Those of us who went to school at Pea Ridge during the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s will remember the white building that stood behind and west of the schoolhouse near the old 1930s gymnasium. We called it the school lunchroom or the hot lunch room.
Along about 1952, when the school library was still located off the rear of the old school auditorium, several of us boys discovered that we could get a head start for the lunchroom if we went through the library and out by the north door and porch. We would wait at the door until Claud Lindsey rang the lunch bell, then we would make a mad dash off the little porch and down the sidewalk. We fouror five boys were always first to the lunchroom, and very pleased with ourselves for it. That went on for several weeks until one day Mr. Dixon came and sat down by us as we ate. He allowed as to how all of uswould be meeting him on the old auditorium stage as soon as we finished lunch.
As we assembled there, it was clear that we were in for a paddling - a warm and smart one, and with it, Mr. Dixon allowed as to how we were not to make any mad dashes for the lunchroom from the library any more.
I learned recently from Russell Walker that when he attended school at Pea Ridge in the ’20s and ’30s, this block building was the school shop. It was evidently built in the early 1900s, using cement blocks like those used for the old 1911 Bank of Pea Ridge building and the Tetrick building which today is our Pea Ridge City Hall and Courtroom. It evidently was firstused to teach vocational agriculture, carpentry and related trade skills. During the 1940s, with the expansion of the federal “Hot Lunch Program,” a kitchen was added to the north side, and the building took on the lunchroom identity that so many of us remember.
In the early 1970s, when the school began using a lunchroom in one of the new elementary buildings, our old lunchroom became an auxiliary classroom, then later served as the headquarters of the S.E.E.K. program. In 2010, the school ceased using the building for classes or curriculum-related purposes, and if became a stashing place for unused schoolfurnishings and equipment.
For some months now, the Pea Ridge Historical Society has been in conversation with school officials, negotiating a plan to preserve the old building, and to convert it to aSchool and Community Heritage Building. The lease plan was recently approved by the Pea Ridge School Board, and will take effect on Dec. 1, 2011. As a School Heritage Building, the building is to be outfitted with cases and shelves to display historic schoolrelated pictures, athletic trophies, early graduating class pictures, and other school artifacts as those become available. In addition, the building will be made available for meetings of local civic clubs, and for family reunions, wedding anniversaries and birthday celebrations on a fee basis.
To begin, the building needs some tender loving care, especially on the outside. The exterior siding needs cleaning and painting; some exposed rafter ends in front need repair; some outside doors and windows need renovation. To take care of these maintenance tasks, we are looking for volunteers,folks who have an interest in renovating and preserving this great old historic building, and in new uses for it, folks who have skills to devote to the renovation. The building’s interior has been well kept through the years, and we believe the heating units, lighting, and plumbing are sound. The roofing also appears to be in good shape.
We hope soon to outfit the kitchen area with a good set of appliances, so that meals can again be prepared and served by the various groups. We need a refrigerator, a range with oven, new sinks, a mixer, possibly a water heater, possibly a dishwasher, various small appliances, cooking and serving utensils, and tableware. Along with our appeal for volunteers, we make appeal to the community for help in obtaining these items. We especially challenge former students, former school faculty, and former schoolemployees to join in to help with enthusiastic and generous support. The old shop/lunchroom/S.E.E.K.
building is the oldest building on the school campus, the only school building remaining from our early town era. We believe it to be a wonderfully fine preservation and restoration project, one that will have a long-continuing usefulness in the Pea Ridge community, to celebrate our town’s noteworthy educational heritage, help educate our students about our local history, and help us draw from our significant past as we envision a promising future and work to realize it.
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Editor’s note: Jerry Nichols, a native of Pea Ridge, is a retired Methodist minister with a passion for history.
He is vice president of the Pea Ridge Historical Society. He can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected], or call 621-1621.
Community, Pages 5 on 11/23/2011