Beatrice, Nebraska — The Country School Association of America held their 18th annual conference in Beatrice, Nebraska recently celebrating the history and preservation of one-room country schools, and a delegation from our area represented the schoolhouses at the Prairie Arts Historical Park in Sheldon.
Twenty-eight Nebraskans welcomed sixty-five attendees to the first Country School Association of America meeting to be held in their state. Among those sixty-five were eighteen Iowans attending the meeting comparatively close to them in eastern Nebraska. Others came from 21 different states.
Twenty-two presenters spoke on a variety of schoolhouse related topics, historical, current and nostalgic. Informational brochures, handouts, and displays were plentiful.
William Sherman, also known as “The Father of Iowa Country Schools” spoke on material he found at the Sheldon First School in Harold Tuttle’s school library. Prairie Arts Historical Park in Sheldon is a member of the Country Schools Association of America, and at this year’s meeting, Colleen Lemkuil presented the story of the Baker School renovation. Her presentation included the prize-winning video produced by Mark Volkers, Professor at Dordt University of Sioux Center, Iowa. Ruth Ann Cleveringa Van Donslear shared the stories of her days at Baker Township School Number 5 as a student in 1943-1947. The school was moved to Sheldon in 2015 to 1423 Park Street and is continuing to be renovated. Tours of the school will be held on Sunday, August 5 from 12-noon to 5 PM. A freewill donation will be made for the dinner and tours.
The CSAA is for people who wish to preserve schools, create or maintain museums, promote living history programs, and allow children of all ages to experience schooling as it was many years ago. It allows seniors a chance to relive fond schoolhouse memories while offering educators and writers a forum to share research.
More information about the CSAA can be found on their website: www.CountrySchoolAssociation.org.
