com.