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Cuba Heritage

By Barbara Benson

 

MOSQUITO ABATEMENT

In the last newsletter I recounted some of the early history of the Porter one room schoolhouse which had been located on the east side of Buckley Road.   And now, here is “the rest of the story” told in part through the reminiscences of the late William Klingenberg, Jr. and recounted in the book “Tales of Old Barrington” by Cynthia Baker Sharp:

 

“When I was six years old, (1910) it was time for me to start school, and I went to the Porter School which was located on what is now Buckley Road.  It was the only building on this sod road and located on the east side in an oak woods about halfway between Cuba and Oak Knoll Roads.   There would only rarely be a buggy or wagon pass this school during a day.  The schoolteacher was Annabel Welch, and the class consisted of about thirteen children and covered eight grades.  The desks were designed to accommodate two persons.  It was good to be able to sit close, especially on cold days.

A dug well with a hand pump was located south of the schoolhouse.  The older boys would pump a pail of water and bring it in for drinking.  It had a dipper with a long handle on it, and everybody drank out of it except the teacher, who had a folding-cup.  The dipper was never washed except at the start of the school year.  The pail of water  had to be emptied every day after school during the winter, or it would be frozen the next day.  All the pupils, regardless of age, would play together at noon or recess.  The schoolhouse floor was scrubbed once a year at the start of the school year.  Thereafter, every Friday noon the teacher, with the help of the students, would sweep the floor and clean the blackboards”.             

And what became of the Porter School?  In the mid-1940s, when consolidation began, it was sold to Ruth Mead a well-known artist, and moved to her property on Ridge Road, to always be known as “the schoolhouse” but to be used as an extra storage place for the household.   When a devastating tornado came northeast through Barrington in 1967, the Mead house and the Porter School were virtually destroyed.    Just some clay pots were left along the school’s north wall.   A photograph exists of the school in its original location.  It was published in “Tales of Old Barrington” in 1976.   As most of its pupils pass away, the Porter School exists only in the history books.

 

I hope, that if Cuba Township is successful in moving the Flint Creek Schoolhouse onto its property, that the histories of all the Cuba Township one-room country schoolhouses can be preserved there.

 

In an effort to mitigate the health risks related to West Nile

Virus and to decrease the “nuisance factor” associated with mosquitoes, Cuba Township is pleased to continue our long-standing relationship with Clarke Mosquito Control. Clarke provides larviciding for the Township.  Larviciding kills the mosquito eggs before they hatch.  Additionally, sites are checked throughout the mosquito season for breeding.  Helicopter applications are also performed periodically.

 

For more information on the Township’s mosquito abatement program or to report possible breeding sites, please contact Clarke Mosquito Control at 800-942-2555.