Can you imagine teaching a group ranging from pre kindergarten to eighth grade? (Some of you probably can with our virtual learning this past spring.) Wendy Spray has taught on the remote island of Bois Blanc for over 15 years. One year her one room school had a population of six students which consisted of two pre-kindergarteners, two second graders, one seventh grade and one eight grade student. The eighth grader that year was one of her two sons. Once a student graduated from eighth grade, he or she transfers to Cheboygan high school which is located on the mainland.

Wendy shared, “My very favorite part of teaching here was the fact I was able to ‘home.’ Home is the place we hang our hearts and have a very personal draw and yearn to be in, around and with…Bois Blanc Island is the place which forever calls me home. I live in my island childhood home, next to my mother’s childhood home, and have been able to call this home my entire life. Moving home to teach just added the special sunset (or sunrise) to the every evolving days.”

Bois Blanc Island has fifty year round residients. It is approximately twelve miles long and six miles wide. It is located southeast of Mackinac Island. A thirty minute ferry ride from Cheyboygan by Plaunt Industries is the most common method of travel to Bois Blanc. Well maintained dirt roads are the main trek throughout the island. There are more interesting two track cuts through the forests, too. The trees on Bois Blanc have been the timber supply for Fort Michilimackinac on Mackinac Island where cutting trees is forbidden.

Bois Blanc is french meaning, “white wood” named for the basswood trees. However, locals pronounce their island home as “Boblo.” This causes some confusion as there’s an amusement park near Detroit called Boblo. The locals are quick to tell you, “It’s Boblo.”

This remote institution peaked my curiosity. I was entranced how the school was the center of the island neighborhood. Two small boys and their older adult person were in the schoolyard playing when we stopped to investigate and take photographs. “Grandma is the boss.” A round faced youngster informed us perched at the top of the slide. “Now. That is good to know!” I responded with a quiet smirk.

Of the 190,000 one room school houses that used to be active across the nation fewer than 400 are open today. There are several currently operating in Michigan’s “thumb” area and a few out east. Most one room schools have become a memory.

As a youngster in the 1970’s I was captivated by the television show, “Little House on the Prairie.” The weekly episodes demonstrated the life of the Ingalls family through the 1870’s-1890’s based on the book series written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Walnut Grove had a one room school house featured in many scenes. I soaked it all in. Since I was four years old I knew I had wanted to be a school teacher and dreamed of having my own classroom someday.

I charged forward to learn about the four hundred schools still operating. There is Coon School in Ionia County which is nearby Lowell. It was built in 1866. Meggin Rice taught nine students last year (2019-2020) kindergarten through fifth grade. She is certified up to eighth grade.

Rita Grass had written about cleaning slates in the nearby brook at Croydon school in New Hampshire. It’s known as the oldest school which opened in 1780. Currently first through third grade students are taught here. Then in fourth grade they transfer to Newport. Lynn Toushet, the teacher, described the wooden floors being worn down from the scuffing of generations of youngster’s feet.

Once I began my teaching career in Lowell, Michigan (1992-2019) I fell in love with the Fallasburg Schoolhouse located north of Lowell. I became a board member and docent, monitoring the museum hours on Sundays. With grants from the Lowell Education Foundation, first grade classes were able to spend the day at Fallasburg. We organized the day much as it used to be in the mid – late 1800’s. McGruffy readers and slates were used. Groups of students were called up to the recitation bench to recite their memorized lessons. A spelling bee was conducted. We played hide the thimble. At recess the boys used the left door and the girls used the right side. Students had brought their lunches in pails. Last month I had the privilege of helping to paint the school.

Max recalled being brought to the Fallasburg school house for the day as a first grader. He had been in my class and is now my bar tender at a local restaurant. He reported that it was boring. He didn’t like writing on the slate and there wasn’t any equipment to play on at recess. He reassured me I had been a good teacher. He loves history now, but as a youngster he was more about modern amenities.

I only found another island school that is uniquely similar to Bois Blanc. Monhegan Island is off the coast of Maine. There are fifty year round residents. Fishing and lobster trapping are the main sources of income. Angela, a parent of a student at the school, told an NPR reporter that without the school it (the community) wouldn’t exist. “The school brings the community together.” Sarah Caban, the teacher, reaches out and invites people into the classroom to build a bridge between islanders and the children. This camaraderie drives the villagers to assist one another. The school’s annual Christmas play is a community event with every resident in attendance.

