Write Team: 169 year old school is truly a treasure

“The past is your lesson. The present is your gift. The future is your motivation.”

I was thinking about this quote recently while working on lessons for classes who visit The Little Red Schoolhouse. One message I hope to deliver to the students is that this 169 year-old school is truly a treasure. Not many school districts have an authentic, one-room-schoolhouse, especially one that is in good enough condition to still be used.

The Edgar J. Bundy Memorial School was built in 1855 near a curve in the road just north of Ransom. It was originally named Lincoln Lane School. Farm children attended it until 1932 when it closed and all the contents inside were sold or given away.

Edgar J. Bundy was a bank president in Streator, and he bought the school in the 1950s and is the one who had it painted red. It was then passed on to his sister, Ethel Shay. Former Superintendent Ron Marino loves history and decided that this school could be an asset to Ottawa students and staff. Ethel Shay requested that the school be named after her brother when OES acquired the school in 1991.

Committees composed of school board members and retired and current educators raised funds and located appropriate and accurate furnishing for the empty school. Many people also donated items. The school was moved near Central School and was dedicated in June of 1994. It was moved to its current location when the new Central School was built.

Schools such as this were once the center of the local community. Church services were held on Sundays. The building might be used as a polling place. Meetings took place inside. Parties, celebrating a successful harvest and Christmas holidays, were fun for all.

The floors are original, as are the shutters. Two oil lanterns hang from the ceiling, also original to the building. Chalkboards are covered with old-fashioned lessons, written out by Mrs. Helen Thomas who taught fourth grade at McKinley School and after retirement, welcomed classes in this building.

The teacher’s desk once belonged to C.J. Byrne who had been a teacher and was the first superintendent of Ottawa schools. The piano was made in Ottawa at the Western Cottage Piano & Organ Company, which was located on Joliet Street.

Everything inside that school has a story. We are now the stewards of these items, and it is up to us to learn from the past, good and bad, and share the tales and keep the legacy moving forward. Knowledge of the past leads to an appreciation of today and the hope for an even better tomorrow.

If you love history or you are simply curious about what a one-room schoolhouse looks like, I invite you to join us on Sunday, Oct. 20, to celebrate 30 years of The Edgar J. Bundy Memorial School being a vital part of OES. There will be an open house from 1 to 3 p.m. that day. Visitors can come inside, take pictures and ask questions. And there will be a drawing for a fall pumpkin.

I look forward to sharing local schoolhouse history with you all!

Karen Roth is a semiretired librarian/educator living in Ottawa. She can be reached at dbarichello@shawmedia.com.