School is in Session Once Again at the Taylor's One-Room Schoolhouse!

By: Dylan Bowman, HAHS Board Member

October 31, 2026

HAHS Museum Curator Danean Walker rings the original Taylor's One-Room Schoolhouse bell to call the class to order. Photograph by Dylan Bowman.

Good Morning Class!

With school starting a little over a month ago for all communities in the surrounding Central PA region, it always feels fresh starting a new school year. I remember some of the things that always clung to my senses and remained with me all these years later...the smell of pencil shavings, the sound of chalk on a blackboard (yes kiddies, I'm only 24 and we still had chalkboards for most of my schooling!), the bell ringing and of course, the sights, smells and sounds of the first day back at school. Something so visceral, so renewing, so nerve-racking about being back each year...the new teachers, new classmates, impending studies and assignments...that it engrained itself firmly in my memory.

Reenacting school marm, Danean Walker, questioned the class on their skills of literary retention, basic mathematics, and history, giving a simple but effective taste of what a day in a one-room school would have looked like. In addition, old-fashioned discipline was also enforced on a mischievous attendee (definitely wasn't me the writer) who placed a rubber snake in the teacher's desk drawer when she wasn't looking. That person (again, certainly not me) then stood in front of the class, nose against the black board in a chalk circle, humiliated and alone, much to the delight of the audience. Poor sap.

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HAHS Museum Curator Danean Walker teaches the class about the three "R's" while HAHS Vice President Ryan Bowman discloses the deep history of the schoolhouse. Photographs by Dylan Bowman.

Reading, (W)Riting, and (A)Rithmatic

As the class came to a close and recess was announced, families began to pour over the many artifacts and stories that sit throughout the museum. The children present were gifted the annual "goodie bags" filled with antique games and HAHS memorabilia, and former students of the Taylor's One-Room Schoolhouse told stories of their time in the classroom.

Laughter and much discussion lifted the day over the rain which began just as the program came to an end and the refreshments of ice cream and salty snacks were gone. For such a busy day in the Valley, with events taking place at a large handful of other locations across Central PA, it was a pleasure to see so many turn out to step back in time for a day of school with their families, neighbors, and community.

For more information on upcoming events from the Halifax Area Historical Society or how you can get involved, visit our Events page on the website or reach out to us at halifax.pa.history@gmail.com. We can't wait to make history with you!

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Visitors enjoy talking with members of the HAHS Board, past students of the Taylor's One-Room Schoolhouse, and other community members at the 2nd Annual HAHS "Good Ol' School Days" event. Photographs by Dylan Bowman.