Dedication of the
OP A[INE SCHOOL
March 7, 1985
Boise State University
Boise, Idaho
OPALINE SCHOOL
On March 23, 1914, a petition was submitted to the State
Department of Education, asking that a school district be
assigned to the geographical area west of Givens Springs to be
known as Lower Enterprise District #30 (later changed to
Opaline School District #30). The petition was signed by Jesse
Patton, Adam Blackstock, Charles Young, Albert F. Clark,
William Rafferty, Mrs. S. Slabaugh, J. P. Moon, and F. M.
Myers. Thirteen students were enrolled in the eight grades that
fall with Dorothy Tindall as their first teacher.
The school was closed in the 1950s, and the building was
sold to the Opaline Water Board who used it for storage and
meetings. After being donated to Boise State University in
1984, it was moved to its present location. Except for the
addition of a cupula, the building is restored to its original
appearance.
THE EXCELLENCE BELL
The bell mounted in front of the school was donated by the
Nampa School District. It was taken from the Greenhurst
School, a tworoom rural school which is still being used by the
Nampa District. The school was built in 1916.
---DEDICATION CEREMONY ------.
Welcome
Remarks
Tour of the School
Richard Hart
Dean, College of Education
John H. Keiser
President, Boise State University
Jerry L. Evans
State Superintendent of
Public Instruction
Gene Larsen
Marsing Public Schools
Senator Phil Batt
State Legislature
District 13
A Word of Appreciation ...
The project of moving, renovating, and fumishin8 the Opa,
line School would have been impossible without the generous
assistance of many people. A special thank you goes to the
personnel of the Boise State University Physical Plant whose
support of the project was magnificent!
Each of those listed below contributed either funds, time,
labor, materials, or articles to be housed in the school. Thank
you!
Associated General Contractors
Hans Borbonus
John Burgess
BSU Construction Management
Association
C & J Enterprises
Champion Supply
Eldon Chandler
Lola Gamble Clyde
Dan Collins
Concrete Placing Company
Consolidated Concrete
Farwest Steel
Elsie Fitzpatrick
Gertrude French
Marvin Gabert
Gem Electric
Helen Godrich
David Holman
Huckstep House Movers
Jim Huntley
Idaho Air National Guard
Idaho Power Company
Gene Larsen
Tom MacGregor
Margaret Martin
Gene McGinnis
Mountain Bell
Mountain States Paint
Nampa Schol District
Opaline Water Board
A. N. Palmer Company
Duane Rot
Herbert Runner
Asa Ruyle
Chet Shawver
Tates Rents
Treasure Valley Concrete
United Cable TV
Mae Wilson
) I
BSU Adopts Historic School
An historic one-room schoolhouse is bringing together a
variety of campus and area groups in a cooperative effort
that befits the spirit of "old-time" education.
The schoolhouse, now located about 10 miles southeast
of Marsing, was donated to Boise State by the Opaline
Water Board. It was built in 1914 and used as a school until
1929. In recent years, it has served as the Water Board's
headquarters.
The donation fulfills BSU President John Keiser's request
for such a building, made a year ago in Focus. In that article,
he said the university's 50th anniversary celebration in 1982
"brought up a lot of the details of our past and a lot of spirit of
our past."
Richard Hart, dean of the College of Education, said the
Opaline schoolhouse "really is a historical tie between the
future and the past of Idaho education. We're concerned in
education today with the education of the whole person."
The one-room schoolhouse is a direct reminder of that
philosophy's roots, he said.
Marsing-area residents have begun the search for items
from the old school to help Boise State with the restoration.
Marsing Middle School teacher Gene Larsen, who was
instrumental in the ownership transference. said the picture
of George Washington that used to hang above the teacher's
desk, the first mechanical eraser cleaner, the school's
clock and the iron work from the old desks have been found.
BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY • 1910 UNIVERSITY DRIVE • BOISE, IDAHO 83725
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
OFFICE OF THE DEAN
You are invited by
Boise State University
to attend the dedication of
THE OPALINE SCHOOL
at 4:00 p.m., Thursday, March 7, 1985
This one-room schoolhouse was moved from its site on the
Snake River near Marsing last spring and will now become a
historic museum. It is now located just west of the tennis
courts on the Boise State campus.
