> I would like a copy please. > Thanks. > Here goes.........Diane Ozark Newsstand 09/25/2006 One-room school celebrates 100 years By: Amelia Widgon OZARK-It was 1934 and Clifford Bilyeu, now 79, was the only boy in a class of six. His teacher at Meadows School, a one-room school on Bull Creek on the outskirts of Christian County, just so happened to be his uncle, James Bilyeu. "There were five girls and me and my uncle," he said. "I stayed with him and went to school there (Meadows School). And at noon and at recess we had a little game going to see who could catch the most grasshoppers. We would put them in the can and then after the girls went home from school, we'd take the grasshoppers and go fishing." Bilyeu chuckled, thinking back more than 70 years to his childhood. "We'd bring our rifles with us," Bilyeu said referring again to his uncle. "We'd set the rifles in the outhouse outside the school house and that evening we'd go hunting on our way home. One day the superintendent for the school came and had to go to the outhouse. He seen our guns in there, but he never said a word about them. Of course, that wouldn't go over now." Bilyeu started attending Meadows School, which was built in 1906, in 1932 when he was 5. He attended a total of three years before his family moved and he began attending Enterprise School. "I'm sure there's lot of interesting things that happened, but I'm sure it's been a long time and I can't remember them all," he said about Meadows School. This is just a few of hundreds of stories from Meadows School. And organizers of the centennial celebration, slated for Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, hope to find more stories of the old school so the history of the building, the people and the community don't fade away. Jayne Meadows, who is spearheading the celebration, began thinking about the need for a centennial celebration for the one-room school after digging through some old papers. "The 100th anniversary really instigated this," Meadows said about the celebration. "It was in Gladys' notes that the school would be 100 years old in 2006. I thought it would be neat so I started thinking about it five years ago. "Years ago, Gladys Back was interested in Ozark history and doing research. She would spearhead an annual get together at the old school house," Meadows said. "It was the last weekend of every September, you just knew it was coming up. But after she died (in the 1970s) it was kind of neglected." Gladys' great-grandfather-the brother of Meadows' great-grandfather-donated the 3-acre piece of land for the school in 1891. "The reason it's called Meadows school house and Meadows cemetery is because John Hanson Meadows donated the land," Meadows said. Although the land was donated in 1891, the school didn't open until 1906. Meadows said she is not certain of the cause of the delay, but believes it is because there were two log schools closer to the creek before the current building was built. "Somewhere, both of those ended up burning, or were destroyed by natural elements, and they moved the school away from the creek," Meadows said. If research is correct, the last known year the school operated was 1949. According to old student enrollment sheets, 25 students-ranging in age from 6 to 17-attended Meadows School in 1936. In 1941 the number of students attending decreased to 17 and by 1949 only eight students remained. "I think it's amazing how in a little over a decade, the population just diminished. There was no way to make money," Meadows said. "If the schools are growing, that means the community is growing. If the schools are fewer and fewer, people are moving away. Which is because of the economic system of the area, which is why towns die." Meadows doesn't want the history of this school house to die, however. She said she thinks it is important to recognize the teachers and students of the old school house and to try to keep its history alive. "I hope to get people interested in the old building and enjoy the Ozarks history," she said. "I'd just like to see the old schools remain. A lot of them are gone and I realize if there is not an interest in them they won't be around for the next generation." These are the reasons Meadows is hoping former teachers and students of Meadows school-or any one-room school for that matter-will attend the event and share their stories. "If you get first-hand information from people who used to go to school here, it's great history. It's first-person history," she said. "I just think of what we are now is the result of those who came before us and what their values were." "I think 100 years is worth celebrating," she added. "I think it will be fun to get together and meet old friends and new friends and maybe relatives you've never met before. I think it will be kind of fun to have a big celebration of pioneer Ozarks." ©Ozarks Newsstand 2006