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The year was 1939 and two films dominated the silver screen. As Dorothy was ushered into the magical world of "The Wizard of Oz" that summer, junior high students in Clearfield were walking through the doors of the newly opened North Davis Junior High. More than 65 years later, that building was demolished to make way for a new campus, the event was more clearly along the lines of the film that followed Oz a few months later: "Gone with the Wind."

"That's the way the cookie crumbles," said Alma King as he watched the bricks fall from his alma mater. King, a Layton resident, was one of those students who started at the school in 1939. He came to the old campus site along with his younger brother Joseph, who also attended the school.

The King brothers were with a small group that came to bid farewell to a school that has served the community for many years. A rousing few, including school secretary Margaret Williams, sang the school song.

"This is part of our life," said Williams, who has been at the school for 20 years. "Change is necessary, but it's hard."

As the minutes counted down to demolition, Cheryl Werven, a member of the Davis County School Board and a parent of several former and current North Davis Junior High students, climbed in behind the controls of the dinosaur-size equipment, known as a hydro unit.

"It's really exciting, a big adrenaline rush," said Werven after pulling all the right levers to take the first chunk out of the old school with the mechanical claw.

For Principal Curt Stromberg, who also took the hot seat after Werven, it was a bittersweet experience.

"It's time. I will miss the look of it - that old-building type of a feel. We had a lot of tradition that will continue in the new building. It will be great for the community."

The old North Davis Junior High School had six additions throughout the years, but the building had begun to show its age. Some of the classrooms were 500 to 600 square feet -today's standard is 900 square feet - the school received a 'poor' to 'very poor' rating from Reaveley Engineering and Associates, Inc. regarding its ability to hold up during an earthquake.

The new, seismically sound school will include separate "houses" for the three grades, a spacious media center, a cafeteria with a built-in stage that will be used for the school's theater productions, and a gymnasium that is sure to be the envy of other schools.

The gymnasium, with its indoor track on an upper level, was built as a partnership between the Davis County School District and Clearfield City. The gym will be used by students during school hours and for after-school athletic events, but will also be available for city leagues and activities as part of the nearby Clearfield Aquatic Center.

The new school will also be home to the latest and greatest technology, a real boon for school computer specialist Karen Dahl, who was thrilled to see the old computer facilities coming down.

"[The old building] has been a hard school to maintain. We had challenges to make sure the lines stayed up."

Through her experience with North Davis Junior High over the years, Werven recognizes the benefits of the school to the greater community both in the past and now to the future.

"This collaboration with the city, it's going to be such a great thing," she said. "I think this will be a school that people will want to go to."

The new building will open for the 2005-06 school year on Aug. 24. A ceremony and dedication will be held at 5 p.m. Aug. 23, just prior to the school's annual Back-to-School night.

The public is invited to attend the dedication.