Blue Mountain School is an historic school house located at Blue Mountain Road, about 8.7 miles southeast of Port Angeles, Washington. It has been moved shortly east of its original location in the early 20th century. The school operated from 1903 to the date of its closure in 1935 as the only educational facility in the Blue Mountain district.
I was born in Russia on October 5th. Ironically, this is the day Eastern Europe celebrates Teacher's Day. Early in my studies to become an educator, I imagined being a teacher in some small, remote village. In reality, I have always taught in very large cities schools. I am still drawn to the romantic ideal of the one-room schoolhouse where everybody knows everybody and teaching is more than a job, it's a lifestyle.
A Call to Class
Schools in the 1900's often consisted of a one-room building, where students of different ages were simultaneously taught creating the term, "one-room schoolhouse." Long before the advent of bussing, small rural schools piliforated the countryside. These schools were strategically placed in areas where surrounding families worked and lived. At a distance of 5 or 6 miles, many of the students would walk to school, rain or shine. Teachers would walk to school, as well. Sometimes, they lived alone, but more often they boarded with families or actually live on the premises, when accomodations were available.
Recess for the Students, Respite for the Teacher.
the End of a Long Day
Being a teacher was not an easy job. As a rule, female teachers were unmarried because marriage was considered to be a full-time duty, and so, when a female teacher married, she had no choice but to give up teaching. Any teacher who smoked, drank alcohol, or even visited the hairdresser to often, could have her reliability doubted. Among the things that were not recommended: travel outside the city without permission from the chairmen of the school board, dying one's hair, dressing in bright colors, or riding in a car with a man (unless he was teacher's father or brother).
Tools and Rewards
Regardless of the difficulties, teachers were dedicated to their vocation, and to the students who they hoped to enrich and enlighten.
Fading into the Past
In my many hours spent photographing, drawing and painting buildings like this one-room schoolhouse on Blue Mountain, I have been filled with the spirits of both the teachers and the students whose lives were forever connected to this simple frame structure.