From disrepair to greater care: new potential for Port Oneida’s schoolhouse
Port Oneida School class on porch circa 1910. Courtesy of Tom Van Zoeren, www.VZOralhistory.org
By Linda Alice Dewey
Sun contributor
This continues our series on iconic but derelict or underutilized buildings in our region.
With the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s Port Oneida Fair coming up this weekend, folks might notice that the landmark little white schoolhouse just off the junction of M-22 and Port Oneida Road looks better than it did a few years ago.
It also might surprise some to know that, even though the schoolhouse is located within National Park boundaries and is considered part of the Port Oneida Rural Historic District, the Park doesn’t own it. The Glen Lake school district does, but within its deed lies an unusual restriction.
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For the following two decades, the Park operated on the philosophy that it would let everything revert to nature. That philosophy changed with the realization that within the Lakeshore lay two cultural districts of historic value—Glen Haven and Port Oneida. In 1997, the NPS created the Port Oneida Rural Agricultural District.
Buildings throughout the Park began to be restored. In 2001, the south wall of the schoolhouse was repaired through a collaborative effort between the GLCS, the nonprofit Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear (PHSB), and the National Park, according to PHSB director Susan Pocklington.
Amy Peterson performs a 2012 reenactment inside the Port Oneida Schoolhouse.
PHSB has had a formal partnership with the NPS since 1998. Its stated purpose is to preserve and interpret the historic structures and landscapes within the National Lakeshore. (PHSB, with its focus on historic preservation and interpretation, is not to be confused with the nonprofit Friends of Sleeping Bear, which concentrates on natural resources and tourists, and is perhaps best known for maintaining the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail.)
Pocklington describes what happened next. “PHSB planned an opening event of the Port Oneida schoolhouse after the 2001 restoration project with the NPS. We invited former teacher of the schoolhouse, Lorraine Richardson and students Leonard Thoreson and Lucille Barratt to speak about their experience. My notes from that day August 9, 2001, say, ‘It was an extremely hot day, but somehow, it was as if people were drawn to the schoolhouse. They just started flowing in, standing in back (when seats were full), quietly taking in this unique account of history being recorded. Questions filtered in from the crowd. All ages were represented, particularly children and their parents.’”
PHSB went on to restore the neighboring Olsen Farm, where it is currently headquartered, and dozens of other buildings throughout the Park. But the little white schoolhouse next door fell once again into neglect.
Yet PHSB members had not forgotten it. “We had the vision of realizing that, when our interpretive center was done, our space would be more limited in the Olsen Farm,” says Pocklington. That interpretive display was completed in 2016. In 2013, “[PHSB] heard that Glen Lake Schools needed help with preserving the Port Oneida schoolhouse,” says Pocklington, and naturally reached out to the school district.
As a result, Pocklington and PHSB landed grant money for the roofing contractor and materials. “In addition to that,” comments GLCS building director Joe Hobbins, “there was some water damage on the interior of the ceilings that her volunteer group worked with us [on that], and on the walls, and also the chimney, which was the source of water damage. [They] got the exterior in good sound condition so that it’s weather-tight.”
Except for the painted plywood, which GLCS purchased, “PHSB has been the sole funder for all of the recent repairs,” Pocklington declares, to the tune of $15,250 for the roof, $5,404 for in-kind labor and $574 for materials.
Even so, the place looks dilapidated. “We’re currently this year working on an exterior bid for repainting the building,” reveals Hobbins. The grass is also rarely mowed—maybe once a month and before a big event or the Fourth of July—which adds to the general appearance of neglect. Several other areas need attention—the porch, foundation, windows, and various interior repairs. Pocklington says PHSB is there to help with those as needed.
Here’s the thing. Where other schoolhouses may house town meetings or dances or programs, this little white schoolhouse is rarely used. Once a year since 2002, PHSB has opened the doors for one-room schoolhouse demonstrations during the Port Oneida Fair, which attracts around 4,000 visitors to the area, and this year takes place Aug. 11-12.
“One of the things that we kind of struggle with as a small school system,” admits Sander Scott, Superintendent of GLCS, “is that we’ll have certain staff members that have niche areas they’re interested in. As long as we have them on staff, we’ll have things like making use of the walking trails on campus, or using the school.”
“In my first year here at Glen Lake as superintendent,” Scott continues, “I’ve been kind of under water with other district priorities, and it hasn’t been on my radar [as to whether] we’ve been utilizing it. We want to maintain it, and the partnership with PHSB has done a great job with preserving it; but I think we could do better to make sure we are using it with our students going forward.”
Pocklington and her group would love to see the schoolhouse used more, not only by PHSB but also school students and other groups in the community. When asked if the schoolhouse might be made available for use by the community, Scott replies, “We have a process in place to make our facilities available to the public. That wouldn’t be different for the Port Oneida school than it would be for [the Glen Lake school facility].”
Here’s the rub. Upon closer examination, it may be different. The 1865 deed from Thomas Kelderhouse to the Glen Arbor School District specifies that the schoolhouse may be “occupied only for school purpose and whenever the same shall be abandoned for such purpose or be applied to other purposes detrimental to the interests of good society it shall revert back to the said party of the first part or to his heirs executors or assigns.” That “party of the first part” would be Thomas Kelderhouse.
Fran Seymour, president of the GLCS board of education, explains, “My understanding: essentially, the school owns the building. But on that deed is a ‘reverter clause.’” He explains that the school is to be used only for “educational use, but if we ever violate that reverter clause, the ownership reverts back to the Kelderhouse family. We do use it—not very much—but we do use it,” he adds.
A few years ago, Jim Kelderhouse, his daughter Kim, and several other citizens formed the Port Oneida Community Alliance (POCA), a 501(c)3 nonprofit, which has done work at the Kelderhouse farm. After PHSB reached out to GLCS to work on the Port Oneida schoolhouse, POCA also approached the district about taking over the schoolhouse ownership. The GLCS board, in a 3-3 tie vote, kept the schoolhouse.
The good news is that, at the very least, future educational events may be on the horizon for the underused little schoolhouse. As far as community use goes, superintendent Scott believes, “We are all about engaging the community in how we can do a better job in serving the community. Again, that applies to the main campus as well as the Port Oneida facility.”
Pocklington affirms, “The schoolhouse is integral to the story of Port Oneida. It’s wonderful to see it being preserved, and Glen Lake Schools has been great to work with.”
The schoolhouse will be open for the Port Oneida Fair this Friday and Saturday, August 11-12. Re-enactments of a one-room schoolhouse class will take place at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on both days. PHSB docents will also be available from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Port Oneida is located four miles north of Glen Arbor. Learn more about Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear by visiting www.phsb.org.
