Historical Society Program On Sunday—

Dot Wenblad Returning To Middle Gate’s One-Room Schoolhouse

Dot Wenblad, who recently retired after 37 years of teaching, will share her knowledge of one-room schoolhouses of the late 19th and early 20th Century during a presentation on Sunday afternoon, October 9, from 1 to 4.

A docent will welcome visitors and answer questions during the first hour, and then beginning at 2 pm Mrs Wenblad  will  welcome visitors at the one-room schoolhouse in front of Middle Gate School.

When Mrs Wenblad moved to Middle Gate School, she was immediately attracted to the old schoolhouse sitting as a charming decoration on the lawn in front of Middle Gate, but otherwise unused.

She soon changed that. Waiting for the “perfect snow,” she instructed her students to bring a piece of firewood and marched them down for a day of lessons around the stove, with time out for a game of Fox and Geese in the snow.

Use of the old schoolhouse, which is owned by Newtown Historical Society, soon spread to the fourth grades, with each experiencing a session in the schoolhouse, cooking soups and stews on the stove as well as taking their lessons around its warmth for a whole week.

Current fire regulations has put an end to all this, but use of the small building continues. As part of their study of the history of Newtown, Middle Gate’s second grade classes now spend a day there in the warmer weather. Mrs Wenblad hopes that eventually this custom will spread to include the second graders from other schools.

“Dot was a terrific teacher and has a wealth of knowledge as well as an arresting way of presenting material. We hope many will come out for this demonstration, the Historical Society’s first of the season,” said Gordon Williams, program chair.

Middle Gate School and its one-room schoolhouse are on Cold Spring Road. Admission for Mrs Wenblad’s program is free.

For additional information, leave a message on Newtown Historical Society’s answering machine at 426-5937. Calls will be returned.