Groups and individuals wanting to maintain one-room schools in the Ozarks are working on projects to benefit their historic buildings like never before, according to David Burton, civic communication specialist with University of Missouri Extension.
“We had 56 people attend the first Historic School Summit hosted by MU Extension the weekend of Sept. 17,” said Burton. “Many of the participants left energized and feeling empowered to organize events to raise both money and awareness for their various one-room schools and the Ozarks Country School Association.”
The following events related to area one-room schools are taking place this fall:

Locust Prairie School Day: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Oct. 8. Chili and soup lunch, live music, car and tractor display. All proceeds go to the preservation of this one room school in Greene County. For more details call 417-759-2119 or 417-736-3564 and leave a message. The school is located at the intersection of Farm Road 239 and Farm Road 56, between Strafford and Fair Gove.

Wooley Creek Bluegrass Festival: will be held Oct. 7 – 9. Performances begin on Friday at 5 p.m. with food on the grounds and the school open for visitors. Performances begin on Saturday at 10 a.m. and climax with an 8 p.m. performance by Josh Slone and Coaltown and Brightwater Junction at 9 p.m. Tickets for Friday and Saturday are $10. Activities on Sunday include a 9 a.m. worship service in the schoolhouse, a gospel jam from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. followed by the annual Wooley Creek reunion with former teachers and students. The school is located 3.5 miles west of Cape Fair off Hwy. 76. www.wooleycreekbluegrassfestival.org

Liberty School Fundraiser: A pancake supper from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 22 at Appleby’s, 2430 N. Glenstone, will raise money for the “Move and Restoration Fund” for Liberty School. Tickets for the event cost $5 and proceeds will go toward moving Liberty School from its present location north of Springfield near Fellows Lake to the Gray-Campbell Farmstead inside Nathanael Greene Park.

Schuyler Community Breakfast: The annual Schuyler Community Breakfast and Bake Sale will take place from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 22. The breakfast will include scrambled eggs with all of the appropriate trimmings. The Schuyler Community Center, located near Fantastic Caverns north of Springfield, not only preserves a former one-room school in Greene County but it also builds a sense of community in this area north of Springfield, Mo. The white building sits at the corner of Farm Roads 94 and 124 and is on the county historic register.

 Restoration meeting in McDonald County: A group is organizing in McDonald County (Missouri) to purchase the New Bethel School building and to begin restoring it.  Built in the early 20′s, New Bethel was used as a school until 1945. It is one of the last rural schools still standing (and in its original state) in this extreme southwest corner of the state. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Oct. 4. For more information, contact Karen Almeter at 417-845-6855.

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