The bricks were “homemade” in a kiln, which the pioneers also used for the Coffins Stagecoach, located down the road from the school.

Until 2000, the 137-year-old McGee Brick Schoolhouse building was deteriorating.

“There was a lot of concern from passer-byers,” said Chairperson Sharon Cook, “but nobody did anything about it.”

It wasn’t until a neighbor, who owns ground around the school, said if nothing was going to be done, he would tear down the building.

The schoolhouse, which didn’t become part of the West Delaware School District until 1959, was used as a meeting place for the Gospel Hall Congregation and for Grange meetings.

The Grange tried to maintain the small building and even replaced windows, but vandals soon broke them.

Vandalism also caused the McGee-Brick Schoolhouse Foundation to tear down the original lathe, a material used to make walls, the plaster and the ceiling.

The outside of the building contained cracks and holes in the bricks that were fixed by Jim Wessels and Tobin Tracy, a Manchester native who is the Senior Architect for the National Park Service at the White House.

The windows, which will be installed in the spring, were custom built and the foundation is still currently looking for a couple original doors. They received a small Country School Grant from the state that helped them renovated the exterior of the school. They are currently taking donations to help with the interior.

“The schoolhouse has a unique design,” said Cook. “Out East they have a double entrance, one for boys and one for girls, that’s unique for the Midwest. And the archway is also unique.” Those unique aspects helped make the schoolhouse a part of the National Historical Places.

Another unique aspect of the McGee-Brick School is a teacher named Sarah Gillespie Huftalen, who established the Rural Teachers Component of the Iowa State Teachers Association in 1910. Her teaching methods became part of the teachers’ certification curriculum at the Iowa Teachers College in Cedar Falls (now UNI) and Upper Iowa University.

Cook said the restoration could take a few years yet but future plans include an outhouse, more extensive tours and a university program to study teaching methods.

“We have a rich teaching heritage,” said Cook, “and we need to embrace it.”

Over the years, the Little Red Schoolhouse has seen better times than the McGee Brick Schoolhouse.

In 1857, a half a mile north of where the building is now, the original Little Red Schoolhouse was built.
The land was purchased for $5 and after the building burnt down in the early 1870’s, the land was sold back to the previous owners for $20.

The new building was re-built in 1872 and stood until a second fire in 1904. The existing building, which was completed in 1905, had a total cost of $900, $750 for the building and $150 for furniture.

It wasn’t until July 1, 1959 that the school board decided to join with the newly created West Delaware County District. On that same day, they voted to transfer the building to the Delaware County Conservation Board. With the help of the Delaware District Township School Board President and the conservation department, the school was preserved for the cost of 10 cents per family.

Since then, the Little Red Schoolhouse has been used for private and school tours and is maintained as a historical site.

“We have about five to six school groups per year,” said Garlyn Glanz, the director of the Delaware County Conservation Board. “We depend on the volunteers that help with the upkeep of the site.”

The Lend-A-Hand Club also sponsors an open house the last Sunday of each summer month.

To set up a tour or for more information on the Little Red Schoolhouse, call the Delaware Conservation Department at 927-3410. To tour the McGee-Brick Schoolhouse call Cook at 927-6088 or more information visit www.mcgeebrickschool.org

They served 26 people at the Thanksgiving meal and almost as many volunteers who helped prepare and serve the menu of turkey, dressing, potatoes and gravy, squash, green beans, corn, cranberry sauce, a variety of deserts, coffee and milk.

There were also deviled eggs, meat and cheese, vegetables, fruit, and fudge at the tables to snack on, plus a snack the people were able to take with them.

Donations were accepted to help offset the costs, and Kay said some of the food was also donated for the meal.

Kay said they plan to have the meal again next year and will be better prepared next time. Saying there was a lot of trial and error involved the first time, the volunteers prepared more than enough food as many who made reservations did not attend, but also others came to the meal without making a reservation.

“It was well received within the community. People were glad we did it,” Kay added. “It was more for whoever showed up and didn’t have any other place to go.”

Kay said they considered the meal a countywide project, and did have people attend from Greeley and Delhi.

“It seemed like nobody was in a hurry to go,” Kay said explaining that most of the people enjoyed visiting after finishing their meal. “Some of the people who ate even stuck around to help clean up the mess.”

Camp Courageous, “because we’re more alike than we are different”
Julie Sunne

WD students ‘Jump Rope for Heart’
Latisha Sand

West Delaware Middle School students took a break from classes on Wednesday, Nov. 23 to “Jump Rope for Heart.”

The students jump roped in teams for two hours with one person jumping at a time to raise money for the American Heart Association. Each student must raise at least $10 to take part in the event, with about 30 percent of the proceeds going back to the middle school physical education department, who will use it to improve their cross-country ski equipment.

“We do it every other year because it became such a big event,” said Carol Martens, the physical education teacher.

When the West Delaware Middle School isn’t doing the event, Saint Mary’s does.

Taste of Home packages sent to soldiers