The Chelsea Standard
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Preserving our past
One-room schoolhouse project is under way
By Sheila Pursglove, Heritage Newspapers
PUBLISHED: March 6, 2008
The legacy of Chelsea's one-room schoolhouses will live on, thanks to the efforts and support of local groups.
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Tina Patterson, director of the Chelsea Senior Center, is spearheading the project.
"It all started with listening," she said. "I listened and heard stories that made me feel like I was living in the 1800s."
Patterson listened to stories about the lessons in one-room schoolhouses, where older children helped teach the younger ones.
Teachers, sometimes not much older than their eighth-grade pupils, often had a minimum of education and a tremendous amount of responsibility as they cared for children who were usually from poor, rural backgrounds, and who would be pulled out of school to watch younger siblings at home, or when it was time to plant, or harvest.
Many of these pupils went on to become successful local leaders and business people.
Patterson was dismayed to find that no one was recording these stories, and that this legacy was in danger of being lost forever.
She was surprised to find her co-worker, Kay Heller, had attended a one-room schoolhouse.
"Kay was excited about preserving this history too," Patterson said. "Besides her warmth and historical context, Kay brings her ability to organize, connect, and keep a project on track."
Patterson contacted Bill Harmer, head of Adult Services at McKune Memorial Library in Chelsea, who recruited Elizabeth Goldman, Adult Services librarian, with expertise in local history and research skills.
Patterson then applied for a grant from the Chelsea Community Foundation.
"I knew they were always on the lookout for programs to support that help enrich and enhance Chelsea and liked to support projects done in collaboration with other community groups," she said.
With the support of the library and the Chelsea Historical Society, Patterson developed an outline of activities, questions, and a variety of programs to bring together local people with a story to tell.
Patterson thought some seniors were joking when they told how they brought raw potatoes to school to cook in a pot bellied stove for a hot lunch at noon.
A Dec. 7 luncheon - featuring those infamous baked potatoes - drew 100 people who came to reunite and share stories.
Maryann (Musolf) Myers, who attended the Parks School, remembers those raw potatoes well.
"I'm pleased these memories are being saved for my grandchildren and the community," she said.
Other seniors remember chopping wood to heat the schoolhouse, and traveling to school in winter in a horse-drawn sleigh.
"It's important to the community to save these memories and artifacts," said Cameron Figg, who remembers walking to a one-room school where the teacher fed a wood stove and students pumped water from the well.
Not only were youngsters allowed to bring knives to school, they played 'Mumbly Peg' with them at recess.
Everyone drank from a crockpot with water the youngsters hauled from a well, and one cup served an entire school.
"I was told that people were furious when the State said they had to put drops of bleach in the crock to keep down the germs," Patterson said.
The first goal of the project is well under way as a video has been started and is ready for editing, Patterson said. She said the entire project should be completed by September.
"We hope eventually to compile a book of memories, with photos and copies of old photos and documents," she said. "We've collected a number of amazing pictures and documents the library will be cataloguing and archiving as well as having articles on display at the Chelsea Historical Museum. "
A future plan is for One Room School House attendees to share their stories in the Chelsea schools, and the McKune Memorial Library will have videos and written histories available.
The Senior Center has also had visits from home-schooled children who come to listen to their elders.
"One-room schoolhouses were the basis of our educational system and there are so few left who have those memories," said senior John Bohlender.
The project is of value not just for history, but to the participants, Patterson said.
"It enhances their worth as it recognizes that personal stories and memories are important. It has involved whole families who search for records and artifacts that have been stored in closets and trunks," she said.
"We've been impressed that everyone has said that one-room schoolhouses were a wonderful experience and they were more than well prepared academically."
Harmer said the project has been fun.
"This project really helps enhance the numerous resources already available online and in the library's Local History Room and provides us with an opportunity to give back to a community that has provided us with so much," he said.
This has been a wonderful project, Goldman said.
"As a younger person who grew up in a different part of the country, one-room schoolhouses were something I only knew through books. To meet people who attended these schools and hear their stories really brings this part of history to life. It's remarkable to learn how similar people's experiences were in different areas and also to find out what unique customs certain schools had.
"The Senior Center's ability to draw together such large and diverse groups of seniors will make this a rich collection of stories. Through our research, we've learned that very little has been recorded about one-room schoolhouses in western Washtenaw County. We're delighted to be playing a part in preserving these stories."
Writing a grant request to the Chelsea Community Foundation is one of the easier grant applications, Patterson said. "Any 501c3 can apply if they have a project they would like considered. The CCF wants to help fund projects and they are wonderful and encouraging to work with."
The Chelsea Community Foundation is pleased to play a part in archiving the history of Chelsea's one-room schoolhouses by providing this grant, CCF member Art Dils said. "It's our hope that many Chelsea area citizens will become more aware of our unique history through the efforts of Tina Patterson and the Senior Center."
Sheila Pursglove is a freelance writer. She can be reached at bingley51@yahoo.com.
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