Classic classroom

LITCHFIELD — Classes have long been out of session at District 59’s Little Red Schoolhouse, but stepping through its doors is an immersive lesson in history. The tin ceiling and walls wear patterns no longer seen in modern classrooms. Donated desks from over 100 years of American education are arranged in front of the teacher’s seat. Several lists of names are hung over the chalkboard to commemorate Greenleaf Township men, some of whom were schoolhouse alumni who served in World War II; the ones with gold stars never made it home.

Lisa Newberger wears a period-accurate recreation of a schoolteacher’s attire in the early 1900s when she shows people around the schoolhouse. Her grandmother, Evelyn Umberhocker, wore something similar when she taught there from 1931 to 1933 and again in the 1960s at a different country school.

“I followed her footsteps because I was an elementary teacher for 35 years,” Newberger said. “I’m retired, and now, I actually get to be in her footsteps here, teaching field trips. The very first time I walked into the school, … it was surreal to walk in and realize this was where she taught, and I now have the pleasure of doing it again, using some of her resources and books she used.”

The schoolhouse is meant to be more than a museum, though, and the Little Red Schoolhouse District 59 nonprofit aims to reintroduce the building to the community.

“We want to be able to use the building more,” said Judy Walstad, a member of the Little Red Schoolhouse District 59 Inc. nonprofit with her husband, David Walstad. “One-room schools were such a unique part of history; this was the beginning of education in our country.”

The land for the schoolhouse was originally donated in 1885 by Edward and Louise Wiard, intending it for a future school building. The schoolhouse itself was built in 1913, replacing a wooden one-room schoolhouse about a half-mile away, dating back to about 1885, according to Judy. The 1913 revival-style building, built for a total cost of $3,500, had a longer-lasting brick exterior, a hip roof, Doric columns and a white clapboard tower with a brass bell. The interior consisted of the classroom, entryway, cloakroom, library, storage and basement.

Three generations of Judy’s family attended the 1-room schoolhouse. Elaine Lenhard, Judy’s older sister, attended the 1-room schoolhouse from kindergarten through sixth grade, and her older brother, Harold Lundin, went there before her. Lenhard remembers in particular the school’s annual Christmas pageant.

“They put a stage there (at the front of class) and curtains, and we put on a little play,” she said.

The 1960s saw the closure or consolidation of all Meeker County rural schools, with the District 59 schoolhouse closing in 1968 after Judy finished fourth grade there. She loved going to school at that building and was initially sad when she had to board a school bus for the first time and continue her education at Longfellow School in Litchfield; she even kept in touch with her 1-room schoolhouse teacher, Donna Lietzau, until her passing.

“Being unfamiliar with ‘town school,’ I was apprehensive,” Judy said. “I was mad and frustrated that I couldn’t finish out fifth and sixth grade at the 1-room school, but I loved all stages of school. I feel very fortunate to have been able to experience a 1-room country school; not many people can say that.”

After the schoolhouse’s contents were auctioned off, the building was sold to Greenleaf Township for $1. It has been used as a town hall, a voting station and a recording studio for music.

By 2007, the building’s condition had deteriorated, and the township was considering selling it, which could have meant the schoolhouse’s modification or demolition. Judy’s father, Einar Lundin, was on the township board and was another schoolhouse alumnus; when Judy heard from him about the potential sale, she wanted to save the schoolhouse.

“I panicked,” Judy said. “I was like, they can’t tear apart the schoolhouse; it’s such a unique piece of history. So, I called my sister (Lenhard) first, who said she would help.”

Lenhard, Judy, former Litchfield High School counselor Ron Nelson and a couple of other former schoolhouse students formed the Little Red Schoolhouse District 59 Inc. nonprofit, and in November 2011, the growing organization bought the building and grounds from Greenleaf Township.

Thanks to several grants, the nonprofit was then able to remove the schoolhouse’s lead paint, apply a primer coat to the interior, update the electrical system, and buy and install an accessibility ramp. Volunteers painted the inside of the building in 2012, installed a flagpole in 2014 and donated a bell in 2015.

Additionally, teams repaired the bell tower, fixed up the windows and doors, and improved the foundation’s drainage so it would not flood. They initially replaced the roofing in 2017, but right after they were done, a tornado dropped a tree onto the building; the roof needed to be repaired again, along with seven rafters and the bell tower, a process that required a restoration specialist.

Items remain on the schoolhouse’s to-do list. The columns around the front porch are slated to be replaced, and further window repairs are needed. Lenhard and fellow schoolhouse board member Charlie Schlauderaff help maintain the building, as they live nearby.

“The maintenance is ongoing,” Schlauderaff said. “We have to keep them (the windows) original, so it gets expensive. They’re good windows, but they need some TLC.”

The main goal of the schoolhouse’s nonprofit is to host elementary school field trips at the site, showing them books, tools and other items to demonstrate what education and life in general were like about 100 years ago. In May 2025, over 300 students from Grove City, Litchfield and Hutchinson came through the schoolhouse.

“The schools that were there are coming back this year,” Judy said. “We’ve also hosted homeschooled students. … My favorite quote from any student I’ve ever talked to about the schoolhouse was, when I was showing them some memorabilia I have, one girl asked me if I was Laura Ingalls.”

The schoolhouse will be hosting open houses every last Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., May through September, and their annual picnic will be in August. Little Red Schoolhouse District 59 Inc. also wants people to know the space can be rented for family reunions, meetings and other events.

“We aspire to get the schoolhouse integrated back into the community like it once was instead of being a building that’s just sitting there,” Newberger said. “I think we’re on the right track with the number of field trips we’re having now; we have 11 classrooms that will be coming out this spring, from May through the beginning of June. That’s a lot of children who will have the opportunity to learn about schools like this.”