This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Then & Now: North Mercer Junior High

The history of North Mercer Junior High to its present state of Youth Theater Northwest.

Islanders were multiplying like rabbits in the 1950s and '60s, and so, necessarily, were schools. North Mercer Junior High was one of about a half dozen new schools built during that time that included Mercer Crest, Lakeridge Junior High, Island Park Elementary, Mercer View, and Mercer Island Junior High, which was renamed South Mercer Junior High when its North Mercer counterpart opened in 1961—and then changed again to Islander Middle School when North Mercer closed in 1982. 

The 7th, 8th and 9th graders of North Mercer were called The Vikings.  Student life was chock full of activities, from varsity and junior varsity sports teams to Rocket Club, a "Polar Bear Jogging" club and a music band for each grade. In true Mercer Island fashion, students took pride in their school and always strove to make it better.

In a letter to the student body as the 1969-70 school year came to a close, A.S.B. President Grant Degginger hailed "the coming of the apple machine, the new dress code, better dances, more assemblies and our first memory book" as his favorite accomplishments of the year.

Find out what's happening in Mercer Islandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

By 1978, styles were a bit shaggier all around; students named Kate Jackson as their favorite TV actress, Kiss as their favorite band, and "Star Wars" as the best movie of the year. Little did they know then that shortly after they moved on to high school, their alma mater would be closed due to shrinking school enrollment around the Island that resulted in another major education shakeup of moves and closures in the late 1970s and early '80s.

In the 1981-82 edition of the NMJH yearbook "The North Star," a bittersweet annual staff wrote an eulogy to their school: "Although North Mercer Junior High will no longer exist, the Viking spirit will live on in our memories."

Find out what's happening in Mercer Islandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

From 1982 until 1987, the Mercer Island School District's alternative Contract High School occupied the building. It had a stint as a City University campus, and now it's home to many of the Island's beloved institutions: Youth Theatre Northwest, Mary Wayte Pool, the new PEAK building, Pixie Hill Daycare and Little Acorn Preschool. The 21st Century Planning Committee is currently making assessments and taking public input on what should be done with the property in the face of another surge in school enrollment. It will make its recommendations next September.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Mercer Island