"Cities, Towns & Countryside"

5th Annual Preservation Week 2003 Photo-Essay Competition

Third Place: Lincoln Tyler Oldham
8th Grade, Armenhouse School
Morehead, Kentucky

TITLE: Farmers Elementary School Building

The Farmers Elementary School Building is a historical and important part of my community. It should be preserved as long as possible so that the many memories it holds can live on.

The Works Progress Administration built the school building in 1938 so that the residents of the community had access to a school. It was built by local people and the majority of the stones came from the surrounding area. One person remembers watching her father quarry stones from her backyard.

At the time the school was built it held grades 1-10, with two grades to a room. Two new rooms and later, a separate cafeteria building were eventually added. The students had their own volleyball and basketball teams. The teams played the other schools in the county. They won many trophies and the students loved watching and playing in the games. The school building was a central and important part of the community. Dances and pie suppers were social gatherings where the people could take a break from work. Important decisions were made at town meetings.

When I attended Farmers, the grades went from preschool to the fifth grade. It was the goal of the students to reach the fifth grade and then move on to middle school. When I was there, no longer were the sports or dances held. Instead, we had the Fall Festival. During this evening the gym was full of fun games to play. There were many volunteers and each teacher ran a game in hi or her classroom. The most popular activity was the jailhouse. Most of the county's residents came to the festivities.

In 1972 Fred Ellington became a teacher at Farmers. Mr. E. was his nickname. He had already attended the school as a student and a student teacher. He is often considered as a favorite teacher by students for his determination and enjoyable personality. He taught fifth grade while I was there. Diana Clark was one of his students. She also eventually came back to teach there!

In 1984 Janie Allen became principal at Farmers. She was careful that the school was well maintained. She also rented it out every night, so that it would be useful to the community. Volleyball and Basketball were two of the many things the school was used for. She worked with the parents to make Farmers a better school.

My class was the last one to complete the fifth grade at the school building. In the year two-thousand people began noticing problems. When the piano was removed from the stage it became clear that the stage was moving away from the wall. It worsened as the year went by. In December the problem was identified as flood damage, and the building was condemned. A flood in nineteen-ninety six had caused the majority of the damage. The building had been labeled a transitional school, so it was eventually going to close anyway. Therefore, it was not adequately maintained. The school had consistently score the highest in the county on yearly tests, topping county and state averages. The parents and teachers felt that a loss of the school would also mean a loss in this quality of education and of the memories from their times as students. Without the building they had no school. Therefore, they tried to get the school board to conduct repairs on the building but to no avail. The students spent the remainder of the year at the House of Prayer, a nearby church, and were split up between two others schools the next year. Most of the students were still able to be in Mr. Ellington's class.

Jeff Fannin, a local business man, bought the building, made the repairs, and turned it into an antique store. He did not have much changed. Many of the lockers are still there, and one of the teacher's schedules has been preserved on the blackboard! He stated in an interview that he did this because he felt that the building should be preserved, and that he wants people to be able to walk in to their old classrooms and reminisce.

Mrs. Allen was chosen to be one of the carriers of the Olympic Torch in 2002! The nomination letter revealed how she exemplified all that was great about the Farmer's school spirit. That spirit was created at the building. There were many nominees but she was one of the few who were carefully picked. Mr. E is now the principal at another building. A private school is currently being held in the old building.

The feeling that Farmers school needs to be preserved is a strong one. There will never be another building built this way. The stone is too expensive. This building is an important part of Kentucky history and should not be forgotten.

This essay and photograph(s) are the property of Preservation Kentucky, Inc. and Kentucky Heritage Council and that any use of the photo or essay must be approved by PK and KHC.