Fun and friendship at Indian Rock Schoolhouse

AMENIA — Just as the trees begin to bloom in the Harlem Valley, work is being done to make sure they will continue to bloom into the future.

Amenia Elementary School celebrated Arbor Day with a special trip to Indian Rock Schoolhouse last Tuesday and Wednesday, April 28 and 29, where the first and second grades spent time planting trees and learning about the culture and history of the old schoolhouse.

This is the fifth year Amenia Elementary has visited the schoolhouse, according to librarian Beth Murphy. Each year a different kind of tree is planted. White pine saplings were picked this year.

Outside, the first-graders were busy planting, while inside the second-graders were getting a history lesson from Joan Murphy, who is on the board for the Indian Rock Schoolhouse. Murphy led students through the typical day for a student, and re-enacted actual diary entries, complete with stuffed animal props.

The students then ventured outside to play some of the games students of yore would play during recess, hosted by “Melon Ellen� Walsh. There were the usual suspects, like checkers and jump-rope, but also some games a little more out of the ordinary to this generation of students, including trying to throw a ball over the roof of the schoolhouse, sack races and needle in the haystack.

“My favorite game was throwing the ball over the roof,â€� said Maya Johnson. She also thoroughly enjoyed the stories Joan Murphy told about the  students who used to go to school at Indian Rock. “It tells what happened when other kids were here.â€�

After hearing some of the adventures of characters like Lulu, the cat who lived at the schoolhouse, would any of the students care to trade places and go to school back then?

“No!� the students laughed assuredly.

“The kids are the best,� said schoolhouse board president Ann Linden. Since the program has been running for several years, and this year’s first-grade students will return to the schoolhouse the next year, the schoolhouse volunteers try to mix up activities to make it interesting for the children.

“What I’d like for them to take away from their experiences here is that things were quite different a long time ago,� said Linden, “and that Arbor Day is important.�

Tomorrow, Friday, May 8, Indian Rock will be host to The Kildonan School, which is arriving for an all-day event, held last year as well, where the students will dress up in full costume to represent actual children who once attended the schoolhouse.