|
Historic building open for tours Saturday
Published October 22, 2009
WEST COLUMBIA — Students once again will gather at the Rosenwald School in West Columbia, not to take classes every day, but to learn about those who used to attend the school, officials said.
Beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, the doors of the building behind the Columbia Historical Museum at 247 W. Brazos Ave. in West Columbia, will open for tours.
Throughout the rest of the morning and early afternoon, members of Barrow and West Columbia elementary children’s choirs, the Apostolic Lighthouse and Blue Run Baptist Church will sing, Columbia Museum board member Naomi Antill Smith said.
“We’re just looking for a real, good, busy day and a time that will bring some attention to this particular part of history,” dedication planning committee member Teena Maenza said.
It’s been about 60 years since the building was last used for education, but a community effort and help from many generous donors, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Lowe’s home improvement store, have culminated in its opening as an interactive children’s museum, Smith said.
“To quote Julius Rosenwald in 1912, he said he wanted to come in to the rural communities with Booker T. Washington and — in those days the word was ‘colored’ — have ‘the whites and the colored, the rich and the poor, the bankers and the farmers’ work together to raise part of the money for the school and then the foundation would donate the rest,” Smith said.
Tuskegee University would furnish the plans, give a bill of materials, oversee the construction and give instructions on preservation and how to take care of the school.
“That was obviously done well because we were able to use about 85 percent of the materials from the original school, minus the roof,” Smith said.
The building was a functioning school from 1921 to 1948 when it closed and children were moved to the Charlie Brown School in West Columbia. It was found in the mid-1990s functioning as a barn in a hay field, was authenticated in 2000, moved in 2001 and completed this year, Smith said.
During the event Saturday, children will have an opportunity to play 1920s-style games like hopscotch and jump-rope, and adults and children alike will hear the history of the Rosenwald School.
Booker T. Washington and Julius Rosenwald, the president of Sears, Roebuck and Co., provided seed money for the 5,300 schools, shops and teachers’ houses in the rural South beginning with the idea in 1912. Of those schools, few remain today.
From the Columbia Rosenwald School, about 80 alumni have been identified and their stories are being gathered, Maenza said.
Leroy Diggs, 78, remembers playing games and the resourceful way his teacher was able to buy baseball gloves, bats and balls by having the children pick up pecans and then selling them for the money. Classmate Tenola Franklin, 77, recalls walking miles to get to school and then having a prayer and devotion before classwork began.
“I think it’s really awesome the alumni’s stories have been preserved and we’ll be able to keep the whole memory alive for what the school meant for the lives of the people,” Maenza said. “A building is a building, but it’s what the building signifies that’s worth saving.”
---
SCHOOL SCHEDULE
The schedule for Saturday’s dedication of the Columbia Rosenwald School
9 a.m. School open for tours
10 a.m. to noon Children singing 1920s-style songs, Gospel music and children’s games
Noon Hot dogs served
1 p.m. Ribbon cutting
2 p.m. Dedication program begins
INFORMATION
The Columbia Rosenwald School is at 247 E. Brazos in West Columbia.
Call 979-345-6125 or 979-345-3123
Share |
Save |
Mail |
Print
|
|
|
 |
|
Click for all
Top Ads listing
|
