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McALISTERVILLE – A rotting tree in a field owned and farmed by Tim Varner inspired him to tell the story of the building that once sat in that tree’s shade.
Varner farms the fields in Dunn Valley, Fayette Township, Juniata County. He knew when he purchased the property many years ago that an old schoolhouse sat on that hill under the ash tree.
It had a historic demise, so he was told, when one day it caught fire in the middle of class. His aunt had been a teacher there, and his wife’s grandfather was also a teacher in the school that educated the children in the valley.
One day recently Varner noticed the tree needed to be removed. He took a photo of the tree – what he described as the last remnant of the one room schoolhouse. The photo of that tree is on the first page of a small historic booklet he wrote, entitled, “Liberty School of Dunn Valley, Fayette Township.”
The pamphlet-style book features black and white photos of the students, teachers and the school itself. It is assumed, based on Varner’s research, that the school sat in that particular spot for 100 years, until that fire in 1948.
Varner knew that families with the last name of Colyer and Dressler had a number of children in the school. He tracked down some family members for any information or photos they could provide.
“There were no records early on,” he said, “There was not much management then.”
He sought help at area historical societies, but even the information printed in newspaper articles was of no help.
The fire that destroyed the building on the morning of April 9, 1948, was one that students today – many of whom are in their 70s and 80s – still remember.
The woodstove started the fire.
“(The teacher) told them to take their belongings and head out to the bank,” Varner was told, mentioning that in these days students would be told to flee the building without belongings.
“One student told me they just made it out when the ceiling came down,” he said.
A newspaper article incorrectly named the teacher that got the students to safety. The students he spoke to were adamant that the teacher named was not the teacher who told them to get out of the building.
The late Ruth Burris was the teacher who managed to get every student out of the burning structure before it collapsed. There is a page in the book honoring her efforts.
Varner retold some student memories in the booklet, that also includes an outline of the interior of the building.
Varner said he also learned that one student went on to further his education in a major way and became a surgeon. Copies of a report card are in the book, which also has many photos of children in the 1930s and 1940s crowded together in rows in front of the school for a class picture.
There is also a portrait of teacher Michael Wert, the grandfather of Varner’s wife, Margaret – and a portrait of teacher Evelyn Sieber, who used to pick up students and transport them to school when buses failed to stop.
Nearly 70 years since the school burned, Varner said he still finds pieces of broken desk legs and lumps of coal from the woodstove in his field.
The front stone step of the school building now sits in Varner’s back yard, at his wife’s request. She takes treasure in knowing that is the step her grandfather walked upon every day to teach his students, she said.
Varner would like to make more booklets about other Fayette Township one room schools. He is currently seeking information on the Red Bank School and the Cocolamus School. He can be reached with information, or for a copy of the book, at 463-3211.