A hundred and more years ago, the one room schoolhouse was the hub of small towns everywhere. The schoolhouse in Adams Basin was no exception. According to historical records, the Adams Basin Schoolhouse got its start on November 7, 1826 when a local resident, Henry Robinson, deeded a piece of land to the Trustees of School District #1, Ogden, for the purpose of erecting a schoolhouse. The building was erected in 1838. Historical documentation is lacking for these early years. Records show that under the direction of John D. Nelson, a proprietor in Adams Basin and a trustee of the school, alterations were made to the building. The entrances were moved from the east and west sides of the building to the south side. Even though the building at the corner of Washington Street and Canal Road was used as a schoolhouse, it also served other purposes. Both the Methodist and Presbyterian Societies made use of the building in 1854 as a meeting place. For over 75 years, the Adams Basin school served the purpose for which it was intended. Children were educated within its four walls and played on the grounds of the site. But on the evening of October 20, 1932, fire broke out. The blaze was contained inside the building's brick walls, and the interior was completely destroyed. The old foundation and the masonry walls were salvaged to form a part of the new building. Many of the children who received their education at the Adams Basin Schoolhouse returned to teach the next generation. The list of teachers reads like a who's who in Ogden history. Family names such as Doty, Cady, Goodridge, Porter, Hill and DiLauro bring to mind some of the town's long-established families. The last two teachers to welcome students at the Adams Basin Schoolhouse were Marion Flynn VanderTang and Norma DiLauro Astill. Miss Flynn, as she was known, taught grades 3-4 in one room while Miss DiLauro taught the younger children in a second room. Ms. Flynn died in the late 1980s. Miss DiLauro, now Mrs. Bernard Astill, still lives on Lyell Street. She and her husband built their home on what was once her father's fruit farm. She was a former Adams Basin Schoolhouse student before returning to become a teacher. "I attended the Adams Basin school, then Brockport schools, then returned to teach at the schoolhouse," she recalls. She taught during the day, and drove into the University of Rochester at night to finish her bachelor's degree in education. Astill said she's a bit amazed that she did that. "Of course because I was working and living at home, I could afford a car. Not many could back then." During her reminiscing, Astill remembers her students with fondness, especially the very young. She enjoyed helping them to learn. Miss Flynn and Miss DiLauro taught side by side for 15 years with a folding wall separating the two classes. They only opened the wall at the holidays when the two groups of students would get together and put on a Christmas play for their parents. But there was one time when the wall had to be opened and Miss Flynn had to take Astill's class. That particular day, Jack and Rita Ginther, who ran the post office and general store located nearby, came into the schoolhouse to tell Astill that her brother, Cornelius, has been shot down in World War II. "He was flying P38s, the planes with the dual fuselage, and was shot down. I went home to my parents and we waited." She doesn't remember how long it was, but word eventually came that her brother survived. The children who had Miss Flynn and Miss DiLauro as teachers are in their early sixties now, but they, too, have fond memories of their days in the schoolhouse. When asked if they remember anything about their time there, the stories spill out. Diane Leckinger Strobl moved to Virginia in the 1970s but she recalls her days as a student fondly. "Some of us would go home at lunch; but some would stay at school. I remember if you bought milk, one student was chosen out of the class to walk to the Ginthers' store to pick it up and bring it back. I imagine being chosen to pick up the milk was a special honor." She remembers her teachers as being very kind and gentle. Another memory that stands out in her mind is from Christmas. "The teachers gave each student a box of candy. This was a big deal; none of us had ever had our very own box of candy before." Strobl also remembers that day Miss DiLauro got engaged. "She was smiling ear to ear and laughing. It was definitely a happy moment as she shared her news with all of us." Fellow classmates Eunice VanderTang Muniz and her siblings were the third generation to attend the schoolhouse. Their mother, Helen, and their grandfather, Charles Maurer, all attended before them. She remembers playing games such as Stone School at recess. "We played it on the steps of the schoolhouse. One person held a small pebble in their fist and would switch it back and forth behind their back. All the other kids sitting on the steps would have to guess which hand it was in and if they did they moved up one step. If they were wrong they moved down. Whoever got to the top, won. It doesn't sound like much now but when we were kids it was great fun." Muniz recalled the punishment for talking too much in class. "Generally if you were disruptive you had to stand in the corner while the rest of the class continued on." Her sister, Nancy VanderTang Jones, says the schoolhouse was a meeting place for the town. The local children played on the steps and rollerskated on what is now the basketball court. The VanderTang children received much more than an education at the Adams Basin Schoolhouse. "My mother died when she was in her late 50s and my father ended up marrying our former teacher, Marion Flynn," recalls Eunice. "By then Miss Flynn was in her late 60s or so and it was her first marriage. She was the sweetest person and we couldn't have asked for a better stepmother." Former student Larry Coleman called Miss Flynn a "marvelous teacher." She taught three grades at the same time. While she worked with one grade, she kept the other two busy with desk work. "She had to have been very organized. She also played the piano and I remember singing "Red River Valley." There was recess every day. Miss Flynn would ring the traditional old schoolhouse bell signaling it was time for us to come in." He vividly recalls being terrified when he had to board the bus to Brockport school the September he entered the fifth grade. "I longed to stay in the Basin and envied the kids walking to the schoolhouse." The schoolhouse closed in 1956. Miss DiLauro had married her sweetheart the year previous, and Miss Flynn went on to a teaching position at Brockport. The building was used for several different purposes in the next few decades, including a Monroe County Sheriff's substation in the 1970s. But in 1982, the building came back to its roots. The Ogden Recreation Department opened it as a preschool, and the Adams Basin Schoolhouse became The Little Red Schoolhouse. Guided since its inception by Diane Church, The Little Red Schoolhouse Preschool is once more filled with the sounds of children. Church teaches approximately 60, two to five year olds during the week. Today, many of Adams Basin's young children pass through the doors of the old schoolhouse just like their grandparents did before them. Their teacher recognizes that she is walking in the footsteps of a long line of teachers in the building. "Although it's a different age, some things haven't changed. The building still has the same interior, the same slate blackboards that were used are still here. I'm delighted that there are so many people who have fond memories of this building." Church's hope for her students can't be that much different than her predecessors. "I hope that the students take away a sense of security, pride in learning, and play. This is for some the first time away from their parents. It's safe, secure and a stepping stone before going into a new world." About eight years ago, the old playground was replaced with new, state-of-the-art, playground equipment. The basketball court was repaved as well. Most summer evenings the local children still gather there for pick up games of basketball or street hockey. The games have changed, but the laughter that fills the air echoes that of years ago. |
