Retired teachers will visit Little School Museum

Retired teachers will visit Little School Museum

August 11, 2012

My Times-Streator

Officers of the Livingston County Retired Teachers Association are planing a Tuesday, Aug. 21, meeting in Chatsworth — for a step back in time. Members are invited to visit the Little School Museum in CAPS Park on First Street. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., with the program and meeting at 10 a.m. in the pavilion at the park. The school is one of the few school museums in Illinois and is more than 100 years old. The school originally was built as a one-room schoolhouse in Chatsworth. As the school population grew, it was moved to the country and still was used as a school. After it moved to the country, it was attended mostly by children of workers in a sugar beet factory near Chatsworth, earning the name "Beet School." In 1958, PTA members started the idea of restoring the Beet School. On April 17, 1971, the building was moved to its present location, and many fundraisers were conducted. The restored schoolhouse represents a community effort in the restoration project and was spearheaded by Louise Stoutemeyer and her committee. At one time, the building was painted red, but in 2009, it was sided white. At 11 a.m., following the program and meeting, a box lunch will be served in keeping with the theme of the day. Catering will be done from Vanilla Bean Catering, owned by Sandy Schrof. The cost will be $10. Reservations are due by Tuesday, Aug. 14. To register, call Erma Hesterberg at 815-844-3456 or Alberta Kinate at 815-657-8381.