IRISH VALLEY - On a narrow country road in this Shamokin Township village, a one-room brick schoolhouse sits quietly among the rolling hills that surround it.
Long gone are the sounds of children repeating their multiplication tables, or the sound of a teacher disciplining an unruly student.
The Owl Town School House has remained closed to students for more than 50 years, but its importance in the lives of decades of students is not forgotten.
In 1993, when Richard Urick took possession of the school, and the farm property where it's located, from his father, Paul, the building was just a shell of its former self. The front of the school, once the backdrop for class pictures, was smothered by overgrown trees and littered with poison sumac. The classroom once filled with upwards of 60 students was marked by rotting floor boards and empty beer cans.
Drawn by its unique style and historic significance to the area, Urick and his wife, Maria, decided to take on the project of restoring the school, which was built in the 1800s.
"There's not many of these places left. I think it's pretty fascinating," said Urick. "We would like to keep this older building standing and improve on it."
Urick has spent 10 years and thousands of dollars removing vegetation and debris from the property and gutting the interior of the building. As time goes by, Urick said he would like to make further improvements, including constructing a new roof, restoring the flag pole and rehabilitating the interior.
http://www.republicanherald.com/news/couple-restoring-1800s-one-room-schoolhouse-1.517200
Perhaps he would like to see what was
lost there, as kids played
on the hill side and
around the school
