Save Pleasant Ridge school

 


In this unprecedented time, when a virus seems to be attacking the whole world, it is certainly a challenge to gather interest in an old building. This old building though, is no ordinary structure but a place indigenous to the history of our valley and its pioneers. I am referring to the Pleasant Ridge Schoolhouse which according to the April 22 Weekly News is scheduled to be razed.

Located on Pleasant Ridge on Valentine Road near the old cemetery on a ridge of land nestled between the fertile farm fields of Mount Vernon and La Conner, the schoolhouse has been standing since the 1890s. Time marches on; people are born and die but what never ceases to exist is the history of the people of a community and the places where this history took place.

This is our posterity and we are gifted with a legacy supported by the families who have lived here, toiled the land, built our little towns and have given us the foundation of what we have today. Places like schoolhouses, grange buildings, churches etc. that educated, supported and fostered those many generations are no less important than some of the landmarks in larger cities in the U.S. or anywhere else in the world. They represent where we came from and remind us of how we got where we are today.


This old schoolhouse was unavailable for restoration until about five years ago. At that the time the commissioners of the (Pleasant Ridge) Cemetery District bought the land and the building with the intention of saving it. Some meetings were held and a feasibility study was done indicating what a challenge it would be to save a building ravaged by time and the elements. The schoolhouse is unique in its rock foundation and quintessential old school building style. The blackboards were still intact at one time with erasers still in their place.


Skagit Valley residents have lamented the loss of so many beautiful historic barns and have struggled to preserve the rich farmlands. Most of the old neighborhood schoolhouses are long gone but we have the opportunity to save this one and the Skagit history it represents.

Please take a drive to Pleasant Ridge and see this wonderful old structure for yourselves and join with us in encouraging the commissioners in believing that where there is a will there is a way! If we pull together with united enthusiasm and belly up to the challenge we can save this precious piece of Skagit Valley history. Rules, regulations and, of course, cost will challenge this project at every turn but with enough interest we can do this!


Contact Roozen Mast at [email protected]

 

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