For generations of Milwaukee families, Lincoln Avenue Elementary School was more than a place to go to class.
It was where students played sports, celebrated neighborhood traditions and built lasting relationships with teachers.
When a fire destroyed the south side school in June, former students and teachers were left to remember the building through photographs, yearbooks and shared stories.
For Amy Domagowski, Lincoln Avenue was where her career in education began.
She started working at the school as a paraprofessional in 1993 before becoming a teacher. She spent the rest of her career with Milwaukee Public Schools.
Domagowski remembers Lincoln Avenue as a place where teachers and staff put students at the center of their work.
“It was an amazing group of staff,” Domagowski said. “They just all were just super; they had the kids first, always.”
That sense of community extended beyond the school's walls.
Domagowski remembers students marching through the neighborhood in their Halloween costumes while people watched from their front steps.
Former student Todd Gross remembers Jump Rope for Heart, a school fundraiser and fitness activity that became one of his favorite memories.
“That was huge for me, Jump Rope for Heart,” Gross said. “I can still hear the whip hitting the ground and going past your ears as it jumped.”
Gross attended Lincoln Avenue from kindergarten through fifth grade, beginning in 1993, at the same time Domagowski was there.
He remembers playing basketball and softball at the school and spending time there during the summer.
Domagowski remembers taking students on walks to Forest Home Library, where they would get library cards and check out books. She also remembers visits to Lopez Bakery, where students could go into the back and learn how to roll dough.
“The community just really supported the school and what was best for the students,” Domagowski said.
Reconnecting after the fire
After learning about the fire that destroyed the school, Gross said he began thinking about the memories he had of the building.
“I started getting messages, first from my sister saying that the school was on fire,” Gross said. “And it hit me hard.”
He eventually created a Facebook group and began posting old yearbooks. The group quickly became a place for former students to share memories and reconnect with people they had not seen in years.
“People started ... reconnecting through that page of friends that found each other just through the yearbooks,” Gross said.
Gross said some former students shared stories about teachers who made them feel safe and supported.
For Domagowski, hearing from former students she had not spoken with in years has been especially meaningful.
“To hear from other ones that I haven't heard from ... was really just heartwarming to know that Lincoln Avenue did leave an impact with them and that it still breathes in them,” she said.
One message from a former student particularly stayed with Domagowski.
The former student told her that, while things were difficult at home, school was a place where she felt safe. Domagowski said she wanted her classroom to be a place where students could learn while also feeling supported.
“You made school for me fun, a safe place to be, and you believed in me,” the former student told her.
Domagowski said those words reminded her of the impact a teacher can have long after a student leaves the classroom.
More than a building
The fire changed the physical landscape of Lincoln Avenue, but Gross said it did not erase the people or experiences connected to the school.
The Facebook group became a way to keep those memories alive between generations of students and staff.
“That's a lot of footsteps that started there,” he said. “That's a huge loss. And I wanted to create something to try to keep that alive, and keep that going, and start that conversation.”
Lincoln Avenue's current students and staff are attending classes at Pulaski High School for now.
But for former students and teachers like Gross and Domagowski, the school remains a part of their lives through the traditions, relationships and memories they carry with them.
The building may be destroyed, but the community that grew inside it continues to be remembered.
