Today I read my book to the Fleetwood Senior Citizens .  Most in attendance had been students themselves in one-room schools.   Interestingly, when I stopped to ask what Pearl would do to solve her problem, they all predicted Pearl’s choice.   A sense of community and helping others were traits instilled in the 1920’s and 30’s.   What an attentive and appreciative audience!

On Friday, I visited with  Mrs. Guildin’s and Mrs. Eberly’s  fourth grade classes at Richmond Elementary School.   I read part of Pearl of Richmond School.   This was the school where I taught first grade for many years.   It was fun reading my book and being back at Richmond.  I envisioned my character Pearl to attend the one-room school that is behind the present day school.  It is along School Road.   It was called Center School.    Above I posted  a picture of Center School as it looked when Pearl would have gone there.  It was one of the 5 one-room schools that closed when Richmond School opened in 1957. It is still there but has been converted to a home.

Dori Hoch will be reading part of her book  Pearl of Richmond School at the Fleetwood Historical Society’s monthly meeting on Wednesday, March 19th at 7 pm in the Historical Society room in the Fleetwood Community Center, 100  Arch Street in Fleetwood.   Photos of the former one-room schools of  Richmond Township will be shown as well as discussion of what schools were like years ago.  Signed copies  of Pearl of Richmond School will be available for sale.

Berks County, PA just got their tenth snowfall for this winter.  Yesterdays’ accumulation was  about 17″ to 18″.  All schools in the county were closed yesterday and today.   This snow reminds me of the opening scene in my book.   Pearl was walking across the snow covered field behind her house.   But unlike our students today,  one-room school children rarely had snow days.  If the teacher could get to school, school was held.

Another difference  from schools long ago and today was that  a new snowfall meant a lot of fun.    Since the students walked to school, they were dressed for  snow, wearing boots and warm winter clothing.   So at recess, they got  back on their boots, coats, mittens, and scarfs.   Children made snowmen, snow angels, and forts.  Making and throwing snowballs  was another favorite activity.  Back in the one-room school era,  there were no TVs, video games, or the internet. The students had to come up with games and ways to entertain themselves.  So a new snowfall meant playing with this new sparking gift-snow!

On January 3rd, 2014,  I  read  ”Pearl of Richmond School ” to some of the residents of the Diakon Lutheran Home in Topton, PA  on D-2.

Since many of the residents of the Topton Home had been students in one-room schools themselves, their reactions to Pearl of Richmond School were  very postive and affirming.   They agreed that there was a strong sense of school community which flourished among the students and teacher in their one-room school.   Just like Pearl, things did not always go the way they would have liked, but they pushed on and did what they needed to do their best.   Working together, working on in spite of disappointments and feeling a sense of purpose and belonging to the school community were all attibutes of the one-room school.   No wonder their generation has been termed “The Greatest Generation.”