LEARNING THE OLD SCHOOL WAY — Connie Crawford, a former Edison Local school teacher, dressed in the black and white physical education bloomers she wears when volunteering at the Pleasant Hill School House Historical Museum. Crawford, along with former teacher Avis Henry, left, showed second-grade pupils from John Gregg Elementary School a sample of what life was like when attending school during the 1800s. The Edison Local children visited the museum as part of an end-of-the-year field trip taken annually. Half of the pupils visited the museum, while the other half went on a tour of Historic Fort Steuben. During the afternoon, the classes switched landmarks, receiving special, one-of-a-kind history lessons of what the Ohio Valley was like centuries ago. -- Julie Stenger

STEUBENVILLE — How many times have you wished you could turn back the clock?

Well, for second-grade pupils at John Gregg Elementary School, those clock hands wound back approximately 200 years, taking them to another time, another era.

It took them to a place where almost nothing was the same as it is today.

In 2025, students more-than-likely wake up to the sound of the alarm set on their cell phone.

They then shower, decide which outfit to wear, grab an energy drink or an iced coffee and head out the door to the bus stop — that is, if they don’t drive their own vehicle to school.

ARITHMETIC THE OLD FASHIONED WAY — Pupils from John Gregg Elementary School solved arithmetic problems using a slate and chalk during their field trip to the Pleasant Hill School House Historical Museum toward the end of the school year. Posing the questions to them were former teachers Connie Crawford, Joyce Zimmerman and Avis Henry. -- Contributed

They will spend the day inside a heated or air-conditioned building that contains extra, unused rooms and be taught by a different educator for every class they take.

They will learn on laptops, whiteboards and perhaps even through Zoom lessons.

They will participate in athletics and extra-curricular activities before making plans to hang out with their friends and get on social media sites.

And at the end of the day, many will complain and tell you just how hard they have it.

Little do they realize exactly what the term “hard” truly means.

AN 1800s READING LESSON — John Gregg Elementary School pupils visited the Pleasant Hill Schoolhouse Historical Museum toward the end of the 2024-25 school year. The children learned from former Edison teachers Connie Crawford, Joyce Zimmerman and Avis Henry, what it was like to read and do arithmetic during the 1800s and early 1900s. -- Julie Stenger

Just ask a student who lived during the mid-1800s or the early 1900s.

The ones who were woken up by their parents so they could begin their day by working the farm, as this was the way of life for most families.

Work always took precedence over schooling. And there wasn’t a hot shower waiting for them when they had finished.

No, a morning of labor began their day.

Once the morning chores were finished, the children would have to walk miles to a one-room structure that had no air conditioning or no built-in heater.

DONATED ART — Retired Edison Local teacher Connie Crawford displayed a painting that was given to the Pleasant Hill School House Historical Museum where she volunteers, by Ellen Swickard, who found the picture and believed it would make a nice addition to the building. -- Julie Stenger

It was the responsibility of the students to light the pot-bellied stove with the armful of logs they had carried from home.

Their entire day was spent in that classroom with all of the other children in town.

Every grade was taught simultaneously in that single room, by a teacher not much older than they were, usually around the age of 14.

And those who misbehaved?

They were punished with a paddle or switch.

They might even be told to sit on a stool and wear a cap with the letter “D” on it, that stood for “dunce,” which translates to “idiot.”

Some would be made to hold a heavy book for more than an hour as a form of letting that child know not to misbehave. And it usually worked.

Yes, the lifestyle of today’s students far differs from those who lived more than 150 years ago.

And those second-graders from John Gregg?

They were able to see firsthand a little of what life was like through a special, end-of-the-year field trip.

The pupils went back in time … back to the mid-1800s, back to the Pleasant Hill School House Historical Museum located on state Route 213 in Steubenville.

It was one of their final lessons for the 2024-25 school year, an annual trip made by the school to help children learn a little of the Ohio Valley’s history.

Because sometimes, rather than simply tell an 8- or 9-year-old child what life was like, it is better to show them.

Tiffani Roush’s class was among the first group of students to visit the schoolhouse.

Roush, along with intervention specialist, Shaylynn McCarthy, spent the morning with the museum students, while the remaining second-graders attended a field trip to Historic Fort Steuben.

The groups would later trade locations in order to accommodate the number of children.

But it wasn’t only the children who were excited for the field trip.

Museum volunteers Connie Crawford, Avis Henry and Joyce Zimmerman were excited as well.

Zimmerman noted this was the first class to take a tour of the school this year.

According to the women, Edison used to bring students to the museum for field trips every year, along with other school districts and interested community groups.

However, COVID put a halt on school field trips.

This was the fist time Edison has returned to the museum since the pandemic hit, the volunteers explained.

The children were separated into two groups, reading and arithmetic.

Henry and Zimmerman joined Crawford in showing the second-graders some of the books that were used by students in the early 1900s.

McGuffy Readers from 1908 were shown to the students, with Henry showing them the copyright date and explaining exactly how old these books are.

She informed the group how children did not have their own textbooks and usually had to borrow their parents’ old books in order to learn.

