PEA RIDGE — Sometimes progressing quietly, sometimes surging ahead, the renovations being carried out on the Pea Ridge School Heritage Building are making real progress. The School Heritage Building, variously named across the years as the S.E.E.K. building, counselor’s office, art classroom, old school lunchroom and old school shop, is currently leased to the Pea Ridge Historical Society, and is undergoing renewal and refreshment.
In addition to preserving the oldest still-existing building on the historic downtown Pea Ridge School campus, the Heritage Building is being renovated to serve as headquarters and meeting place for the Pea Ridge Historical Society, and as a place for civic club meetings, family anniversary gatherings, school class reunions, and so on. The building will also operate as an annex to the Pea Ridge Historical Society Museum, housing historical displays depicting early Pea Ridge area schools, College and High School Band and Music Education History, School Sports History, Agri Shop and Vocational Education History, and will feature a photo gallery with class pictures and school activity pictures from across the years.
A Heritage Building Open House and Reception is planned from 2 - 4 p.m.
Sunday, May 20. The public is invited from throughout the community. A number of historic photos, documents, and artifacts have already been donated for display in the Heritage Building, and the Historical Society would like to hear from others who have items of interest that might be donated, loaned, or copied.
The Historical Society is holding two workdays in May devoted to preparing for the May 20 Open House. The first workday will be held from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturday, May 5. The second is scheduled from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturday, May 12. Ending times are approximate.
The Historical Society’s Renovation Committee, headed up by Scott Turner, has already made great strides in the interiorrenewal of the building, refreshing floors, wall finishes, windows, ceilings, opening up and reframing several original windows that had been boarded up for years, restoring the 1940s lunch serving window, and completing restroom improvements.
The old lunchroom’s kitchen addition is to be redeveloped and equipped for preparing and serving meals. The east half of the kitchen addition will serve as a History Library and small meeting space.
The counselor’s office, the most recent addition, will become a computer room and genealogical research facility. Exterior repairs and painting, along with the addition of lighting in the front entry-way and windows, are to be carried out in upcoming weeks.
The Historical Society acknowledges with appreciation the numerous donations by members and friends to supply equipment, appliances, and furnishings for the Heritage Building. The list includes: a refrigerator, range top and oven combination, coffee makers, stainless sink, microwave oven and lighting fixture. The most recent donations came from the Walmart Return Center, including two computers, a flat-screen TV, DVD Player, Microwave, vacuum cleaner, one-cup coffee maker and a supply of paper goods and office supplies.
Also, a number of individuals have volunteered many hours of work on floors, heating ducts, ceiling tiles, walls, transporting of items, and so on.
Through long years,the Heritage Building has served the Pea Ridge Schools and community in a wide variety of ways.
Yet we don’t know all we would like to know about the history of the building itself. We think it was constructed sometime between 1910 and 1930. Can you help pinpoint the date more precisely? Share your memories and knowledge about this notable white concrete block building, especially if you know it’s dates of origin and some details of it’s construction.
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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 05/09/2012