Soapstone for Our Slatework
One of the best ideas for re-enactment supplies came to me back in 2006 from our friends in League City, Texas. CSAA Board members Catharin and Richard Lewis of the West Bay Common School Children's Museum suggested we use soapstone instead of chalk for our living history slate lessons. Soapstone "slate pencils" are dust-free and last a long time with regular classroom use. They are mainly sold by the gross (144 pieces) and are not easy to find as they are primarily used by electricians, welders, and plumbers to mark pipes. As word spread, more and more schoolhouses have switched to using soapstone for their schoolhouse lessons. Over the years suppliers have come and gone, but we recently located one on Amazon, of all places. My order was delivered in two days. According to Richard Lewis, soapstone was authentic in the latter half of the 19th century adding, "They sold them through mail order catalogs with fancy holders for the 1/4 inch round soapstone like mechanical graphite pencils did the same for draftsmen. The soapstone holders are not available any more though." You'll find that soapstone sure is cleaner than chalk. Most of our living history classes are simple nostalgic recreations and we do the best we can to offer lessons characteristic of the times we represent. Try soapstone...you'll like it! Note: CSAA is not promoting any particular business and does not receive commissions...we're just trying to help! You can also try plumbing /welding/electrical suppliers.
1 Comment
![]() “Soddies: Down to Earth Country Schools” Here is a photo that generates a host of questions about teaching conditions on the more remote stretches of the Great Plains! How young was this teacher? How substantial was a sod schoolhouse? What was it like to teach and learn in a school made of dirt? What kind of education did the children receive? How did they survive the rigors of the geography and the weather in the communities of the emerging west? Wood planking, logs, adobe, stone, and brick...all were regional building materials used in the construction of one-room schools across America...unless none of these were on hand. To jumpstart the education of their newly settled children, many plainsmen resorted to using the endless grasslands to erect their homes and their temples of learning. “The very first care of the sturdy homesteader of the plains, after a dugout was completed for his family, was a school for his children. School districts were hastily organized and in the absence of money on taxable property, schoolhouses were constructed out of the only material that cost nothing but hard work, the virgin sod of the prairies.”...Friends’ Intelligencer Journal (1903). In the video slide show by Susan Fineman below, hear the stories of pioneer homes and one-room schools, "soddies" made from dirt and grass. It was here that western settlers’ children “drank of the fountain of knowledge,” while enduring Mother Nature’s greatest furies and annoyances. Explore the determination of sod-house communities and the stories of hardy teachers who overcame adversity to produce some of the highest literacy rates in the country. Enjoy vignettes about sod home and school experience in 17-pages of memories, stories, and poems (Click in the photo above to open the PDF). Note: The short program attached was presented at the 2022 CSAA Conference in Golden, Colorado and answers some of the intriguing questions asked above. Attending an annual conference offers countless programs of interest to country school enthusiasts. We encourage you to present or attend a future conference with 2025 planned for West Virgina. Stay tuned on this website for information and conference updates. Best Deal All Around for Country Schools
If you found us on Facebook or by chance, thanks for tuning in! This is not one of those heartbreaking pleas for your membership like on TV, but an invitation to support a cause we all enjoy...preserving and restoring country schools across America. How unique! We're certainly a niche effort. CSAA uses your membership fee to offer grants and awards to schoolhouses who need help with an ongoing restoration project, recognition for innovative instruction, rewards for deserving schoolhouse volunteers, awards for writing or video projects, and disaster relief for schools that Mother Nature has damaged. It's also an easy process to join CSAA online or to make a donation if you're so inclined. Every cent goes to organizations or individuals involved in saving schoolhouses. Think about it and if you think it's a worthy cause we know we'll hear from you. We're also pretty generous with free advice, interesting articles, resources for re-enactment, the collective wisdom of our membership, an annual conference coordinated by volunteers, and a whole lot of information on country schooling across the country. Try us, you'll like us! ![]() People sure do love their schoolhouses and we