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| Daily News Article
By Courtney Craig, ccraig@bgdailynews.com -- 270-783-3243 |
| Wednesday, April 21, 2004
When your high school only has five students, every class project can be a big undertaking. But for Old Union School students, this one is a little different.
The students are making a video documentary of their school's rich history, which dates back to the 1800s, as part of their mass communication class. Footage includes a look at sites of the former Old Union School locations in Plano and interviews with people who attended the school years ago.
"We're on a zero budget," teacher Leslie Witty said. "We thought of making a video for prospective students. That developed into something that will be a lot more significant than just a tour of the school."
The original Old Union School shut its doors in the 1940s. But in 1996, Old Union Baptist Church decided to re-open the school's doors. The school, which operates out of the church, offers preschool through 12th grade.
Megan Hayes, 18, filmed the site of the original Old Union School during an April 9 class outing. Only the foundation remains of the small, one-room school, which had to move when its student population grew too large.
"We're unclear on the exact dates, but it was probably used until the early 1900s," Witty said.
Then the class moved to the school's second site, near the farm where Hayes' grandmother, Martha Jo Hayes, lives. There is no trace of the Old Union building there now, but Martha Jo Hayes can recall walking to school when she was 6 years old.
"It was a square building," she said. "It must have been a pretty good size."
Martha Jo Hayes remembers her days in first grade at Old Union School. She recalled using the "outdoor privy" and the wood-burning stove in the school. She said each of the students drank from the same water ladle.
"I imagine if one person had a cold, everyone had a cold," she said.
The Hayes family has a tradition of attending Old Union. Martha Jo Hayes and her mother, who was born in 1905, attended the school. And now Megan will graduate from Old Union as well.
"What I do remember are good, good memories," Martha Jo Hayes said.
Back in the small classroom at the current Old Union School, the class views footage of interviews with former students, including Martha Jo Hayes, Cloyd Copas, Jack Daniel and Ruby Morris. The class will use the footage to relay memories of the school's old days.
In the video, Copas showed off a copy of the school's expense report from 1909. The grand total the school spent that year: $8.
The class has also tracked down several pictures it will use to supplement its documentary. Most came from families around Plano, but one came from the Kentucky Library, Witty said.
For the students, making the documentary has become a lesson in their own history.
"It's fun," Megan Hayes said. "I already knew a lot of the history because it's connected with my family."
Ashley Wheat, 17, was fascinated by the way the school ran in the old days.
"It's interesting the way they fit all the grades in one classroom," she said. "They could listen to the other grades' lessons to know what they would learn the next year."
Michael York, 14, and Weston Campbell, 16, are both in ninth grade at Old Union. While they attend separate English and math classes from their high school classmates, who are all seniors, they all participated in making the documentary.
Michael said he and his family made the decision for him to attend Old Union because of its religious affiliation.
"It's a Christian environment," he said. "We don't have to worry about things that happen in public schools, like people on drugs."
His classmates echoed sentiments that Old Union is a good place to learn about Christianity as well as academics.
"I don't have to feel embarrassed or ashamed for talking about God," said Ashli Johnson, 18.
Witty, a former teacher at Warren Central High School, said she originally took time off from teaching to take care of her children. She went back to teaching at Old Union School because she enjoyed the atmosphere.
"We have very small class sizes," she said. "My children are here, and I'll get to teach them one day. It's night and day from public school."
The class is exploring the possibility of selling copies of the documentary to people in the community once it's finished, depending on its final quality, Witty said. The Kentucky Museum has also requested a copy.
"It wasn't just a school, but a gathering of friends and family," Megan Hayes said of the original Old Union School. "The people were all familiar – kind of like it is here."
-- For more information about the documentary or to contribute information about the history of Old Union School, call Leslie Witty at 529-9490. | | |
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