NEWS from SAUGATUCK/DOUGLAS HISTORICAL SOCIETY

John Peters
(269) 857-2967
jppubrel@aol.com

OLD SCHOOL HOUSE DISCOVERY CENTER
SEEKS MEMORABILIA FOR LOCKER EXHIBIT

 OCT. 24, 2008 -- Items that evoke nostalgic images of student life in earlier times are invited by the Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society for display in the Old School House Discovery Center's "Back-In-Time Lockers" exhibit. This exhibit is intended to "bring to life" five historical eras through collections of objects common to a student's world at those times. Eras to be represented are: the late 1800s; the World War years; the 1950s; the 1960s-70s; and recent years.

A nook alongside the Discovery Center's main-floor research room will be arranged in five vertical sections, each representing an era, designed to resemble a student's locker. Each section will display familiar, everyday objects that a student of that era might have owned or used, such as textbooks, clothing, report cards, lunch containers, yearbooks or photos, so the viewer can see how the "trappings" of student life have changed through the years.

Area residents, especially those who were students at The Old School House when it was our Douglas Union School, or whose parents or grandparents schooled there, are urged to look through their family memorabilia for appropriate items they might want to contribute to this exhibit. For more information, contact Historical Society volunteers Mary Voss at (616) 396-2013 or maryjvoss@sbcglobal.net, or Sally Winthers at (269) 857-4181 or swinthers@verizon.net.

Listed on both the Michigan and National Registers of Historic Places, The Old School House is one of the oldest multi-classroom school buildings in Michigan and considered one of the finest examples of 19th century school architecture in America. Since late 2006, the Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society has been refurbishing it as a new Heritage Discovery Center for community and visitor use, funded by grants, donations and volunteer efforts. More information about The Old School House Project, including plans, drawings and a photo diary of work done in the conversion process, is available on-line at www.sdhistoricalsociety.org.

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