Reflections on the 2009 CSAA Country School Conference

Schoolhouse Preservationists from Across the USA Gather in Latrobe, PA

The Benedictines historically offer a welcome to strangers and hospitality to all who pass their way. So it was for the 70 attendees of CSAA's 9^th Annual Country School Conference held in June on the picturesque campus of St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. With the St. Vincent Archabbey Basilica and the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains as a backdrop, the group was honored to be among the first conferees to enjoy the newly dedicated Fred Rogers Conference Center for three days of presentations and tours. In addition to schoolhouse-related programming, visitors toured the basilica, the seminary gristmill, the Winnie Palmer Nature Preserve and the Lochry Blockhouse, all conveniently located on campus.

Dr. Veronica Ent, Chair of the St. Vincent Education Department and this year’s Conference Coordinator, organized an outstanding and varied program that attracted members and schoolhouse devotees from across the country. Participants attended over 30 presentations highlighting life in  country schools for students and teachers, educational materials, schoolhouse programming and reenactment, and community restoration of schoolhouses.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Jonathan Zimmerman, author of Small Wonder: The Little Red Schoolhouse in History and Memory. The animated Dr. Zimmer discussed how,“the little red schoolhouse has disappeared in the United States, but its importance in national memory remains unshakable.” He shared examples of from his book that “examines the history of the one-room school and how successive generations of Americans have remembered -- and just as often misremembered -- this powerful national icon.”  

Dr. Zimmerman was one of five authors who shared their books for sale and signing at the conference. Authors Bob Frenz, Historic Country Schools of McHenry County, IL; P.J. HarteNaus, Belden Boy: The Adventures of Peter McDugal; Dr. Mark Dewalt, Amish Education in the United States and Canada; and Bill Sherman, Iowa's Country Schools; Landmarks of Learning. The Traveling Schoolmarm Susan Webb offered the latest edition of her Country School Copybook, a compilation of lessons spanning many schoolhouse eras. 

Presentations included: Rewards of Merit, Catholics and the Common School, 19^th C. Juvenile Periodicals, Octagonal Schoolhouses, Children’s Country School-related Literature, Lincoln’s Education, Disaster Preparedness for the Schoolhouse Museum, Games and Dolls for ORS, Schoolteachers of DeKalb County, Restoration of the Mashpee Wampanoag 1831 Schoolhouse, Indiana Normal Schools 1878-1946, Learning to Write, Golden Book of  Favorite Songs, School and Grading Journal Records, Children in Literature 1900-1950, The Story of Belden School (Galena,IL), Moving the Central School (Mt. Prospect, IL), Peterson Directed Handwriting, Little Schoolhouse in the Desert (Scottsdale, AZ), Schoolhouse-Themed Kitsch, 19^th Century Arithmetic, and Who’s Attending a ORS Today.

Special display posters included: Country School Teachers 19^th-Early 20^th Century, Pittsboro One-Room School (Pittsboro, IN), Glade Schoolhouse: A Restoration Story (Berlin, PA), and Schoolhouses of Laurel Highlands and Ligonier, PA.

Video presentations were offered in the evenings: “Days of the One-Room School,” this year’s CSAA Award Winner for Scholarship and Artistry, produced and directed by Tom Zapiecki (see related newsletter article), and “Iowa’s Country Schools,” produced and edited by Jon E. Heitland.

On day three of the conference participants opted for a half day or full day tour of Pennsylvania one-room schools which included: Concord Schoolhouse, New Alexandria; Atlantic 40 School, Derry; Old Concord School, Belle Vernon; Harold School #8, Greensburg; Amos Hutchinson Schoolhouse, Greensburg; Little Red Schoolhouse, Butler; Six Points Schoolhouse, Eau Clair; Caldwell Schoolhouse, Mercer; Zuver School, Lyle & New Wilmington; Hickory Corners Schoolhouse, Slippery Rock; and the Sample Schoolhouse,Cranberry Township.

Returning home from an intense three-day schedule offers more than reflection on just how much information you’ve gained. It is a chance to recharge your schoolhouse batteries, to plan improvements in preservation and programming, to add to a photo collection, to redirect energies and ideas, or simply appreciate people who enriched your days enjoying schoolhouses. It was gratifying to see old friends and to make new ones.

This year we thank Dr. Veronica Ent for her tireless efforts on behalf of our 2009 conference. She raised the standards once again to offer us the finest in programming and accommodations. She is a true professional and we appreciate her continued participation on the CSAA Board of Directors!

The 2010 CSAA Conference will be held in Oklahoma. For further details visit the CSAA website at:

2010 CSAA Conference Information

Photos: St. Vincent Archabbey Basilica, educational materials-Six Points Schoolhouse, "Small Wonder," Frank Lord (Schoolmaster, Mashpee Wampanoag School), Caldwell Schoolhouse, Mercer,PA, visitors enjoying schoolhouse artifacts on tour.