Log in Subscribe

One-room schoolhouse memories on display in Thompson

Patricio Robayo - Staff Writer
Posted 12/2/19

THOMPSON -- Three years ago, Gordon MacAdam, along with his brother Henry, set out to locate 20 one-room schoolhouses within the Town of Thompson.

During a November 19 Thompson town board …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

One-room schoolhouse memories on display in Thompson

Posted

THOMPSON -- Three years ago, Gordon MacAdam, along with his brother Henry, set out to locate 20 one-room schoolhouses within the Town of Thompson.

During a November 19 Thompson town board meeting, MacAdam proudly unveiled a display that chronicles the town's educational history, showcasing each school.

Long before there was a central school district, there existed the one-room schoolhouse, where all grade levels met and were taught in the same room.

MacAdam said now all of Thompson's one-room schoolhouses have the William G. Pomeroy Foundation historical markers near the site of the school.

The Town of Thompson's one-room schoolhouses existed between 1830 and 1950.

MacAdam said the Pomeroy Foundation historical markers would not have been installed without the help from the highway departments from the Village of Monticello, Town of Thompson, Sullivan County, and New York State.

MacAdam didn't work alone; he relied on a team of community members to make the project a reality.

The one-room school committee consisted of Gordon and Henry MacAdam, Al and Judy Wolkoff, Patrice Chester, Mary Ann Berens, Suzanne Cecil, Paul Lounsbury, and Jack Spangenberg.

When MacAdam began this project, he had to visit Thompson Town Hall to start his research.

While inquiring about the schools, he noticed six one-room school photographs hanging over Thompson Town Clerk Marilee Calhoun's desk.

MacAdam learned that the photographs were collected by the former Thompson Town Historian, John Jurgens.

Jurgens started to look into one-room schoolhouses a few years before MacAdam's quest began.

Jurgens and MacAdam met and looked over Jurgens's collection of photographs.

The photographs that MacAdam saw were inside wooden frames that were handmade by Jurgens using wood he salvaged from a one-room schoolhouse that was going to be demolished.

Jurgens saved the front door, and in his woodshop at home, he was able to make frames for the photographs.

After meeting with Jurgens, MacAdam left with more information and motivation to move forward.

Since that meeting with Jurgens, MacAdam, in three years, has been able to track down the locations, students, photographs, and stories of the schools.

In doing so, he has been able to connect with people throughout the community, which has made this project a reality.

MacAdam wanted to display the collaborative hard work of the team, so he enlisted the help of the current Thompson Town Historian Al Wolkoff, and they have created a display that now hangs outside Thompson Court House in Town Hall.

Employees from the Town of Thompson, local vendors, and artisans all helped with presenting those photographs MacAdam collected.

Each schoolhouse photograph is framed with a replica of the frames MacAdam found in Jurgens's home.

MacAdam said it seems fitting that two town historians, 20 years apart, help bring this project together.

MacAdam said, “They were ‘Bookends' to the project.”

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here