After the brief ceremony on 1-1arch 7, the school w.i.ll be
opened fer public viewing. The ceremony will be held in front
of the schoolhouse or, in the event of inclement weather, in
the Special Events Center. Parking is available after 3:30 p.m.
in the lot between the Special Events Center and the Liberal Arts
Building.
Brief remarks will be made at the ceremony by Semitor Phil Batt,
State Superintendent Jerry Evans, BSU President John Keiser, and
Cene Larsen, a Mars.lng resident whose family was associated with tne
Opaline School from its origin.
Equal Opportunity/ Alflrmatlve Action Institution
school district was created in April of 1913 with classes posibly held in
a bunkhouse on the Predow-Pancoast ranch. The schoolhouse was built
in 1919, located approximately one mile east of the present community
church on the north side of Highway 78. It was a frame structure with
one classroom, an entry hall, and two coat rooms-one for boys and one
for girls. The school bell had been purchased in Ohio and there were also
a piano and a pump organ which was used for Sunday church services.
Included in the one-acre schoolyard were a baseball diamond, slide, coal
and wood storage sheds, and an outhouse.
The school remained in use until the late 1930s when the Indian Cove
children began attending the Hammett school. In 1953, the district was
allowed to officially consolidate with that district.
Opaline school, used from 19.14 to 1957.
Photo: Everett Clark
DISTRICT 30
On March 25, 1914, the heads of eight families presented a petition to
the County Commisioners for the establishment of District 30-0paline.
The children had been attending the Givens Springs school but it was
decided that the daily trip was too long. A one-room frame schoolhouse
was built along Squaw Creek about one-half mile from the Snake River
and 13 students enrolled for the first year with Dorothy Tindall as teacher.
For at least one year, students from Cozy Basin (Canyon County) crossed
the Snake River to attend the school. The building remained in use (with
a few remodeling changes and after consolidation with students from the
Givens Springs school in 1944) until 1957 when a larger cinder-block
building was constructed. After consolidation, the district was known as
·
Ovs-(v,Qe. Ovk po 1 M"'y l'?l{ I.)Jo. I
number 34. Ruby Hahn Givens, who taught at the new school, recalls
that the building had two large classrooms, two lavatories, a nurse's room,
a room for library and textbooks, a large auditorium, and a kitchen.
This school closed its doors in 1961 and today the children in the Opaline
area attend school in Marsing.
The old school building was moved several miles to the east to be used
as a meeting hall for the Opaline Irrigation District, but recently the
Board of the District voted to donate the building to Boise State University.
Under direction of the Department of Education, plans are being
made to move the structure to the BSU campus, restore it, and use it as
a living history site and education museum.
DISTRICT 31
The Grasy Hill district was created in 1915 in the northeast corner of
District 8, about two miles east of the Buck Flat Ranch. The schoolhouse
was a one-room frame building. As with the Three Creek district, the
school term often ran during the spring, summer, and fall months to take
advantage of the warmer weather. The district lapsed in 1926 and the
schoolhouse was later moved away.
DISTRICT 32
The history of District 32, South Mountain, is provided by Ulea Whitby
Gluch:
District 32 was organized in 1916 and the first schoolhouse was
a building that had been located on Rail Creek (a part of District 2).
It was moved to an area on South Mountain between the Morgans
and Mendietas. When the building burned down during the school
year of 1921-22, classes were held upstairs over the cellar af the
Mendieta ranch, where Walter and Grace Morgan live today. The
teacher at the time was Gladys Marcellus, Mildred MacKenzie's
sister. The Mendieta children had never attended school before,
so it was handy being at home.
There was a new structure built to replace the school, built in a
draw between Morgans and Mendietas. Mildred MacKenzie taught
at this school, which had an eight month term. She boarded with
the Joe MacKenzies, who were renting the Dunning ranch. It was
Mildred's first year of teaching and her means of getting to school
was by riding a horse, along with the two pupils with which she
lived. As they rode by the Morgans, Walter, a first grader, would join
the group, riding to school behind the teacher. Mildred's students
included the Mendietas, Morgans, and MacKenzies.
