INTRODUCTION
TO MY PROJECT
I
began my research in July of 1997, for the Greene County
Historical
Sites Board which has a mission to locate and research
potential historical
sites, recommend them to the County Commission for
inclusion on the
county's historical sites register and to conduct
activities that
assist with public education on the value of our local
history.
This
historical schools research project has been discussed statewide in
over 68 different
newspaper
articles, three magazine articles, 11 radio
interviews and
nine television news broadcasts, including one 30-minute
cable television
special.
Much
of the research began with telephone calls from former
rural school
students. I owe my deepest gratitude to those who cared
enough to
telephone and to the news media that saw the value of this
project.
Without those two groups -- as well as the assistance of
Bob Neuman
at the Greene County Archives -- this project would have
been an impossible
task.
Perhaps
Hank Billings described this project best with his
editorial in the
Feb. 14, 1998, edition of the Springfield News-Leader.
"Springfieldian
David Burton is to be commended for his research that lists
45 school
buildings still standing of the 124 that once made a
network of rural
schools in Greene County.
Local
historians should not let his work for the Greene County
Historic
Sites Board stop there. The directory is a golden
opportunity for
local historians to add flesh and blood to the bricks and
mortar by
recording recollections of those who attended those
schools.
"Some
of that is in the database," said Burton, "but it really
exceeds my
mission. We may have waited a generation too late."
Particularly frustrating
are the lack of records on schools for African-Americans.
Burton's
survey showed that none of those schools, including ones in
Cave Spring,
Ash Grove and Strafford are standing. Burton's directory shows so many schools that most children only had a mile or
two to
walk. "I didn't really set out to dispute stories of
walking five
miles to school," Burton said. "My own grandfather told me
he walked
two miles uphill to school -- both ways."
There
are stories like these that would enrich the memories of
the county's
schools -- whether gone, abandoned, converted to homes,
barns or community
buildings."
My
hope is that this project will educate the public about the
rich history
of Greene County, not just the unique rural school
buildings found
in this region. This structures, although constructed of
wood, mortar,
nails and brick, represent much more than just old walls,
floors,
ceilings, windows and roofs. The rural schools of Greene
County represent
a simple time and several great generations of school
children who
grew to adulthood -- excelled in war, science, politics,
family and
business -- and helped to form this great nation during the
20th century.
If
you know of additional information, I would urge you to
contact me by
e-mail at burtonfamily@cablemo.net
or burtond@missouri.edu.
