Wrestlers, others set Lorna Byrne Day to spruce up educator’s former home
From our weekly issue dated October 22, 2008
A clean-up project is planned at Lorna Byrne’s family home in rural Cave Junction to honor the former teacher, now 103, who taught generations of Illinois Valley students in her career from 1924 to 1974.
Students from her namesake school, Lorna Byrne Middle School in Cave Junction, will participate in the project. She is the only teacher in county history to be honored by having a school named after her.
Initial clean-up of her property at 5330 Caves Hwy. will begin Saturday morning Oct. 25 with woodcutting and other preliminary heavy work. The I.V. wrestling team and other volunteers led by coach Jay Miller will perform this phase of the project.
The second phase is planned for Saturday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m. Members of the LBMS Junior Honor Society and adult volunteers will rake leaves, pull weeds, gather debris and bag it, plus perform general clean-up.
Adults who want to help can phone 592-2163.
The LBMS woodshop class plans to replace the house number sign.
The plan is to clear brush and cut fallen and dead trees around Lorna Byrne’s 1940s cabin. This effort will lessen fire danger and provide needed community service hours for students. It also will give community members an opportunity to pay back a woman who gave so much in caring for, educating and mentoring numerous children.
Advertisement:
Mark Russo, a longtime friend of Lorna Byrne, thought of enlisting help from the community for occasional clean-ups. One thing led to another in discussions with Illinois Valley Family Coalition and LBMS staff, and the idea bloomed into plans for an annual Lorna Byrne Day.
Regarding Lorna Byrne Day, a project will be selected each year, whether it is another property clean-up or some other worthy cause.
Lorna Byrne taught at Holland School, and White and Payne rural schools and Kerby Elementary School until it closed in 1967. She last taught at Evergreen Elementary until her retirement in June 1974. During her career, she taught thousands of students, spanning multiple generations. Her 100th birthday was celebrated in January 2005 in Cave Junction.
The final phase of this first project is planned to be an official Lorna Byrne Day in November, with Lorna Byrne being brought to see her former home spruced up.