Bobby Edwards Wroten also taught at this school and she boarded
with Walter Morgan's mother. This would have been 1927 to 1929,
as she taught there after Mildred. The buildina was later movP.rl tn
I
Boise State University
Feb. 14, 1983
WANTED: ONE-ROOM SCHOOLHOUSE. CALL BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY
Boise State University has launched a search for a rural schoolhouse, complete
with bell, desks, primers and other memorabilia, to restore and locate on campus as
a reminder of the university's link with the past.
At a recent meeting, the BSU School of Education advisory board gave its
unanimous and enthusiastic support to the project suggested by Boise State President
John Keiser.
"The president a month ago suggested that he thought it would be a first-rate
idea for the university to try to locate a one-room, rural schoolhouse that we could
move onto the campus and restore, to have it representative of the kind of situation
that many. many. many of us have been involved in," said Dr. Richard Hart, School
of Education dean and the product of a rural schoolhouse.
The idea of bringing a bit of educational history to the campus came to Keiser
as he reflected on the university's yearlong 50th anniversary celebration last year.
"I think that the whole spirit of the 50th anniversary was kind of a motivating
thing for me,
" Keiser said. "We brought up a lot of the details of our past and a
lot of the spirit of our past."
One symbol of the university's beginnings is Christ Chapel, a small wooden church
near Bronco Stadium. The chapel originally was old St. Michael's Episcopal Church,
the first Protestant church built in Boise.
Considered the "grandfather" of BSU. the chapel was used as a private elementary
school from 1867 to 1892 when students began attending St. Margaret's Hall, the
forerunner of Boise Junior College. It was restored and moved to BSU in 1963.
"That sort of ties us to an important period in our history," Keiser said. "As
(more}
Office of News Services I 1910 University Drive I Boise, Idaho 83725 I (208) 385-1577
. . -- �---
Boise State University June 14. 1984
HISTORIC SCHOOLHOUSE AND "OLD-TIME" EDUCATION
An historic one-room schoolhouse is bringing together both Boise State
University, Boise, Idaho, and area groups in a cooperative effort that befits
the spirit of "old-time" education.
The schoolhouse;ntil recently located about 10 miles southeast of
Marsing. Idaho, was donated to Boise State by the Opaline Water Board. It was
built in 1914 and used as a school for,.many years. It has recently served
as the water board's headquarters.
The donation fulfills BSU President John Keiser's request for such a
building, made a year ago in the BSU alumni newsmagazine. In that 3rticle, he
said the university's 50th anniversary celebration in 1982 "brought up a lot of
the details of our past and a lot of the spirit of our past."
Richard Hart, dean of the BSU College of Education, said the Opaline schoolhouse
"really is a historical tie between the future and the past of Idaho education.
We're concerned in education today with the education of the whole person." The
one-room schoolhouse is a direct reminder of that philosophy's roots, he said.
In keeping with that philosophy, Boise State's student chapter of the
Construct1 on Management Association and the Idaho Board of Associated General
Contractors have coordinated efforts to have the building moved to campus. and
plans call for the building to be renovated and used as an education museum and
for occasional classes.
Marsing Schools Superintendent Duane Root first made Larsen aware of
-more-
Office of News Services I 1910 University Drive I Boise, Idaho 83725 I (208) 385-1577
••
HISTORIC SCHOOlHOUSE--2
J Boise State•s request, and larsen said he imediately thought of the Opaline
building, where his father, aunts and uncles attended school. It was larsen•s
grandfather who originally petitioned the State Department of Education for the
Opaline school district to be formed.
larsen said <Myhee County residents also have begun to collect funds to
help refurbish the building and to help the Opaline Water Board replace the
building. 11It will take a county-wide effort. In fact, we•11 make it a
state-wide effort, asking kids in schools across the state .. to donate what they
can to the historical project.
