Sheldon, Iowa — One of the backers and former students of the Baker Township School, now at the Prairie Arts Historical Park — received a statewide honor last week for her work in spearheading an award-winning video about the school.
Each year Preservation Iowa seeks to honor statewide successes through the “Preservation at its Best Awards”. In doing so, they say they hope to “inspire others to take action to preserve, protect, and promote Iowa’s historic resources.” This year they chose one individual and one group to receive the award.
The individual chosen was Ruth Ann Van Donslear, who got the ball rolling for a video about the old one-room country schools at the Prairie Arts Historical Park in Sheldon.
Preservation Iowa says,
“Van Donslear attended Baker County School Number 5 in O’Brien County. This school like many in the state of Iowa in the 1930s and 1940s was an example of Iowa’s unique and successful system of rural township schools. Because the system is long gone, she wanted to make a video about the school and its students. After discussing her dream with another woman who had made a video of this type-Ruth Ann did what Iowans do-she got to work. She contacted and arranged for former Baker School students to be in a video. Because many students who attended the Baker School would now be 76 years old or older-filming was a challenge. Many of the students had left the area and had to travel. Sadly, one of the students died before the filming reinforcing the need for recording the original voices and memories of those who were educated in one of Iowa’s one-room schools.”
Preservation Iowa says Van Donslear didn’t know how to make a digital video; however, that didn’t stop her. They say she contacted Mark Volkers of Dordt College (Soon to be known as Dordt University,) arranging for his media department to make the video. They tell us Van Donslear paid the media team with her own money.
According to Preservation Iowa, on May 18, 2018, Mark Volkers and his team filmed the Sheldon school park and eight participants. The park had been prepared with a clean-up day and new signage.
The video won the Gold Hermes Creative award in a National Competition for digital films. The certificates received by Ruth Ann Van Donslear and Prairie Arts Historical Park received by Colleen Lemkuil will be hung in the Baker School at the Prairie Arts Historical Park in Sheldon.
