During these difficult times, the Freedom Township Historical Society is thankful for those in the community who have helped us.
FTHS is renovating a former one-room schoolhouse and church on S.R. 303 to use as a museum and community center. One of the priorities of our renovation is to restore handicapped access to the building, which had fallen into disrepair after being abandoned for several years.
Our great team of volunteers designed a deck and platform for a handicapped lift at the rear entrance to the schoolhouse, and the carpentry students at Maplewood Career Center and teacher Ted Georger agreed to build the deck as a community project (Mr. Georger also assisted with designing the platform). The lumber for the project was donated by Lowe’s in Streetsboro.
Fifteen seniors came out to Drakesburg for several days last fall. They worked diligently to dig post holes, pour concrete and construct the stairs and platform under the supervision of Mr. Georger and with assistance from FTHS volunteers Charles Duffield, Pete Thornton, and trustees Jeff Derthick and John Zizka. FTHS President Claudia Garrett, Judy Thornton, who is chairwoman of the schoolhouse steering committee, Elaine Duffield, and Dan and Barbara Grafton kept the students well-supplied with snacks.
“Our volunteers very much enjoyed working with the Mr. Georger and his carpentry class,” Mrs. Garrett said.
“They were polite, respectful and professional at all times and did an excellent job building the platform. We enjoyed seeing the bond between Mr. Georger and his students and how well they worked together. Maplewood school can be very proud of the carpentry class and Mr. Georger.”
FTHS gave Mr. Georger and each of the students a T shirt as a thank you for their hard work.
The platform was one of several community projects the carpentry students worked on this year before classes were suspended in mid-March because of the coronavirus outbreak. They also constructed press boxes at Streetsboro Rockets Stadium, worked on a Habitat for Humanity project in Ravenna, and built the form and base for the sign at the Windham Joint Fire District station. The students work on an average of two to five projects per year. The students learn carpentry skills in their lab classroom at Maplewood, and the community projects give them valuable job-site experience, Mr. Georger wrote in an email.
“They were able to take the skills they learned in our classroom and use them in real world conditions working with an exceptional group of community members,” he wrote.
Mr. Georger wrote that 90 percent of his students go on to work in carpentry and related trades.
Last winter, Shalersville resident Catherine Clavner generously donated a handicapped lift to the schoolhouse and Mr. Duffield worked on the lift to get it in good working order. You can watch a video of him operating the lift at the Facebook group, Freedom Township Then and Now.