From discussions ·lith family and friends, Larsen has compiled a few details
of the school•s early years. It was heated by an old pot belly stove, and
during the Depression, when coal was too expensive, sagebrush alone heated the
building. More fortunate students brought large potatoes for lunch, placing
them in the ash box under the stove, where the potatoes would bake to perfection
by lunch time. The well-to-do students even brought a chunk of butter.
Marsing-area residents have begun the search for items from the old school
to help Boise State with the restoration. Marsing Middle School teacher
Gene Larsen, who was instrumental in the ownership transference, said the picture
of George Washington that used to hang above the teacher•s desk, the first
mechanical eraser cleaner, the school•s clock and the iron work from the old desks
have been found. Some of the original desks, although in need of repair, are
available as well. Larsen said the wedding dress of the first bride married in
the school also will be donated.
-30-
••
"'
schoolhouse-2
far as another element is concerned--public education--you couldn't go back any
further than v1hat a one-room schoolhouse stands for."
Providing a glimpse of education's pioneer days follows the same spirit and
tradition as ensuring that the university's carillon continues to ring, that the
recently restored calliope continues to be played and that weddings continue to
take place in Christ Chapel, Keiser said.
"I think it could be a place where over the years folks from the urban area
could just kind of go through and be reminded of the way things were,'' he said.
The project will be funded through donations of money and educational
memorabilia, Hart said. First, though, a schoolhouse must be found.
"If we could locate one that was just closed, so that it still had all of the
desks, the books that were being used right up to the very last day, the chalkboard
and the Palmer method of penmanship (a way of teaching writing), that would be the
ideal," Hart said. But, he added, "I'm sure willing to settle for a lot less."
The location of the proposed schoolhouse-museum has not yet been determined,
although two possibe sites have been mentioned. One is behind the seven-story
·'
BSU Education Bu ri\1ing, near the Boise River, and the other is near Subal Theatre,
where BSU plan to locate a Western studies center.
For more information on the project, call the BSU School of Education, telephone,
385-1134-.
#
. >, 'f - r -n=' I I c
Opaline scool dedicated
at new location on as·u campus
' .
.y DAN GALLAGHER
Two thinp that tdJCation givea
cbll4Na .-e rootl and winp, aid
Richard Hart, Dean of the Bolle
State Univenlty CoU,se of
Education. A larse sroup of
edueaton and Owyhee County people
met Tburaday to remember their
I'OOU at the dedication of the Opaline
School on the BSU campua.
· Attendlnc the ceremoniea were
Jobn Ketler, BSU pruldent; Jerry
Evan•, auperintendent for Idaho
PubUc Education; Gene Lanen, fifth
srade teacher at Marfing; and Sen.
Phil Bat from Wilder.
On March IS, 191C, the Lower
Enterpriae Schol Diltrict No. 30 waa
formed in the area weat of Givena
Hot Sprinp, the petition aigned by
Jeaae Patton, Adam Blackstock,
, Charlea Youn1, Albert F. Clark,
'wwtam Rafferty, Mra. s. Slabaush.
J. P. Mon, and F. M. Myers. The
dlatrict wu later named "Opaline,"
with the initial spelling being
"Qpalen"
The
'
one-room schoolhouse
the school, the BSU Construction Tindall caiJi}rt a student half in an
Manatemtnt Aaaociation for out a window and paddled him whil
eatabUahini tht project, and others. he hUJli there, forCing him to to bac
He aald tbt one-room achool to clpa. Potatoea were coked for
symbolized education for him, u his lunch in the uhbox of the stove.
mother had taUjbt in one for 30
years. Jerry Evua said be was often BiJ events in the achol year were
called to speak about a schol that apelllng bees, the M,y Day party, or
was juat openinj, but thil wu a cue the yearly viait of the county
of honoring one which had already superintendent, the most important
served the people. • man in the atudenta' eyea. SbootinJ
Laraen summed up the Opaline marbles sra!lually gave way to
School in a piece called, "Out of My walkin1 around and around the
Dor," to be displayed in the schol. achool with your sweetheart.
