One Room School

It’s the beginning of September and all the kids in our neck of the woods are heading back to school.  In fact today probably marked the end of the first week for many if not most.  Going back to school brings back the memories, doesn’t it?  Even for those of us who’ve been out of the classroom for more years than we like to admit!

In honor of this time of year, I thought I’d haul out a personal favorite, dust it off and show it off here.

To get a better view of the image, just click to be taken to my Pixels.com page where the watermark will be more reasonable and purchase options for wall art, greeting cards and cell phone covers will be available.  If interested in licensing, just let me know.

This image was snapped at one of my favorite photographic haunts, Old Bedford Village in Bedford, Pa.  This is the interior of one of the one room school houses there,  the Kniseley School.  It was originally built near Pleasantville, Bedford County, in 1869 and was used until 1932. This building was indeed an original school house, it is not a recreation, and was moved to the Old Bedford site as part of their “living history museum.” You can read more information about Old Bedford Village here:

Old Bedford Village

The image itself is a composite of two of my own shots, both were taken with the Nikon D300. The fields and barn seen through the windows are actually from farmland near Osterburg, PA, not too far up the road from Old Bedford. There was much tinkering in Photoshop CS4, 5 and 6 (NOT the cloud), plus the addition of a hint one of my favorite textures from Florabella to enhance the mood.

I’m not one of those women who lies about her age, but I don’t make a point of bragging about it either. That having been said, I’ve been around the block more than once and as such, I do vividly remember things that others may only have heard or read about. The school room pictured here is one of those things that goes right to my own heart. I spent my first three years not in a one-room school, but … close. The architectural features of the rooms in my little primary school were almost identical to what you see here. In fact, it’s with a laugh that I admit that the desks shown in this image are actually examples of the NEW desks we got somewhere along the line … I remember stuffing papers and books and so forth into a compartment that went under the seat (and boy was it messy in my case!!). I don’t remember seeing a dunce cap (if there had been one, I’m sure I’d have worn it more than once) … and though we didn’t have a wood stove in our classroom, I was very familiar with them from the homes of my grandparents and some aunts and uncles.

I think images that evoke nostalgia and memory of good times gone by are a blessing. I’ve had many people stop by my little picture and tell me about the happy memories it has brought back to them. That connection between artist and art and viewer is a bond that brings us all closer … and that’s always a good thing.

And also, as always, if the image appeals to you as a gift for yourself or someone special in your life, I’m happy to make it available on a wide variety of products.   An example would be a handy tote bag:

A click will bring you to purchase options for the tote bag, and if you have another product idea in mind, just contact me through this page and I’ll see if it’s something I can create for you.

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