You couldn’t have shot a spitwad or thrown a pencil eraser without hitting a grandparent inside the South Side Elementary School cafeteria Wednesday.
Of course, everyone was on best behavior (not that spitwads and erasers typically fly at the Johnson City school) during Grandparents’ Day, a highly popular tradition at South Side.
Kina West of Asheville, N.C. had plenty of love to receive. West had five grandkids from her blended family to visit Wednesday at South Side. It was the first time she’d experienced a grandparents’ day. “I think it’s great for the kids, it’s great for the grandparents. I was excited, they’re excited.”
Dolores Fredericks taught music at South Side for more than three decades before retiring in 2008. Wednesday, she was back with her husband, George, visiting second-grader Abigale Fredericks. “This is a very family oriented school, and to invite grandparents in, and parents is part of the culture,” Dolores Fredericks said. “We come every week, but it’s just wonderful to offer that and have it open to everybody – we’re a community.”
Ann and Keith Lyons bookended their grandson, second-grader Lincoln Cecil. It marked six straight years for the Lyonses, who came for the event each year Lincoln’s older sister Camdyn, now a fifth-grader, was at South Side. “We just like being with him, and he tells us who his friends are,” Keith Lyons said. “It’s good to see that side of his life.”
Keith and Ann Lyons with their grandson, second-grader Lincoln Cecil.
Jerry and JoAnn Keller with their grandson, second-
grader Major Keller.
Kina West, center, takes a selfie with granddaughters Victoria West (second grade), left, and Piper Wilder, a first-grader.
George and Dolores Fredericks with granddaughter Abigale Fredericks, a second-grader. Photos by Jeff Keeling