Out of the eight cltuea taught there, Toura of the achoolhouse wUl be
simultaneously, came future available by contacting Boise Sta.
faners, teachen, buaineaamen, and The Opaline School will remain as a
legislators. The room waa a reminder to the faculty and students
whirlwind of activity. Once, Dorothy of the real rots of education.
. remained open for yeara until the
11601, when It wu JOld to the Opaline
Water Board and uaed aa a atoraae or
meetinJ area. Prealdent Keiser, ·
Larsen, and a number of residenta
felt the buildins would make an
impreuion on the BSU campWJ, so
the Opaline School was transported
laat year to ita present location near
the Special Eventa Center.
The school remains in the same
condition as when it served the
hundreda of Maraing area students
who attended over the years. The
metal and wood deaks with the
folding topa are there, maps of the
world, cramar lesson on the
blackboard, and flowers on the
teacher's desk. Honored at the
ceremony wu the first teacher at
Oapline, Dorothy Tindall Cahalan;
Mildred McClure, and Clara Stoehr,
all in attendance.
Added to the school was an
attractive cupola for the roof and the
"Excellence Bell," taken from the
Greenhurst School, a two-room
rural school still being used in the
Nam_pa School District. Hart said
BSU is arranging to add a pot-bellied
stove as well aa an old clock to place
at the back of the room. "In a place
where the kids couldn't aee it, but the
teacher could," he said.
Keiaer thanked everyone involved,
includint Huckstep Houae Movers,
Idaho Power for movin lines around
------------------------ -- - -
PR ·: CLI ! ?CE
s.mt,t.ng
[Q,I;i•A1•ll Ma•,.,-uw
owYHEE CHRONICLE
Homedale, IdahO
2.-'1 1<:!5
t B d!J_to dedicate
, o d Opaline school 't
Boise State University will open a
door to the past on Thursday, March 7
when it forJJlJllY dedicate the oneroom
Opaline schoolhouse as an
historic educational museum.
The schoolhouse, donated to the
uuiversity last spring, has been
refurbished and is filled with
educational items of bygone days.
Inside are an antique teacher's desk,
student desks, a map case with maps,
old books, a teacher's bell, even
eighth grade examination papers
from 1934 Opaline students. Most the
the items came from the Marsing
area, where the school was located.
Speakers at the 4 p.m. dedication
ceremony will be BSU President John
Keiser, State Superintendent of
Public Instruction Jerry Evans, State
Sen. Phil Batt and Gene Larsen, a
teacher in the Marsing schools and
instrumental in bringing the
schoolhouse to BSU. After the brief
,..nrt"..,... .,..; ., . th<> .,,.hnnl ),..,.,.t.,ri hph;nn
-------· ----
the Special Events Center, just west
of the tennis courts, will be open for
tours. After March 7, tours for school
or other groups can be arranged
through the Dean of the College of
Education by calling 385-1134.
College of Education Dean Richard
Hart said although the bulldina has
been refurbishe d - thanks to the
efforts of the Associated General
Contractors and its BSU student
t chapter, the Air National Guard
and the BSU Physical Plant - it is
"pretty much the way it was,
including the woodpecker holes."
Also at the ceremony, the
"Excellence Bell" will be dedicated.
H
·
art said the bell came from the
Greenhurst School in Nampa. Its
purpose is to encourage students who
have done "something academically
excellent that day" to ring the bell in
recognition of their achievement.
The public is invited to attend.
•
. -- -·--
.,..Looking back .,.£¥"¥''JIKIY' •
One-room schoolhouse from 1914
stirs memories for ex-teacher·, 90
By MICHAEl. ZUZEL
The Idaho Statesman
· It was 1914. Twenty-year-old
Dorothy Tindall was hired as
teacher for the newly completed
Opaline school, 10 miles southwest
of Marsing.
The 13 students who attended
the one-room school that first
year studied reading, writing and
arithmetic under oil lamps. A
wood-burning stove provided heat
during the chilly southwest Idaho
winter.
