CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE
GREENFIELD — On the south wall, inside the El Camino Room at La Plaza Bakery, are two large photos hanging side by side. One is a two-by-four-foot, black-and-white picture of the entire student body of the Greenfield Elementary School in 1933. Next to that is a 1938 photo of a first-grade class at Greenfield Elementary; students neatly seated at their oak wood desks.
Sitting in the front row, with his hands neatly placed on top of the desk, is Robert Thorp, a longtime Greenfield resident.
Fast forward some 80 years and Robert, better known as Bob to Greenfield residents, can still recall what the schools were like in 1938, including his first-grade teacher’s name. He has lived in Greenfield all his life and is one of a few residents that serve as the city’s unofficial historians.
The city’s growth and change over 70 years is something that Bob experienced and observed first hand.
Today, Bob continues to observe the city develop and is excited about the city’s growth and potential, with the Yanks Air Museum on the north side of town, along with the 200-acre annexation at the south end of the city.
He believes the growth of new business and industry is the key to improving employment and the quality of life in Greenfield.
