'Pride of Seaman' evident at parade

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Sep 20, 2008 by Angela Deines

By Angela Deines

SPECIAL TO THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Nostalgia and a touch of bittersweetness mixed with the pride that took center stage Friday as part of the Seaman school district's annual homecoming parade.

This year's activities had special meaning in light of the closing of Lyman and East Indianola Elementary schools at the end of the 2008-09 year as part of the Unified School District 345's consolidation plans.

"It's kind of sad," said Nancy Boswell, of Lawrence. "But I know the students there (Lyman) have had wonderful teachers and have gotten a good education there."

Boswell, a descendent of the family after which Lyman Elementary was named, was part of a special group that included former principals, teachers and other staff members who led Friday's parade, which included marching bands, pom-pom squads and floats representing all of the Seaman schools.

Several hundred onlookers stood, sat in chairs or sat on curbs on the parade route that started at East Indianola Elementary, 2000 N.W. Clay, and made its way through the streets of North Topeka and back to East Indianola.

Kyle Hicks, who has been Lyman Elementary's principal for the past 14 years, said she believes the higher-than-normal number of people in attendance spoke well of the support among the Seaman school family for Lyman Elementary.

"There's obviously a love for it," Hicks said. "The community has really come out. There's a lot of history here."

One of the many Seaman faithful attending the parade was Angie Willard, the parent of a first- and fifth-grader at East Indianola. She said she knew of several people who took off work just to attend the parade.

"That's the pride of Seaman," she said. "This brings the whole Seaman district together."

Willard said she sees the consolidation of elementary schools as positive for the district, a sentiment shared by Linda Mah, a parent of an eighth-grader at the new Seaman Middle School. The school opened in August, the result of combining Logan and Northern Hills Junior High schools at the Northern Hills facility.

"It's just brought everyone closer together," Mah said.

Norma and Paul Hamilton, who have lived at N.W. Clay and Lyman since 1967, visited with neighbors and took in the parade from their lawn chairs at the end of their driveway.

"We usually come out here and enjoy it," Norma said. "I think the people like it and the kids sure like it."

And it was the Seaman students who Nancy Lyman Boswell said the parade was really all about.

"The kids are so excited. They're having so much fun," she said. "This is so wonderful."

Angela Deines is a freelance writer in Topeka. She can be reached at amdeines@aol.com.