Thursday, July 10, 2008
Digging the Scene at the Byrd School Site
Last night, my son and I joined local historican Glen Spieth at the site of the old Byrd School. Glen has been digging away at the site for years; at this link, you can read a bit of his story and the story of Byrd School as described by Steve Dunkelberger in the Lakewood history book.
The reason Glen is digging now, with the kind permission of the landowner, is that housing is planned for the site. It's a lovely area, and I know lots of folks are going to just hate it when construction begins. But private property is private property. It's a bit extra sad that the original site of the Byrd School will be covered; but then again, it did burn pretty well in 1885. The pieces of metal Glen has found, mostly the size of a couple fingers, are pretty fused and charred. The destruction was pretty complete.
But on the other hand, there are reminders of the past that will someday be housed in the Lakewood museum. Glen has found lantern sconces, the metal feet where desks were anchored to the floor and and a crushed oil lantern. Last night, Glen was pleased to find one piece of a door hinge. Something I find both odd and cool is that Patrick and I found what could have been the other plate of the hinge in another and separate hole five feet away. We can't be sure they were part of the same hinge, but it was exciting to watch as Glen matched the two pieces together for what could have been the first time since 1885.
Glen is, by the way, glad to have a little help in his digging. Look up the number for Museum Antiques and give him a call, if you are interested.
