Spokane Montessori Building Gets Approval

In 1926, the Spokane School Board chose land for one of the city’s earliest junior high schools. On North Cedar Street, the site extended from West Shannon Avenue to West Knox Avenue. The unnamed school was among several new buildings Spokane voters authorized that year.

Plans called for property purchases to finish by December 1, with residents in the two affected blocks leaving by January 1. Construction was expected to begin shortly after the new year, and the building was supposed to welcome students the following fall. Delays pushed the actual opening to September 1928. It became Havermale Junior High School, honoring a pioneer minister.

Havermale closed in 1981. The building later served Jantsch High School, Havermale Alternative School and the Community School. It now houses Spokane Public Montessori School. Another local history entry from 1976 concerns Tim, a developmentally disabled man who had lived for decades at Lakeland Village near Medical Lake. After moving to a Walla Walla group home, livestock assets prevented him from qualifying for welfare payments. He sold Naomi, Baby Marge and Jerry II, although the group home owner purchased them so they could remain nearby. An advocate planned to challenge the decision and restore his ownership.