You can imagine my excitement when we came across the Bois Blanc one room school! I messaged Wendy Spray, the teacher, who graciously offered her insights and experiences teaching in this unique setting. “They (the students) easily heard the lessons their peers were receiving and working on. This was beneficial (in my opinion) as it allowed for reinforcement for the older students to hear the younger lessons and the same for the younger student to hear and absorb the lessons of the older grade students.”

“The daily schedule was designed to incorporate and include all of the students as whole class activity in the morning, at lunch, at break/recess/game time and upon departure for the day. ” Students started the day reciting our Pledge of Allegiance and then the Michigan pledge.

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of Michigan, and to the state for which it stands, two beautiful peninsulas united by a bridge of steel, where equal opportunity and justice to all is our ideal.”

“Winter is probably my favorite time here; the only noise is just about what you make yourself. Quiet and solitude are valuable commodities and some do not find them quite as rewarding as others. ” Wendy advises that anyone considering living on the island year round should at least visit during the winter months. ” It can be difficult for anyone who has not witnessed this new way of living first hand. There is a lot of planning and preparing. There is no quick run to the store for something missing from your pantry. There’s no opportunity to run out for fuel or gas for the furnace or vehicles.”

This wholesome richness builds a kinship among islanders. These fifty residents have an uncommon grit and tenacity. The school (and Hawk’s Tavern) are the center of the this island’s social interactions.

Wendy’s grandfather had followed in his father’s footsteps and continued to run and added to the family ferry business. Then her uncle took the reins. Currently Wendy’s brother and two cousins are partial owners in Plaunt Ferry Co. Bois Blanc Island was the first place to ever have U.S. Postal Service use a snowmobile. This vehicle is on display by Plaunt Ferry Co.

Nearly forty years ago Johnny Carson interviewed the ONE student who attended Bois Blanc Pine Elementary School. The child reported that he had tied a cinder block to one side of the teeter totter so he could play. This child also appeared in “People” magazine.

In 2013, Craig Chapman brought his children, Mitch and Natalie, to Pines Elementary School on Bois Blanc for the one room school experience. He wrote about their learning for the Big Rapids News. Wendy Spray, the teacher, met the family at the ferry dock. Grant, Wendy’s seventh grade son, gave the family a tour of the school and the grounds.

At night from Mike Dyer’s porch they hailed the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw by radio. To reveal their location Mitch and Natalie signaled the cutter by flashing the porch light on and off. The cutter responded by using a bright search light. Then talking by radio the kids asked Ensign Katie Braynard questions about the cutter. They learned it was built in 2005 and is 240 feet long. It specializes in breaking ice and tending buoys. Over the summer the cutter had four distress calls. Braynard gave the kids (as well as everyone in the straights) a Great Lakes Salute of three blasts of the Mackinaw’s horn.

The following morning the Chapman family packed lunches and headed to Pines Elementary for a day in the one room school house. At the time there were three students attending: Grant Spray and two first graders. Craig Chapman sums up their day with, “no cliques or bullies, just learning and smiles.”

I could feel the pride in Wendy’s words when she shared, ” I had the great fortune of teaching both of my sons here on the island. My older was elected member of the student council and was voted as the school’s Coming Home King. (the only non-athlete nominated) My youngest earned a freshman achievement awarded and was inducted into National Honors Society as a sophomore. He has now graduated from LSSU with a degree in criminal justice.” After graduating from eighth grade, students transfer to Cheboygan high school. Wendy has provided a firm foundation of learning for all her students.

All schools bring people together and are the center of many activities whether they are public, private or church based. However the extreme connectivity of communities built around one room schools is unique and fascinating to me. The island history of multiple generations carries a richness with depth and pride. I stand in awe of these families and their rugged dedication.

With our current Covid 19 situation many families are forming small, in person “learning pods.” These are designed to match families in a neighborhood to an instructor who will help carry out lessons during this ‘at home’ learning time. This model reflects the one room school house style which has had many positive results. I wonder how much our institutional format may change as we navigate this new way of life.

References:
I want to thank Wendy Spray for her time and ability to paint a picture of her love for teaching and school routine with words. She generously offered her insights about instructing a variety of ages in the same classroom at her island home as well as sharing about her sons.

Chapman, Craig. “The Big Rapids News” 2013 article

NPR Podcast Monhegan Island School off the coast of Maine 2005
NPR Podcast Croyden School in New Hampshire 2006