By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD – Longtime supporters of the Court Street School Education Community Center will be thanked for their efforts during a special event to be held at the historic building at Court and Rhea streets at 10:30 a.m. March 18.
Lillie Hendry, 88, who has guided the center since 1982, said she will step down from her active role as president and become the president emeritus of the organization.
At the same time, the center’s Board of Trustees will be presented and the elected officers of the organization will be installed, according to Hendry.
She said community leaders and representatives of the organizations that have supported the mission of the education community center for decades have been invited to attend the event.
According to a history of the Court Street School that Hendry previously provided, the school opened in 1921 and educated all of Freehold Borough’s African-American children in kindergarten through eighth grade.
The building served as a focal point for social activities until the Freehold Borough School District became integrated in 1949.
Over the years the Court Street School fell into disrepair. In the early 1980s an effort began to restore the building to a place of prominence in the community.
Restoration work began in 1982 and was led by a committee of people who had attended the school in the era of segregation.
The restored and revitalized building was christened the Court Street School Education Community Center and since its rebirth it has hosted many community programs over the ensuing 30-plus years.
The former school was added to the National Register of Historic Places in August 1995.
Hendry, who graduated from the Court Street School during its era of segregation, went on to graduate from Freehold High School.
Her career in education saw her teach in Freehold Borough’s elementary schools and at Freehold High School. Hendry moved on to the student personnel department and eventually became supervisor of the high school’s guidance department.