can prove it! Each year the Country School Association of America invites schoolhouse enthusiasts to apply for the CSAA's Awards for Scholarship and Artistry for the best essay, book, website, video or other published work on an aspect of country schooling. The winners are invited to the June conference where they are recognized with a certificate and $300. Attendance at the conference is not required to be awarded the prize, and this year in Toledo, four winners were announced. Congratulations to our 2024 recipients! (1) "The Happy Little Schoolhouse" by Debbie Soto This illustrated children’s book tells the story of the Santa Rosa Schoolhouse in Cambria, California. The schoolhouse is the main character telling its own story from being built in 1881 through all the major events including the Santa Rosa being moved twice by a large crane. It highlights the happy years with children attending school sessions and the years of abandonment, then the moves and revitalization with children once again returning to the school. In this delightful hardcover book the illustrations are engaging and colorful, and some pages incorporate vintage photos of the school building. This is the first ever children's book recognized by CSAA since we began these awards, and we highly recommend it for your children and grandchildren! The author, Debbie Soto, invites you to request a copy through her email at: [email protected]. (2) "Resurrecting Forest Grove" (DVD) By Fourth Wall Films, Kelly and Tammy Rundle This Emmy Award winning documentary film cinematically tells the dramatic true story behind the seemingly-impossible task of restoring a vintage one-room school to its 1920s appearance. Footage and interviews gathered over a seven-year period depict the problems they faced and the solutions they employed as they attempted to bring this rural icon back to life. The surprises and successes of this challenging restoration project are intercut with a vivid historical portrait of the 'Roaring 20s' in rural America. Available for preview and/or purchase the link below: (3) "Calloway Chalkboards: Remembering Calloway County's Rural Schoolhouses" by Kingdom Of Calloway County Historical Society -Fulton, Missouri Here is well-organized collection of schoolhouse histories of the 144 rural schools in Callaway County. It serves as the only published historical source of both black and white country schools which spanned the years until 1973. Much of the history was destroyed decades ago to make more storage room for other records. It was dedication of one local man who painstakingly made handwritten notes in the 1980’s-90’s as he combed through numerous documents that allowed for this history to be saved and re-compiled! Contact information below: (4) History and Heritage: Iowa's Lee County Rural Schools By Diane Kruse
Diane Kruse spent more than a decade researching and writing about the history of the Lee County Rural Schools. She includes information about the first public school that began operating in the Iowa territory before Iowa became a state. This is a very large volume with a vast quantity of history for the dedicated researcher. A note from Diane Kruse: Additional copies of my book have been ordered and are expected to be delivered by the second week of June. If anyone would like to purchase one I can be contacted at my email address [email protected]. Please list your name and telephone number so that you can be contacted when the books arrive. The cost of the book is $65. If you wish to have the book mailed to you an added charge of $7 will be added for media postage. Serendipity is all we can say here. In exploring the web for schoolhouses recently, a reader came across a Wordpress blog entitled, "Walkerhomeschoolblog," and discovered that the writer has researched and posted articles on countless country schools from across the U.S. He includes working one-room school museums, multi-room schools, repurposed buildings, and abandoned country school relics. He includes photos and physical or mailing addresses for the schools he features and adds that, "I gather my information from many sources."
The writer of "Walkerhomeschoolblog" does not identify himself but says, "I am a minister and homeschooling father who is interested in the promotion of homeschooling and also in listening to classical music." It appears his blog goes way beyond his description and is of great value to those seeking information on countless unknown schoolhouses in the 50 states. Below is an example of his many entries. Coincidently, attendees at the 2015 CSAA conference in Beatrice, NE visited the Cracker Box Schoolhouse (below) as part of the Wednesday coach tour of local country schools. |
The story of what went on inside that eminently successful country school is an important part of Americana. It should be preserved along with a few remaining buildings wherein the great cultural pageant took place." ARCHIVES
January 2025
|