The Schoolhouse, Super Moon, and The Snake

An abandoned schoolhouse? With a Super Moon? YES PLEASE! It’s the snake I could have done without. And if you read my last blog post, I swear it was the infamous Kansas King Cobra. More on that later.

This beautiful Kansas schoolhouse was built in 1869 to 1870. It’s remarkable how well it’s held up for the past 146 years. What makes it unique is the fact that the walls were built from locally sourced limestone that’s nearly 2 feet thick. Between 1910 and 1920, stucco was added to protect the mortar. During that time, a front vestibule was added where the kids would hang up their coats. You can still see a couple of coat hooks, including a built-in bench to sit.

After much research, I was able to contact the owner for permission to photograph this beautiful schoolhouse. And he forwarded much of the history to me, which I love. It’s the kind of history you can’t find on Google. In a 1978 Case of Preservation report that he wrote, records showed that in 1898, the school had 26 kids, and expenditures that year were $224.21. Which $175 of it was for the teacher’s salary. Yep… $175 A YEAR! Between 1930 and 1940, enrollment had declined with only 4 students left by 1946. Three years later, the district disbanded.

I stayed in a motel about 7 miles away from the schoolhouse so I could capture the sunset that night and sunrise the next morning. Little did I know that at the crack ass of dawn, there was a Super Moon called the Worm Moon setting in the West. I usually have these things pretty well planned out. But it was a nice surprise. The other surprise I could have done without. The Kansas King Cobra. Well… in my mind, it might as well have been. If there is such a thing. Not knowing he was there yet, I set up my tripod, crouched down, and waited for my camera to take the long exposure of the chalkboard and corner cabinet. During that time, I glance to my right and there he was. I froze. All I could hear was my heartbeat, and the click of the camera. We both looked at the window, then back at each other. I knew it was the only way out. And if I didn’t get to the window first, he would have had me for breakfast. So without hesitation, I took a Superman leap out the window, and into a perfect somersault onto the ground. Alright, alright… perhaps I stretched the truth a bit in the last couple of sentences. But all I know is that it was a big ass snake and I didn’t need any more photos. I’m gone!

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