On Wednesday, a reunion of
sorts occurred on the Boise State
University campus, where the
rustic school now sits awaiting
restoration. Dorothy Tindall -
now Dorothy Cahalan - walked
through the school's front dor for
the first time In nearly 7C year.s.
"Isn't that marvelous- it loks
so strange among all these wonderful
buildings," the 0-year-old
Boise resident exclaimed on see-
-·---
ing the weather-worn schol at
BSU.
Cahalan, her six sisters a·nd her
two brothers grew up on a cattle
ranch near Bruneau. Their grandparents,
William J. and Paulina
Tindall, had come from the East
Coast to settle in Idaho in 185.
Cahalan described that time as
"real horse-and-buggy days." She
and her siblings worked hard on
the ranch, and twice a year the
family would go to Mountain
Home for groceries - a 75-mile
round trip that took nine days.
In those days, a· woman who
wanted a career was given few
choices, Cahalan said.
"It seemed like the only thing
that a girl could do was teach
school,".she said. "I don't know of
any other occupation that was
available."
After receiving her teaching
certificate, Cahalan applied for
(See TEACHER, Page 15A)
&C.te•m•n photo by
Dorothy Cahalan shows her seldom-used disciplinary' look during visit to historic schoolhouse
TeaCher---:---:-=--=-- - \
:
· l
I.
(Continued from Page lA)
and accepted a job in the newly
formed Opaline school district.
She recalls few specifics about
that year, except that "there
must have been a picture of
George Washington on the wall,"
and that the students "were god.
kids. I liked them very much."
In addition to the three Rs, Cahalan
said she taught her students
history, geography and physiology.
"The only entertainment we
had in those days was the kind we
made ourselves, like schol programs
and dances," she said.
At the end of the schol year,
Cahalan moved on, working at
Three Creek and Oreana schools
before giving up teaching altogether.
A few years later, she
took a stenography course,
passed her civil service examiniation
and was hired by the U.S.
Forest Service, where she worked
for 19 years before retiring.
Cahalan said she still holds fond
memories of the little schol
where she first taught.
"I was glad to see it. I didn't
even know It. was still standing,"
she said. "This Is my history.·'
/
J - ,,¢
:1
I i
,I
#.
. "
l
, ,
·t -i i
Sla.._n photo by Milan Chudcovldl
Workmen back the old Marsing schoolhouse into position for unloading at its new home on the BSU campus .
1-room schoolhouse tran§ti'p. antd'fo scu,,, 1\
. .... ·..• . • ·
. . . . •. . . ·---:•:'."< · . .'·.':."" ; .•• ;,.,.,.,_, • ., .. :,., •. ;.;,·.:· y '·'·, .... ·- >:..:: ."/1 ... _ .• ,.:;�w.-.,:.. ... A small, '-)1:·. . weatheerd, 7-0yar-olu school· domited... f rom several campus and commu· school to help BSU with the project. Several 7
house found a new home Thursday amid the nity groups. items, Including the school's clock, a picture · ·
large, modem buildings· on the Boise State T 1 f h . . . ed
of George Washingtn and several original
University catr�pus. ota cst 0 t e proJect .ts sttmat at desks, already have been found .
. The one-room Opaline schoo lhouse was o.oo_. satd Dave Holan, assastant execu- The schoolhouse's six-hour journey from
'moved from its original location, 10 miles ttve dtrecto of ted. General Con- Marsing to Boise on a semi-trailer went southwest of Marsing, to a newly laid tactors, whtch is assastmg m the restora- smoothly, due in part to the sound cotruc-foundation
just south of the BSU Special tiOn. tion of the old building, Holman said. ·
Events Center. "There's a lot of work to be done," Hoi- The schol was built in 1914 and used until
University officials plan to. convert the man said. "I'd say the outside will be lok- the 1950s to teach children in grades one
historic structue into an ucaio mu - ing p retty good by this fall." through eight. In recent years, the schol
seum. Restorataon ts to begm wtthm the Marsing residents have be gun a search has been the hedquarters of the paline
next month. usmg labor and matenals for f urnishings and equipment from the Water Board, whtch donated the bulldmg.
_____.. . . --
