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One-Room Schoolhouse Returns to Vivacity
by Joe Savrock & Iris Striedieck

The one-room Boogersburg School has a renewed life.

Thanks to the generosity of Robert and Susan Struble, owners of the school, and to interested teachers in the State College Area School District (SCASD), the long-quiescent rural schoolhouse once again thrives with the clatter of school children.

Iris Striedieck dresses the part while leading classes at the
restored one-room school house in Boogersburg, Pa.

Through her passion for and research on one-room schools, Iris Striedieck, assistant professor of education, contributes to this project as part of an outreach effort. The revived schoolhouse also serves as a teaching tool for some of Striedieck’s graduate students.

The Boogersburg School is a throwback to the simpler days of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Located in the former hamlet of Boogersburg, a tiny locale in Patton Township along Fox Hollow Road, the schoolhouse first opened its doors in 1877, and remained an active primary school until 1952. During its operative years, the official name was the Pleasant Hill School, but locals affectionately have called the structure the Boogersburg School. “Names reflected important community beliefs and the values, places, significant people, animals, towns, and even descriptions of localities,” said Striedieck, “although the significance of this name is unclear to me.”

Boogersburg, as a nameplace, is little more than a crossroad. The schoolhouse, perhaps the neighborhood’s most distinguishing landmark, is recognized by the Centre County Historical Society. The Strubles have refurbished the property to preserve its charm and period accuracy.

“The Strubles have shown utmost generosity and dedication to not only restoring the schoolhouse as authentically as possible, but in literally opening its doors to the community,” said Striedieck. “In particular, Bob has devoted many hours of research and labor—including contacting former teachers and students—to recreate an accurate post-Civil War-era classroom setting.” This included replacing window panes with original antique glass, stripping multiple layers of paint to its original ocher color, finding sheepskin erasers (predating the more familiar felt variety), and procuring a wooden water bucket. Paradoxically, a set of 1920s roll-up maps were bought on eBay!

The white frame edifice is equipped with a large bell overhanging the front entrance. A small shed stands nearby, as well as two outhouses—an older, crude structure, and a newer, slightly more convenient version. The school’s interior is furnished with old-time wooden desks arranged in rows according to three accommodating sizes—a hint of the wide range in ages of the students, from first to eighth grade.

Striedieck became interested in the Boogersburg School and envisioned an outreach opportunity when she responded to a call for docents. Her collaboration with the Strubles spawned a novel double usage for the school—a setting for field trips and a centerpiece for the curriculum of Striedieck’s online graduate-level course. “This is an initiative that spans a wide range of students, from elementary school to graduate school,” said Striedieck. “This opportunity grew out of my resident teaching and, more recently, out of an online course that I’m teaching—and no longer having the opportunity to physically visit such schools.”

Today, just as it did for nearly a century, the schoolhouse enhances the imaginations of young learners. During half-day field trips, third- and fourth-graders from local elementary schools provide a vitality that had been absent since the 1950s.

For these students, any tie to modernism ends when they disembark the bus that has delivered them to the Boogerburg vicinity from their elementary school. The bus parks near Toftrees, about three-fourths of a mile from the schoolhouse, and the children take a fifteen-minute walk to the school through unspoiled woods—a hike that simulates olden days and sets the tone for their visit.

Striedieck volunteers her time during the visits, playing the role of a docent, along with at least two others—Gwen Bunnell and Nancy Jacobson. “Yes, a schoolmarm,” she said. “This is a unique way to support the field of education and to stay connected with young learners.” Donned in vintage century-old attire, Striedieck addresses the children and leads activities during the day. “This experience models and reinforces some of the values of the old school,” explained Striedieck. “We engage the students in three main disciplines: Pennsylvania history, mental math, and the highly anticipated spelling bee.” As part of a SCASD unit of study about Pennsylvania history, students are well prepared for this culminating day several weeks prior to their visit.

The classroom’s surroundings arouse the children’s curiosity, provoking some interesting questions and comments. For example, several students were intrigued by a display of tin tobacco boxes, taken aback to reckon that a tobacco product was given a positive spin in earlier school days. “Actually, these tins made for ideal lunch boxes,” explained Striedieck.

Among the more common teaching tools found in the classroom are McGuffy Readers, slate tablets, an abacus, and a Sears and Roebuck catalog. Given the scarcity of funds, catalogs such as these were readily available resources that served not only as readers and encyclopedias, but also as a good source for arithmetic problems.

Many visiting students have noticed that the classroom flag contains only 45 stars. This prop helps illustrate that our nation was growing during the school’s heyday and provides a practical lesson in American history. Brittle from age, the flag is encased in a display frame for protection.

Another set of visitors to this classroom are graduate-level students enrolled in Striedieck’s online course that examines trends and issues in US schooling over the past 200 years. A cornerstone of this course is a virtual field trip to Boogersburg School. The research, scripting, and filming of this unit of study took the better part of a year, involving about a dozen stakeholders.

In seeking to create an opportunity that would help these graduate students—who are also teachers—learn a great deal about how country schools established a foundation for contemporary education, Striedieck sought to bring a sense of authenticity to the learning task and connect one-room schools more expansively to life. One student stated, “I loved how it brought a sense of realness to the assignment. We all play a movie in our minds when we read, but the video helped shape the scenes.”

Whether it’s arriving in vintage clothing with fourth graders or virtually attending Boogersburg One-Room School with graduate students, Striedieck feels the same: “It’s days like today that I am especially grateful for another chance to teach!”

An old oaken wash bucket speaks of less complex days

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