The old school bell rings again
By Sue Jordan 

On Sunday, August 18, roll call was again heard at the District #4 School (now known as the Brick School House) in Ontario Center, NY. The school is part of the recreated Heritage Square. The village is located on the corner of Ontario Center Road and the Brick Church Rd. The complex includes several original buildings from the area, plus the Brick Church itself and a heritage farm.

All alumni of the school and it's teachers were welcome to a reception sponsored by the Town of Ontario Historical Society. The school house was originally built in 1869 to replace the earlier stone school house that served the area. The front vestibule was added in 1905. The school saw it's last students pass through it's doors in 1949 when the Ontario school districts centralized.

As old classmates gathered, W.L. Palmer, now of Williamson, and Lois Palmer Cass, of Ontario (pictured) walked along the outside of the building to find Mr. Palmer's initials still in the brick where he had carved them over 85 years ago. Mrs. Cass was a student at the school and then later returned to teach there before going on to teach at what is now Wayne Central School.

Society President JoAnne Meaker kept a tape recorder going to capture all the conversations of the memories shared. Quite of few of these were tales of mischief that students always seem to get into, including one troublesome student who climbed out a window after causing quite a ruckus. A short time later, the students looked out to see that same boy returning barefoot to school with his grandfather behind him. There was never any trouble with him after that and he became a well-known business owner of the Ontario community.

Discussion of where they sat when they attended, who their teachers and classmates were, how far they walked to get the drinking bucket filled with water prior to the well that was dug in 1930, and what they learned, all added to a wonderful day. Each alumni was handed a sheet to write down the years they attended, who their teachers were and some of their most precious memories. These will eventually be placed into a booklet on the history of the school.

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