New life on a once-crumbling campus
WAHOO - Broken windows and leaky roofs plague most of the buildings on the nearly abandoned campus of John F. Kennedy College.
The sidewalks that wind through the campus are cracked. The two pillars that once supported a bulletin board now hold nothing, because the bulletin board rotted away long ago.
Since the college's 10-year existence came to an end in 1975, it has, for the most part, sat empty, slowly deteriorating, said Linda Collins, a Wahoo resident and graduate of the college.
A boys' home used some of the buildings for a few years in the 1990s, said city clerk Melissa Harrell. Other businesses - a substance abuse treatment center, an arcade game repair shop - looked into locating there, she said, but never did.
And that's been hard for Collins and other Kennedy College graduates.
For Collins, Kennedy College is where she met her husband, Michael.
It's a place she remembers as vibrant, progressive, a place that had women's sports long before other schools did.
Now, said Collins, who runs the college's unofficial alumni association, all traces of that side of Kennedy College are gone.
Seeing that, she said, is always sobering for those who come back for the school's periodic reunions.
"It just makes them sad to see the campus crumble," Collins said.
It's beginning to look as though it won't crumble much more.
One of the more simple buildings, a low, metal structure, its exterior walls a faded blue, has new, shiny windows and fresh, uncracked sidewalks.
For three weeks now, Drs. Brad and Denise Freidel have had their family medical practice, Freidel Medical Associates, P.C., in the former college library.
When they bought the building, they liked the idea of preserving a piece of Wahoo's past, of breathing new life into a place that so many people had fond memories of, Brad Freidel said.
"This is just a beautiful green space in the middle of town," he said.
And he's not the only one who thinks so.
West of the clinic, construction on townhomes - future housing for the elderly - is under way.
Thomas Wedlar, who owns the rest of the campus, is happy to see the additions.
That's why he decided to sell those portions of the property, he said.
Now he's looking to sell the rest.
Wedlar, who lives in what once was the president's house, said he has at least two potential buyers.
Both, he said, want to buy the remaining portion of campus - a gym, dormitory, chapel, plus the president's house and one other building - as a unit.
They'd like to preserve the campus feel, he said.
As to what potential buyers would like to do with the property, Wedlar wouldn't say.
And it's tough to tell how long it could be until the property is sold.
Since Wedlar acquired the property in 1999, about 10 people have approached him about buying it, he said.
For one reason or another, none of those transactions worked out, Wedlar said.
Freidel, though, has ideas for his own slice of Kennedy College, which includes, in addition to the former library, the old cafeteria.
He'd like to see a pharmacy, he said, or a physical therapist or a dentist - or all three - move into the two buildings.
Collins and other alumni would like to see that, too.
"We're thrilled to see something happening on campus again," she said.
Reach Cara Pesek at 473-7361 or cpesek@;journalstar.com.
The sidewalks that wind through the campus are cracked. The two pillars that once supported a bulletin board now hold nothing, because the bulletin board rotted away long ago.
Since the college's 10-year existence came to an end in 1975, it has, for the most part, sat empty, slowly deteriorating, said Linda Collins, a Wahoo resident and graduate of the college.
A boys' home used some of the buildings for a few years in the 1990s, said city clerk Melissa Harrell. Other businesses - a substance abuse treatment center, an arcade game repair shop - looked into locating there, she said, but never did.
And that's been hard for Collins and other Kennedy College graduates.
For Collins, Kennedy College is where she met her husband, Michael.
It's a place she remembers as vibrant, progressive, a place that had women's sports long before other schools did.
Now, said Collins, who runs the college's unofficial alumni association, all traces of that side of Kennedy College are gone.
Seeing that, she said, is always sobering for those who come back for the school's periodic reunions.
"It just makes them sad to see the campus crumble," Collins said.
It's beginning to look as though it won't crumble much more.
One of the more simple buildings, a low, metal structure, its exterior walls a faded blue, has new, shiny windows and fresh, uncracked sidewalks.
For three weeks now, Drs. Brad and Denise Freidel have had their family medical practice, Freidel Medical Associates, P.C., in the former college library.
When they bought the building, they liked the idea of preserving a piece of Wahoo's past, of breathing new life into a place that so many people had fond memories of, Brad Freidel said.
"This is just a beautiful green space in the middle of town," he said.
And he's not the only one who thinks so.
West of the clinic, construction on townhomes - future housing for the elderly - is under way.
Thomas Wedlar, who owns the rest of the campus, is happy to see the additions.
That's why he decided to sell those portions of the property, he said.
Now he's looking to sell the rest.
Wedlar, who lives in what once was the president's house, said he has at least two potential buyers.
Both, he said, want to buy the remaining portion of campus - a gym, dormitory, chapel, plus the president's house and one other building - as a unit.
They'd like to preserve the campus feel, he said.
As to what potential buyers would like to do with the property, Wedlar wouldn't say.
And it's tough to tell how long it could be until the property is sold.
Since Wedlar acquired the property in 1999, about 10 people have approached him about buying it, he said.
For one reason or another, none of those transactions worked out, Wedlar said.
Freidel, though, has ideas for his own slice of Kennedy College, which includes, in addition to the former library, the old cafeteria.
He'd like to see a pharmacy, he said, or a physical therapist or a dentist - or all three - move into the two buildings.
Collins and other alumni would like to see that, too.
"We're thrilled to see something happening on campus again," she said.
Reach Cara Pesek at 473-7361 or cpesek@;journalstar.com.
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