School House Restoration
The original seed money for the schoolhouse restoration project began with Boyd Bomar, an alumnus of the 1913 Radersburg school, and wife Roberta. The Bomars contributed $2000. Other substantial monetary donations came from the Bill and LaRee Williams Family and Sharley Ragen. Numerous other smaller donations were made by the many "Friends of Radersburg".
In 2009 RHPI put a new roof on the 1913 Schoolhouse. It was all made possible by the generous grant from Boyd and Roberta Bomar. With all volunteer labor we removed the old shingles, added sheathing and installed new shingles. The old facia was also repaired and painted to match the original. The old roof had two large holes where water leaked in damaging the ceiling and floors in both classrooms. The historic bulding was in need of some urgent TLC and the community came together...
The giant silver leaf maples were trimmed and the schoolyard was cleaned. Plywood covers were removed from the windows and broke glass was replaced with new panes and glazing.
With keeping the weather out, it was time to repair the water damage. It was decided to make the south room a community center with kitchen, tables and chairs where meetings could be conducted. The north classroom (after restoration) will be reserved and used as a museum. Artifacts will consist of items from the school, including desks, books, bell photographs, documents, banners, ephemera and miscellaneous items gleaned from the cleaning process.
In 2009 and 2010 yard sales were held at the school, in conjunction with a revival of the town-wide yard sales that took place in previous years. Proceeds and donations provided further funding for repairs and improvements.
The original wiring was replaced with 200 amp service, inspected and certified. The county commissioners, sanitation officer and fire chief are all to be commended for their absolute vital assistance for procuring a water supply and septic tank system! The adjacent land owner (Dan Williams) granted easement for the installation of the septic tank and drain field to be placed on his property.
The Broadwater County Historical Society gifted $1,000 to RHPI after their annual picnic at the school in 2010 as they were favorable impressed with what we have accomplished so far and wanted to help us with our continuing endeavors and success. In 2011 the kitchen was completed including two refrigerators, electric range and dish washer. Also that year the restroom was brought up to date and made functional - just in time for our Annual Meeting in January 2012. A forced air propane furnace is also ready to be put into place(1). The school bell was returned to its original location after having been at the fire hall for the last three decades and new hardware was added to the original flag pole.
Starting in 2020 all RHPI meetings are held in the schoolhouse. That year the Girl Scouts also held their annual Awards Barbeque. In 2011 Bill and LaRee WIlliams celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at the school Also a memorial for Helen Harris was held in May, a memorial for Bill Williams in August and the Allen Family had their reunion in the schoolyard under the shade of the huge silver leaf maples. The school is also the location of the annual Easter egg hunt (1500+ eggs) for all children from neighboring communities.
More recently:
In 2022:
- the Broadwater County Extension Office held a leadership training community at the Radersburg School
- the Townsend School middle school 7th grade class had an outing to the Radersburg community to learn about the history of Radersburg. The students had a presentation in the Schoolhouse from Linda Huth, curator of the Broadwater County Museum; toured the historic Methodist Church and finished the outing at the Radersburg Cemetery.
- the Broadwater County High School class of 1970 will hold their 52nd class reunion at the Radersburg School in August 2022
Notes:
(1): The forced air furnace is installed along with a thermometer in the meeting room (south room)