BELLINGHAM - Hundreds of people turned out Thursday, Sept. 1, to celebrate the reopening of Whatcom Middle School - less than two years after a fire destroyed the school's roof and top floor and water flooded the bottom floor.

"For many of us, this has been a long emotional journey," said Greg Baker, superintendent for Bellingham School District, as he stood near the "Waste Not Thy Hour" motto chiseled above the main entrance.

The school will reopen to students and staff a year ahead of schedule. Rebuilding it cost $15.7 million.

Much of the short speeches on Thursday focused on the spirit and the hard work - including by general contractor Dawson Construction - that made the early reopening possible.

"We are so excited for our first day of school," Principal Jeff Coulter said.

After the early morning fire on Nov. 5, 2009, many believed the school would be closed for years, nevermind opening a year early.

Among those who took part in one of three ribbon cuttings Thursday was Alice Fraser, who graduated in 1929 and just turned 100 years old on Saturday, Aug. 27.

Rebuilding the school meant resurrecting the main section of the historic building that had been a fixture in the community for more than a century. Nearly of all of it had to be demolished after the fire.

Ed Bosteter, a parent who turned out for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebration, was impressed with what he saw on the inside.

"The library and the commons are amazing," said Bosteter, who has a daughter entering the seventh grade at the school. "It looks like a college campus."

Nick Dyrland will be in seventh grade at the school this year. He was among the Whatcom Middle School students split among three different schools during the repair.

He went to Geneva Elementary School last year and said he was excited about being in a middle school atmosphere.

"It just felt like elementary school again," he said of going to Geneva last year.

Nick had mixed feelings about school starting back up. One the one hand, summer's ending.

On the other: "It's a brand new school so you can't really not be excited about going to a brand new school," he said.

Ian Mitchell, who will start sixth grade, also liked what he saw of the new school.

"Huge, awesome, totally awesome," he said. "This school is so huge."