The Happy School By Rita Seedorf
A
school was built in the woods near Newport, Washington
over one hundred years ago.
T
he school was happy when it had children inside. Here are
pictures of children who went to school there.
S
ome children rode their horses to school.
T
he school closed in 1929. It sat in the woods for 70 years.
No children went to school there. The trees grew up around it. The
porch fell off. The school was lonely.
T
hen one day Professor Charles Miller found the school. He
wanted to bring it to Eastern Washington University. Some men came and got the school ready for the ride to the
University. They took the roof off.
T
hey put wheels under it. They put it on a truck and
brought it to Cheney. They put the roof back on. They painted the outside.
T
hey finished the inside of the school. Now the school has
children in it again. And it is happy.
Mission Statement
The Cheney Normal School Heritage Center is a living museum that celebrates Eastern Washington University’s heritage as a teacher preparation institution. The museum is open for educational tours to schoolchildren and to the public. In addition to providing a place for visitors to relive the one-room schoolhouse experience, the building serves as: • a place where classes, seminars and presentations are conducted related to the history and development of American education in one-room schoolhouses; • a center for local and regional oral history where teachers, scholars and community members can share, record and preserve traditions, stories and records of the past; and • a permanent location to house and display historical one-room schoolhouse artifacts.
For more information or to arrange a tour: Cheney Normal School Heritage Center 312 Williamson Hall Cheney WA 99004-2428 509.359.2232
www.ewu.edu/schoolhouse