Little Red School

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It seemed as if I jet-setted all weekend, what with going to Pella on Saturday and then on Sunday afternoon driving west to I-35 to pick up my son who spent the night with his sister and her husband in Ankeny. What a gorgeous time to be driving around in Iowa, though! The soybean fields are still golden, the corn still green, and roadside ditches are full of various colors. I felt as if in Seventh Heaven........with the windows down, my favorite driving music playing, and lots of time to think, think, think!!

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This is a post that's been patiently waiting to be published, so I'd better squeeze it in before any more time slips away:

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One sunny morning a couple weeks ago, I needed to run an errand in Cedar Falls, and decided to make a quick stop for photos at the Little Red Schoolhouse on 1st Street (Hwy. 57).

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In the background, to the right of the schoolhouse, is the old railroad bridge over the Cedar River. The Old Broom Factory, which was torn down last year, sat right by the bridge.

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This emblem on the door says "IOWA STANDARD SCHOOL".

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A closer view of the details of the bellfry:

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This school building was moved from its original location a dozen or so miles northeast of Cedar Falls, in Bennington Township, rural Black Hawk County. It originally was painted white. When I was a kid, there was another old white schoolhouse not far from where I live now.......a farmer used it for corn storage. Several years ago, the owner donated it to the National Cattle Congress grounds in Waterloo, where it has been restored. Many rural schoolhouses were converted into residences.......IN FACT, my grandma's house (where I sewed my prom dress) was a converted country schoolhouse which had been moved into town.

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Near the red schoolhouse is this restored gas station, now in use as a tourist information building. Way in the background, maybe you can see the brick building........that is the Ice House Museum, which sits next to the Cedar River, and I hope to blog about that fascinating place sometime soon! It hosted high floodwaters this spring, and some of the museum artifacts were lost, but many survived.
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Well, what do you know.........on my way home I ended up following a Dunkerton schoolbus! At one point, when we were moving very slow, I snapped this photo. Do you see the boy's head through the window? The sight of it warms my heart; he sends a message of earnest and eager hopefulness as he watches the road ahead! I wish to possess that quality even as I grow older.......to be alert, aware, awake and watching! Not slumped pouty-like in the back seat......which I recall some kids doing back when I was a daily bus passenger. This simple scene prompts many memories of my long-ago years of schoolbus-riding!

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Not far from my church sits this forlorn, old brick schoolhouse which is FOR SALE......of all things!! It comes complete with a wooden outhouse in the back! Most likely, a neighboring farmer will buy this property and raze it.

Many of the old rural school buildings in Bremer County were made of brick, and there are several in the area which have been converted into residences. Sadly, this one somehow missed out on that transformation. (P.S. - And, guess what......this old school building was intentionally burned down by the local fire department on Sept. 18! Good thing I stopped and sneaked a photo when I did.)

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My years of attending public school (K-12) provided me with a lifetime's worth of wonderful friendships and memories. There's a group of us who have known each other since kindergarten; we still get together and laugh ourselves young again recalling goofy old memories! And, its interesting.......no one has really changed much after all these years! I think much of our personality and traits are set in place already by the time we're 5 years old!

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