The class of 2020 is not alone in the pages of Red Hook history for having to overcome hardships.

 On April 2, 1936, the Red Hook School was destroyed by fire. Although this destruction led to the ultimately advantageous centralization of the school districts and the building of the beautiful Red Hook Central School (now the middle school) this building would not be open for classes until September 6, 1939.

The classes of ‘36, ‘37 and ‘38 did not get to graduate from their school as planned and for nearly three and a half years, the students of the Red Hook School were forced to continue their education elsewhere.The younger students were taught at various Red Hook buildings through town, including the Lutheran Chapel and the Red Hook Hotel barn.  For a while, the high school classes were bused to Pine Plains, until they switched to schooling at the Hoffman Inn (now the Grand Duchess Hotel.) 

Despite the loss of their school, these classes overcame and the words they saved in their yearbooks speak to the fond memories they created despite everything.