The following article is from the Hooker County Triune, December 7, 2006, pg. 18-19.
“The following is the history of the District 66 schoolhouse which tells of the adventures that Jim and Pat Bridges have had in the restoration of the little, red, one room schoolhouse. The schoolhouse now rests in their valley, overlooking the Marsh Lake, and close by their ranch home. It is open for visitation most of the time, but to be sure they are home, you should call ahead if possible.
They are North on Highway 97, and 19 miles from Mullen to Mile Marker 85; then take the first turn East on the first gravel road. Go east about 1 1⁄2 miles and then turn North again at the end of the first shelter belt and go up the lane to their house. You can stop there and inquire. The schoolhouse is just to the west.
History of the District 66 One-Room Schoolhouse from 1987
The school district directly north of them had the use of the original District 66 schoolhouse up until the time that they no longer had any kids to attend it. The school board had to come to a decision about what should be done with the school house. Elsie Roth, Pat’s Aunt and the former Cherry County School Superintendent, had contacted one of the board members. She stated that Jim and Pat Bridges, her niece and husband, had just recently bought the RR Ranch from her, and that they were very interested in buying a one-room schoolhouse which they could restore and preserve for historical purposes. This idea apparently appealed to the school board and they came up with a plan.
Jim Bridges and Elsie Roth were invited to a special meeting of the school board. At this meeting, Elsie was given the school house for restoration and for historical purposes. Miss Roth was speechless and overwhelmed by the generosity and goodness of the board, the members of which had all been close friends of the Roth family for many years. The board did insist that the school house be moved from its present location as they were not going to continue maintaining the fences, etc.
Dr. R. G. Roth, the father of Miss Roth and the grandfather of Pat Bridges, was one of the founding fathers of District 66 and was instrumental in building the schoolhouse, hiring the teacher, and getting it set up for school. Pat’s mother, Mildred Roth McDuffee, and Elsie, her aunt, were two of the first students to go to school in this schoolhouse in its original location which was just down the valley west of the Roth ranch headquarters just beside the present Highway 92.
As soon as Elsie completed the Normal Training course at the Mullen High School she was hired to teach the District 66 school. That would have been during 1925-26 school year. She had 5 students for this, her first teaching experience, and she continued to teach in District 66 for two more years before going on to college to obtain her Bachelor’s Degree in Education at Chadron State.
One of the final acts of her years in this school was to see the addition of new desks for the children. Elsie had the foresight to know that the old original desks needed to be preserved so she had one of the older students push the old desks up into the attic cubby. When the schoolhouse had been moved and was settled into its new location by the lake, Elsie came over to see it. The first thing she wanted to know was if the old desks were still up in the attic. Jim looked, and they were still there! She was delighted and pleased to know she had preserved them for posterity.
Miss Roth had sold the ranch to her niece and husband, Pat and Jim Bridges, and Elsie no longer owned property to move it to. So, she wanted to transfer the title to the schoolhouse to Jim and Pat so it could be located on the ranch, and so that the restoration work could begin. This was done immediately.
The moving of the schoolhouse is another story in itself! Briefly, it was moved 10 miles south via a stack mover, and with the expertise of goodwill of nearest neighbors, Jim O’Brien and Chuck Anders, and with the assistance of their ranch hand, John Golden, and of course, Jim’s help too. John had built a foundation for the new school and this was all ready and waiting. After they finally got the tractor and stack mover w/schoolhouse maneuvered down the lane and into the present location, the trick then was to get it set squarely onto the foundation. This proved to be quite a job, but undaunted, it was finally accomplished. They did a very fine job and there was very little damage to the structure; damage that was easily repaired by John. All of the guys had a healthy respect for regular house movers form that day on.
There were many years of neglect and a lot of repairs that needed to be made. The roof would hopefully last a while, so the first priority was to get the inside cleaned up. Pat peeled off all of the old wallpaper and discovered that the paper wall board was so rotten it would not support a new wall paper job. John’s help was again enlisted and he sheet rocked the interior and Pat learned how to finish seams. When it had cured long enough the new wall paper was hung and it was an immediate transformation.
Pat had a large personal library of her own books and quite a number of books that had been her mother’s and Elsie’s. There were also a few of the original school books that the district had left in the school and many other books that had just accumulated. She decided that the schoolhouse would be the logical place to display this library and then it could be available for those who were interested and wanted to sue it. Again John was enlisted to build as many book shelves as he could. He did and Pat was able to display everything on the new shelving.
Pat thought that the building needed to have some purpose, or use, in order to justify all of the time and expense of restoration. The piano, desks, books, games, stove, high-jump, maps, propane tank, and two outhouses came as a part of the package. The c. 1886 Baer Upright Grand piano is an excellent one and it gets tuned very fall. She have been giving piano lessons on it since the restoration was completed and all of her students have expressed their appreciation of the time they get to spend in the school and being able to play the old piano.
