Allegan County News & Union Enterprise

Jewett School acknowledged for dedication to preserving history

The Jewett School was awarded a plaque by Rochelle Balkam, president of MORSA, designating Jewett School as Michigan’s One-room School of the Year. The award was based upon the Jewett School’s dedication to recreating the role one-room schools played in the education of students living in rural Allegan County. Bette and David Thompson accepted the award as Managers of the Jewett School. Pictured are Bette Thompson, David Thompson, and Rochelle Balkam, President of MORSA. (Photo provided by Mark E. Lovett.)

by David Thompson & Gari Voss

The Michigan One-Room Schoolhouse Association (MORSA) held their fall conference at the Congregational Church hosted by the Allegan County Historical Society. Saturday, October 1, 2022.
“Hosting MORSA was a great undertaking since it is a statewide conference,” shared Bette Thompson, who co-manages Jewett School with her husband David. “It required many people on deck.”
The couple reflected, “It was an absolute honor to receive this award. It reflects the time and talents of all the volunteers who spend three-hour shifts while the Allegan County Fair is open and update the books, pictures and artifacts of teachers and students. Visitors who value the school often have a connection to these country schools and come to find information about parents, grandparents and other relatives.”
The conference began with an overview of the history of Allegan presented by Mark E. Lovett, President of the Allegan County Historical Society.
The main speaker was Historian, Susan Webb, Traveling Schoolmarm. She presented the history of the pioneering partnership of Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Washington who brought opportunity to the American South starting in 1913. Rosenwald was the president of the Sears and Roebuck Company at the time and worked with Booker T. Washington, educator and former slave, to create 4,978 one-room schools in the southern states of America to educate black children. Many of the students were children of former slaves.
David Thompson presented a history of the 185 one-room schools that once held classes in Allegan County. He also discussed the history of the Jewett School located at the Allegan County Fairgrounds in the John Pahl Historic Village.
The conference ended with the members taking a tour of the Jewett School and also a guided tour of the Old Jail Museum.

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