1887 Photo Inspires Reenactment Film in East Andover, New Hampshire
A little red schoolhouse, a tree-lined lane, a young teacher watchful of her students, a batted ball in mid-flight. This captivating photograph of a moment in time in 1887 resurfaced in 2010 and piqued the interest of East Andover, NH native, Donna Baker-Hartwell, who lives a short distance from the Tucker Mountain School. In fact, Donna's mother purchased this schoolhouse in the 1960's and eventually donated it to the Andover Historical Society in 2004. In time, Donna would uncover her family's connection to the snapshot as well, and embark on a journey to bring the photo to life in a short film. Through Donna's own words, we will discover what she learned of its history and how she envisioned her project.
Enjoy her film at the end of this article!
Submitted by Donna Baker-Hartwell
"I've always loved the old photo of the students playing outside the school. And I often thought that it would be fun to reenact that very moment.
It was more than a year ago that I began to plan for the reenactment at the Tucker Mountain School. I had just met Ethney McMahon (videographer) while she and friend Larry Chase were creating the video, "This Old Town." I showed her the old photo and told her what I wanted to do. She volunteered her time and talent to help. There could not have been anyone better to work with.
The Schoolhouse Work
The Cast, the Crew, and the Script
I wanted Andover children to take part in the film and I was thrilled when four of the members of the cast were Tucker Mountain residents. Adult actors would be Andover residents as well. It was rather magical when things started to fall into place. Heather Makechnie was the best person for overseeing the making of the costumes. She had a good eye for detail. The costumes were made by volunteers and paid for by private donations.
I wrote the script with the help of town and school reports and our two town history publications- the Eastman and Chaffee. Then I began collecting school books, slates and other artifacts which would be needed for authenticity. 
We held an organizational meeting with cast members and parents and set the dates for the filming. All of the interior scenes were to be filmed on April 18th of 2010 and all of the exterior scenes were to be filmed on June 5th. There were no rehearsals and we had one day for filming.
The Revelation and Change of Plans!
Two nights before the filming began, I was working on creating a "record book" for the classroom attendance. I went back through town and school reports. I had been focusing on the reports of 1889 and 1890 as these were the years history books had labeled this photo as having been taken. I happened to pick up the 1888 report and discovered that Issa Tuttle (my great-grandmother's sister) taught at the school in 1887. I knew I had one good photo of Issa in family genealogy files and soon I had it in my hands and could match it with the figure of the teacher in the photo. This lead to the discovery that the central figure in the photo was Issa's younger sister, my great-grandmother, Stella Tuttle!
I had two days to correct the history, rewrite the script, give some of the cast new identities and add more students. I wanted the reenactment to be historically correct. It was both exciting and nerve wracking to say the least. The end result is a video clip of under ten minutes which I hope will be a useful teaching tool for understanding what rural education was like in New England in the late1800's. Musician, Kathy Lowe of New London volunteered her talent as a dulcimer player to provide music of the period."
Take a step back into 1887 and spend a day at Tucker Mountain School!
Additional information from Donna Baker-Hartwell's research....
- The teacher in the photo was Miss Issa May Tuttle.
- She lived in East Andover Village.
- She was 17 years old when the photo was taken.
- She earned $4.75 a week and $2.00 was paid for her room and board.
- Miss Tuttle later married Walter Harley Todd and moved to Melrose, MA. She has three children.
- The six students in the photo are: Grace Tucker, Ned Flanders, Stella Tuttle, Eva Greeley, May Hersey, and Edith Hersey.
- The photo, slog with the original record book of the school, was forwarded to the William Adams Bachelder Library in 1964 by Edith Hersey, who at the time was living in Altadena, CA.
- Frank Poblenz reproduced the original photograph and was recorded as having been taken in 1889-90. The error was discovered in 2010, when Donna Baker-Hartwell, Stella Tuttle Thompson's great granddaughter identified the teacher as Issa Tuttle and the central figure as Stella.
- The school remained open for six years after the photo was taken. It served the mountain folks for 56 years.
- Miss May Josephine Hersey (in the photo) was the last teacher at the school when it closed in 1893. There were only three scholars remaining.
- The school was built for $100 in 1837 by Benjamin Tucker on land donated by his brother William Tucker.
- The school is 16 feet wide and 18 feet long and has a "porch" (woodshed) 8 feet by 10 feet.
- The interior remains today with it's "two holer", crude wooden desks, and sloping floors.
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