SPRINGFIELD � Ever since she first laid eyes on the black-and-white photo of Mount Vernon School, in the late 1800s, Patty Sage has been wondering: Why did the tiny one-room schoolhouse sport not one but TWO front doors?
Perhaps the building was divided in two, with one side used as living quarters for the teacher? Or maybe there were separate doors for boys and girls, or for students of different races?
It�s a mystery hundreds of Springfield schoolchildren will soon be pondering, too. The old Mount Vernon School served as the model for the centerpiece of a new permanent exhibit at the Springfield Museum, one meant to reinvigorate the downtown museum as a destination for field trips and bring local history to life.
The exhibit is a collaboration between the museum and a group of Springfield teachers � Sage, who led the effort, and Moffitt Elementary School�s Larry Walker and Riverbend Elementary School�s Heather Klem. It�s one of many local projects funded over the last several years through the federal Teaching American History grant program, administered by the Lane Education Service District.
Recently installed on the museum�s second floor, the downsized, partial replica of the two-door schoolhouse will be a gathering place for visitors, who can enter it through either of the two small doors or by pulling open the entire front panel.
Inside is a display of historical photos and information about local schools, and a hickory dresser whose drawers hold a wealth of old-fashioned treasures: vintage games and toys such as marbles, dolls and checkers; slate boards and slate pencils, the precursor to paper and lead pencils; historical picture books; and enough sets of period costumes � including straw hats � to outfit an entire class.
The museum will also have MP3 players to lend out, with recorded information for students who want to learn more about exhibits, and �I Spy� cards that match with items on display.
�The idea was to prepare a field trip to the museum, to put together lots of activities for the classrooms to participate in,� said Sage, a member of the museum�s board of directors and the 2009 Oregon History Teacher of the Year.
The grant provided $5,000, much of which paid for the construction of the 7-foot-long, 4-foot-wide, 10-foot-tall schoolhouse, built from Douglas fir, western red cedar and pine. Tony Walters, a Eugene woodworker who specializes in furniture and portable saunas, won the bid for the job.
�It was a bit difficult, trying to keep some of the proportions the same based on the space limitations,� said Walters, who had nothing to go on but old photographs.
He built it in his workshop and moved it in sections, happy for the museum�s elevator.
�It all went really smoothly,� said Walters, who plans to apply a locally-made, natural-wood finish to the exterior and add some shelving and doorknobs before the first scheduled class � from Yolanda Elementary School � visits.
Sage has yet to determine the location of the old Mount Vernon School, though she suspects it may have been near the Head Start building on South 42nd Street.
That building housed Mount Vernon Elementary before a new school was built off Jasper Road in 1997.
Sage, who plans to retire after this year, is one of three-dozen local teachers who have been involved in the Teaching American History grant program. A series of grants have paid for her to work with colleagues to develop online American history lesson plans and collaborate on a replica of a 19th-century log cabin at Dorris Ranch.
Lane ESD is one of 122 agencies nationwide to administer the grants, which strive to bolster teachers� knowledge of American history and engage their students in learning history. Other local projects � some done in partnership with other museums � have included history trunks, a Native American plank house, walking tours and a traveling children�s museum.
Deb Gruell, the Springfield Museum�s executive director, said she�s thrilled to offer something new and interactive for youngsters.
�We really needed something more to get kids and families in here,� she said.
The museum this week will also open a separate but complementary, semi-permanent exhibit on its ground floor, with changing themes. December�s �Old-Fashioned Holidays� will feature festive crafts and other hands-on holiday activities.