Rural Development, the One-Room School Experience Topic of MU Extension Conference Sept. 16 - 17

 

SPRINGFIELD, MO. – Former students and teachers at one-room schools, along with current building owners and historical enthusiasts, are registering now for the first “Historic Schools Summit” being held Friday, September 16th and Saturday, September 17th, at the Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center, 2400 S. Scenic Avenue, Springfield, MO.

 

“The conference has received national attention so it looks like early registration is wise,” said David Burton, Civic Communication Specialist with University of Missouri Extension. “Our space is limited to the first 150 that register.”

 

The conference is organized by MU Extension in Greene County as part of a new community development program known as the Ozarks Country School Association.

 

Virginia Snyder, a former teacher who restored Little Moore School and moved it to Snyder Music Park in Lawrence County, will speak and sing her program “Legacy of the One-Room School.”

 

At noon, attendees will watch the 1956 movie, “A Desk for Billie” and then hear from the subject of the movie: Dr. Billie Davis. When the “Saturday Evening Post” published her story, “I was a Hobo Kid” in 1952, Dr. Davis became a highly sought after speaker for state and national teacher conferences.

 

Tiffany Paterson, National Register Coordinator at the Missouri State Historic Preservation Office, will lead a three-hour session in the afternoon entitled, “Taking the Mystery Out of Historic School Nominations.” Paterson writes historic nominations for the state of Missouri and is working on a multi-property nomination for one-room schools in the state.

 

The first day of the conference will conclude with the Missouri premier of the 75-minute documentary, “Country School: One Room, One Nation.” The movie has received rave reviews throughout the Midwest.

 

The second day will include presentations specific to one-room schools in southwest Missouri. Peter Maki, from Top of the Ozarks RC&D, will present a program on the “Texas County One-Room School Driving Tour” and another program entitled, “Finding Schools in Ozark, Douglas and Wright Counties.”

 

A group of volunteers led by Mike Collins will present a program about the restoration and maintenance work being done at Wooley Creek School near Cape Fair, Mo.

 

A complete event schedule and registration packet can be found at http://extension.missouri.edu/greene or picked up at the Greene County Extension Center, 2400 S. Scenic Ave., Springfield, Mo.

 

For more information about OCSA or becoming a member, contact Burton at (417) 881-8909 or via e-mail at burtond@missouri.edu.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Photos of the various rural schools can found and downloaded under the “Rural Schools of Greene County” tab at www.flickr.com/photos/MUExtension417.

Photos and article submitted by David Burton. (Top) Mt. Pleasant School, (Bottom) St. Elmo School.