Pat’s next work project was to refinish the floor. It was very rough and worn. She started removing the old finish on a small area but ended up having to remove the finish on the entire floor with paint remover. It was a summer’s job. The floor was already a natural warm mahogany color so she did not want to change that by adding a lacquer finish. Pat wanted it to retain its character spots and some of the discolored places so she only used sweeping compound to finish it. It consists of oil and sawdust and when it is time to add a little color, she scatters the sweeping compound around and the kids have a lot of fun sliding around on the floor and rubbing the finish into the boards. It seems to work great and the floor has an old-fashioned, warm and homey look.
Every year Jim and Pat were invaded with millers and wasps. The old windows were broken and loose and the screens didn’t fit anymore. Finally, last year they replaced the broken panes, reputtied all of the windows, and caulked the windows shut!! Then they all needed painted so Pat I did that. It did help to keep the bugs out but they still needed new windows or screens. There will always be some improvements that have to be made but most of the big projects are completed.
Some of their future plans include a search for a large yard bell or one to hang by the front door; they need a flag and a flag pole; and would like to hook up the old water pump; plant some trees; and replace the green paper, black board with real slate.
Now that the restoration work is completed, Aunt Elsie and Pat plan to start collecting memorabilia for the inside. She has a lot of ideas which will make it even more interesting. Such as important books, magazines, and pictures that are a part of the schoolhouse memories. This is a continuing project and a project that brings Jim and Pat great pleasure and satisfaction. Pat is so happy to have had a part in the preservation of this tiny bit of history.
They had to put on a new roof before too long as the old one was beginning to leak. Also, Pat found it necessary to have a light put on the outside so that her piano kids could find their way to the car after their lessons! It was just too dark to see in the wintertime.
Pat had always envisioned a “little red schoolhouse” and when it came time to paint, they painted it red with white trim. Pat loved the color of it and even though Aunt Elsie thought it bespoke “communism”, she went ahead with the red color and she thinks Elsie learned to love it too.
After Pat had puttied the windows shut there was no ventilation and it got so terribly hot inside that they decided to buy new aluminum storm windows so they could open the windows. They got the new storm windows installed but Pat had done such a good job on the putty, that they still couldn’t open the windows!! They still can’t open them and probably never will be able to unless someone tells them how to get the putty out.
Sometime in the late 1990’s Pat was asked to open up the school house as the polling place for this precinct. She was delighted to do so and the girls who run that show were very tolerant of having no “in-house” bathroom and tap water. There were a lot of people who got to see the school house that never would have done so if they hadn’t voted in it. The voting took place here until 2005 and then because of new rules requiring handicap access and voting machines their precinct was asked to either vote by absentee, or drive the 50 miles to Valentine to vote. Pat was in agreement with this because she thought it would save tax dollars by closing the little country polling places, but they do miss the activity.
In the hopes of making the schoolhouse a little more pleasant for the election board and to get some form of ventilation for them, Pat convinced her husband that they just had to have a new door on the side. They got this and had it all installed just before they found out that they wouldn’t be coming here to vote! The door was needed anyway so they were not unhappy. It adds so much and it replaced the old door that leaked and was warped beyond repair. Jim and Pat still need to get an inside door to keep out the cold air. When it gets too cold Pat’s piano kids take their lessons at their house and that works too.
Through the years the Bridges’ have been able to plant some pine trees on the lot and have planted grass about 4 times that they remember. None of the grass has grown yet, but the trees have and they are a beautiful addition. Pat found a big school-type bell and Jim installed it outside on a post and he added a rope for ringing it. It is a favorite thing for visiting kids to do. Jim went to a school sale near Whitman a few years ago and was able to buy a set of swings and a teeter-totter; also, he got a couple of pictures of the presidents of the United States and one of George Washington which were great near the front door and maybe next summer they are hoping to get some grass started and do a little more with the yard.
The guests that they have at their cabins really enjoy touring the schoolhouse. It is an added historical attraction for them. Jim and Pat also had many different schools come from quite a distance, and from Mullen, bringing a bus full of kids to enjoy the history lesson and a little time in an old-fashioned school room. They have had many visiting teacher groups and several tour groups visit also.
Many of the children and visitors have a hard time visualizing just how school was conducted in one tiny room with kids in several different grades. It is very educational for the children and they enjoy seeing the books, desks, and the old piano.
This year 2006, went by too fast to get very much accomplished over there, but they still really enjoy the privilege of having this historical building so close by and they try to be good caretakers so it will be enjoyed for years to come.”