Because of this, no one had matching copies of a book, which made learning more difficult.

The original charts used to educate pupils in reading and English can be found in the museum.

These charts were restored thanks to Crawford, who made a trip to Cleveland to have them soaked in brine.

The company, however, wanted $5,000 to restore the charts. So, Crawford opted to have them restored locally at a lesser price.

Crawford explained the charts have to be kept at a certain temperature, and because of this, an air conditioning unit and furnace had to be installed in the school house.

The furnace was donated by Trey Hendricks, son of retired teacher and museum volunteer Debbie Hendricks.

The children were taught there was no electricity in the school, and therefore, large windows were used to let in enough light.

Those who were in the arithmetic group learned how paper was expensive and students had to use slabs of slate and slate pencils made of clay.

Paper was only used during penmanship lessons, which entailed using a quill dipped in ink to practice their cursive writing.

The Edison pupils were given slates and a piece of chalk, then asked arithmetic questions pertaining to what kind of candy they thought children could buy in stores during those days.

While their guesses were incorrect, Zimmerman helped them by asking, “If you had 25 cents and wanted to buy four jawbreakers that were two for a penny, how much money would you have left?” The children used their slates to do the figuring.

She noted students had to use their fingers as calculators during those days, as calculators did not yet exist.

She showed the class an abacus, which was used as a visual aid for adding and subtracting.

Zimmerman explained arithmetic, which was never called math, was important because everyone in those days farmed and had gardens. They would sell those items at the country store and it was important to know how to add or subtract.

While she stood at the front of the room waiting for their answer, one of the children asked how she had gotten to the museum?

He believed she had come from the mid-1800s based on the attire she wore to emulate how one would dress during that era.

It would seem the women were doing a pretty good job at showing today’s youth what life was like before electricity, before automobiles, before computers.

The children took notice of the blackboard at the front of the classroom.

They saw how the alphabet is written in cursive letters because children did not print back then.

They looked at the words to “God Bless America” which was sung every morning upon their arrival.

Flags containing 13, 48 and 50 stars sit atop the blackboard, which contains the words to the Pledge of Allegiance, which were recited daily.

Photos of former presidents Lincoln and Washington can be found at the front of the room, as well, along with a paddle that hangs by the entrance.

The paddles serves as a reminder of the punishment some local children used to have to endure when they got out of line.

Those on the tour had the opportunity to ring the original bell that is housed in the bell tower.

Crawford explained how the bell was rung each morning and could be heard for more than a mile, letting students throughout the town know it was time to come to school.

Roush said of her students’ visit to the museum, “This is a very nice field trip. It is very educational and teaches them the history of our country and what happened in our community in the past.”

Ella Prokopakis, 8, stated her favorite part of the museum visit was playing outside until the bell rings to tell you to come back in.

“I really would like to see a kid get whacked,” she added, noting the paddle on the wall.

She said she liked the reading portion, too, noting she loves to read.

“I like to read about Jesus and God,” Prokopakis continued. “I like to read about Samuel and King Saul. I just love them all. I’m like a history girl.”

Her classmate, 8-year-old Tyler Cronin, said reading was also his favorite part of the day.

Cronin exclaimed he likes the fact there is only one classroom and if he had the choice, he would rather go to school in a building such as the school house than in a building with many rooms.

While children are still utilizing the school for one purpose or another, time has certainly taken its toll on the building after all these years.

The structure still houses the original bell, which was given to the museum by Clarence Virture, an Edison principal who had taken possession of it and placed it in his barn, as he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.

Once Virtue learned the old school house was being restored in 2008, he approached Crawford and asked if she would like it.

Of course she wanted the bell.

The bell was refurbished and placed in the reconstructed bell tower, thanks to Fred Mehling, Crawford stated.

She explained the museum is run entirely on donations from its board members, along with area residents.

It is also run on the money raised through annual fundraisers and events put on by the museum’s board. Still, it is an uphill battle, as many of these events aren’t popularly attended.

“It literally took a community to make the project what it has become today,” Crawford commented. “With the help of donations, luck and many blessings, it was possible to maintain much of the room’s original features.”

Officials are still trying to keep the historic structure operating and are once again seeking the community’s help.

According to the board’s vice president, Dave Nicholson, Josh Vein, a contractor from Toronto, has been hired to perform some of the work to the school. Vein will be donating some of his time toward the project, which is expected to cost several thousand dollars.

And in July, the Belmont College Restoration Program is expected to make storm windows for the overly-large single pane windows in the structure, Nicholson said.

He noted Belmont Tech previously helped the Pleasant Hill building several years ago.

“We do need some funds to pay for the materials for the storm windows and the repair work,” Nicholson added.

He explained the windows need to be repaired because of electricity costs.

When the building is kept at 55 degrees, the bill is at least $300 per month, he stated.

Additional work will include mortar joint and brick repair, painting, fixing 20 original ceiling tiles, flashing work to the chimney, installing vents and placing an exhaust fan on the back of the building.

“It needs some loving care you might say,” Nicholson concluded.

Anyone who would like to donate to the museum can do so by contacting board President Ryan Finney at (740) 381-0592.