The latest addition to the Gahanna-Jefferson School District isnt an elementary, middle, or high school building its a one-room

m schoolhouse. Located between the Lincoln High School Stadium and Lincoln Elementary, near the Havens Corner and Hamilton Road intersection, the Gahanna-Jefferson #2 Schoolhouse has been a locallyfunded, ongoing project for the past 20 months. Tom Gregory, WGLH-TV advisor and Speech teacher at Gahanna Lincoln High School, has always been a Gahanna-education enthusiast. After stumbling upon the schoolhouse in its original location, across the street from the current Gahanna YMCA, Gregory decided that the building and its history were worth preserving. He prevented the city from demolishing the dilapidated brick facility, now used as a run-down storage garage, and organized a group of other community members to restore the schoolhouse to its original glory. After collecting tens of thousands of dollars in donations, Gregory and his team of educational cohorts managed to fund the restoration of the Gahanna Jefferson #2 Schoolhouse. Salvaging the bricks and the rooftop slate from the original structure werent the only tasks on Gregorys seemingly-endless agenda. This longtime Gahanna resident envisioned the schoolhouse as a living museum for students, resi-

dents, and any other Gahanna denizens who have an interest in local history. The whole idea of the schoolhouse project was not just to restore it so it sat there, but to really make it a hands-on experience for kids, because we want kids to appreciate their local history, Gregory said. After many months of toiling, tinkering, and tirelessly coordinating logistics, the Gahanna Jefferson #2 Schoolhouse is fully furnished, with several educational tours already under its belt. Items of display include phonographs, McGuffey readers, slates, vintage Ohio and United States maps, and even a wood-burning furnace, though the furnace is reserved as a decoration for obvious healthsafety precautions. The schoolhouse committee, a group of educational activists in the community, is primarily scheduling the tours for the third graders in the Gahanna Jefferson School District. The curriculum of the schoolhouse visitation coincides with the third graders learning basic mathematical computations, as well as cursive writing. A group of Gahanna senior citizens even participated in the Gahanna Schoolhouse tour program, traveling back in time to childhood

By Bethany Bella

memories of relatives who attended school in similar one-room facilities. The Gahanna Jefferson #2 Schoolhouse is a unique treasure trove of antiques that proudly displays remnants of Gahannas educational history, all the way back to the mid-1800s. The revolutionary vision behind this living museum is one that is fundamental to Gregory and his comrades, if not vital to the community, as well. So often you learn about history, and you learn about it in textbooks and pictures, and we want kids to see that history is all around them, Gregory added. Hopefully, too, it makes them appreciate their history and understand the importance of preserving history. With all the changes, with technology, changes are happening so quickly. Its so easy to get caught up in the things of the future that if we arent careful, well lose our history.