msjacksonpei@gmail.com
Just up the hill from the gas station in Eldon, a building sits atop the highest point of land in the community. The windows in front face the highway and look out over fields that lead to the old Halliday wharf, where a ferry used to carry passengers to Charlottetown. The two storey structure is nestled amid a lot lined with white birch and spruce trees, and the grey and white paint on its shingles, barely chipped or faded, mask the true age of the structure.
Inside the old Eldon schoolhouse, a row of six foot high, block pane windows welcomes the morning sun and illuminates the room where children from the area once gathered for lessons in reading, writing and ‘rithmetic.
Today, those same windows provide light the new owners need to carry out the restoration and revitalization of the historic building they will soon call home. There’s no electricity yet, and a wood stove at the front of what was once the classroom is the only source of heat, providing throwback to bygone days.
Rilla Marshall and her partner, Damien Worth, bought the schoolhouse last spring, fulfilling their dream of owning a quiet, country retreat they can call home and practice their art.
Ms Marshall is a weaver from Charlottetown with an online store where she sells her hand-woven works. She designs and creates both artistic and functional textiles, such as scarves and pouches.
Mr Worth is an artist and painter, whose family grew up in the area.
“His grandfather and his great uncles grew up in this area,” Ms Marshall said. “And his dad plays in the Belfast Pipe & Drum Band.”
In the future, Ms Marshall hopes to open a small gallery or shop inside the schoolhouse, where they can sell their wares.
Mr Worth is an artist and painter, whose family grew up in the area.
“His grandfather and his great uncles grew up in this area,” Ms Marshall said. “And his dad plays in the Belfast Pipe & Drum Band.”
In the future, Ms Marshall hopes to open a small gallery or shop inside the schoolhouse, where they can sell their wares.
“I don’t know how many years down the road that will be, though,” she said, referring to all the work that has yet to be done to the property.
Ms Marshall said area residents often see her working outside and sometimes stop in to ask where’s she from and if she bought the place.
“We’re not from away, although a lot of people assume we are,” she said, noting that everyone has been kind and helpful in making them feel welcome.
While Ms Marshall admits she doesn’t know a lot about the history of the schoolhouse, some neighbours have been providing her with stories from its past.
“Glenda (Cooper) and the people at Cooper’s (Red & White) have been amazing,” she said. “Glenda’s father was the school teacher here until it closed in 1967 or ’68.”
Ms Marshall also said she got a few stories from some of the local contractors who they’ve called in to help with the projects they can’t handle themselves.
“The guy who did our septic - Don MacRae (of Orwell) - he remembers coming here as a kid to sit on Santa’s lap,” Ms Marshall said. “All the kids would come to the Eldon schoolhouse to meet Santa.”
Apparently they had the best Christmas pageants here, she added.
The schoolhouse closed its doors when Belfast Consolidated was built and all the children from Eldon and surrounding communities were sent there for their education.
The schoolhouse closed its doors when Belfast Consolidated was built and all the children from Eldon and surrounding communities were sent there for their education.
However, there are still a few reminders of the learning that took place inside the one room school.
“The most interesting thing we found is a kid’s exercise book from the 1940s or 50s inside one of the walls,” Ms Marshall said. “We’re trying to make sure it doesn’t get anymore ruined because we’re probably going to take some pieces and frame them.”
They also found some kids’ names carved into one of the walls, along with some drawings of stick figures.
To add to the school’s nostalgic feel, Ms Marshall said she and her partner are trying to recreate some of the original architecture, such as the wainscoting they found hiding under the fake wood paneling that lined the walls. (They had to remove the original woodwork because it was covered with lead paint.)
They also relocated and rebuilt the staircase leading to the second floor, using the wood they salvaged from the previous staircase.
“We’re trying to reuse as much wood as we can,” Ms Marshall said, even though she’s unsure of the wood’s history.
There was a lumber mill in Belle River built in the late 1800s, she said, “but I can’t say for certain if the wood in the schoolhouse was milled there. The original beams, joists and studs are pretty big and rough-hewn, so I’m guessing they were produced locally.”
The demolition process has uncovered some other surprises, too.
Layers of old flooring were torn in preparation for the building’s first flush toilet. Two holes were found under the carpet, evidence of where the boys and girls outhouses used to be.
Layers of old flooring were torn in preparation for the building’s first flush toilet. Two holes were found under the carpet, evidence of where the boys and girls outhouses used to be.
“They must have had the outhouse bathroom right inside the schoolhouse,”Ms Marshall said. “You can still see them when you go down to the basement.”
The windows have been replaced with newer, more energy efficient ones but Ms Marshall said she will keep the original ones. She hopes to make a greenhouse out of them or insert them into the interior walls that are yet to be built on the second floor, “to let the light pass through.”
The new windows still welcome the sun into the classroom where
Ms Marshall plans to store her loom that’s “as big as a grand piano.”
Ms Marshall hopes she and Mr Worth will be moved into the schoolhouse by the summer. They’re thinking about hosting a small party to meet neighbours and invite members from the community in to see the finished schoolhouse.
“We’d get a lot of stories that way, I’m sure, and hear about people’s experiences here.”
In the meantime, Ms Marshall encourages anyone who knows the history of the schoolhouse or has stories to share to get in touch with her by visiting her website at rillamarshall.wix.com/rillamarshall
Photo: Rilla Marshall stands on the front step of the old schoolhouse in Eldon. She and her partner are renovating the historic structure, where they plan to live and practise their art. Melanie Jackson photo
First appeared in The Eastern Graphic April 10, 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment