Use your imagination and think of yourself in a time when heat, plumbing and electric were scarce.

Where kids of all ages woke before the sun rose, labored at their morning chores, then walked miles to school, and were taught in just one room, by one teacher. Frantz School was built in 1855 by Jacob Frantz, who lived on the nearby farm and wanted a place for his (and the area’s) children and future generations to go. It was named after the man who built it and primarily taught the children of family and neighbors who resided in the surrounding area.

Lessons were first taught in German, and school was in session no matter the weather. It’s one of seven one-room schoolhouses that taught kids in Eldred Township, of which only three stand today.

Up to 25 children ranging in grades 1-8 were taught by one teacher who made $23-a-month salary. Two small shacks sat a good walk away from the school and served as the bathrooms.

You can just see the kids running as fast as they can to and from the outhouses on those frigid winter mornings.

Patti Borger-Keys, co-curator, went to school here and was taught by her father. The Borger family became the namesake after Frantz’s daughter married Patti’s great-great-grandfather Irving Borger. It was open for more than 90 years and closed after Mrs. Hawk taught her last class in 1946. A time capsule of learning sat alone quietly on the hill for seven decades.

School for sale

Former schoolteacher Tony Giordano and his wife, Renee, were driving home one day and were shocked when they noticed for sale signs lining a half-mile stretch of Church Road in Eldred Township.

They imagined farm crops replaced with developed land and homes with a fantastic view of the rolling hills, and decided to take their retirement money and buy the land to support American farmers. They saw the broken-down building with a leaking roof, and learned it was the last of seven one-room school houses that taught children in the township.

The first year, before any work began, they held an open house, which was the first time the public was in the school in nearly 70 years. The turnout was big and included a 98-year-old former one-room schoolhouse teacher in Eldred, who did a skip step over a gaping hole in the entrance deck.

Tony and Renee spent all of their time fixing the school, with help from local residents who stepped forward in assistance. Many items in the classroom are donated. Some are refurbished castoffs and some are original pieces that have been in the building since its closure.

Not wanting to be seen as competition to other nearby historical efforts, the couple set a few rules. They did not want to accept cash donations. They would not seek grants to fund the work. And anyone who wanted to volunteer work and donation materials or items was accepted.

The work begins

When the Giordanos bought the property, their intention was to “cut out” 2 acres surrounding the school, and donate it to the township.

They were shocked when the township didn’t want it, and realized they were now responsible for the future of the last one-room school in the town.

Winter was coming, so there was no choice but to put a new roof on, for the old roof was leaking in several locations. The following spring they put siding on the schoolhouse because there was one large hole and a number of smaller ones in the walls.

They then added a new steel security door and had to demolish the vestibule (the mud room), as it could not be saved.

PPL put in a new electric line, and they rewired and replaced the light fixtures. They built accordion security shutters on all the windows, sanded and repaired holes in the ceiling, and did extensive repairs to all the walls, which were in serious disrepair due to water damage. Water had also damaged the ceiling.

Next, there were some electric duplex repairs, sanding and re-staining of the original oak floors. They then mounted the desks on runners so they would be secure but could be moved, and sanded the walls covering the entire interior with two coats of anti-mold, anti-fungus primer paint.

They painted the ceiling, the upper walls and the wainscoting — each a different color.

The entry deck had to be rebuilt, and they added doors to the firewood storage bin under the deck. Wooden planters were attached to the steps, along with railings around the deck and a secure banister as well.

A rain barrel collects water, there is no well, and they did some landscaping, including clearing an old path that local kids used to go through the woods to reach the school. They also did repairs along the edge of the road, made the driveway safer and smoother, trimmed back the encroaching forest, and then the fun part, decorating.

Still room for education

“We want people of the area, especially the younger generations, to come here and be educated,” Patti said. “And to see what it was like to learn in a one-room schoolhouse.”

Renovations still continue on the building, and plans for additional educational attractions and events are in the works in hopes to draw in more of the public.

“We have plans to make nature trails in the surrounding woods which will act as a self-guided environmental ‘vehicle,’ and we will also be hosting Friday night outdoor movies at the Frantz School in spring/summer,” Giordano said.

“Tony’s interest is that he’s a schoolteacher, and incredibly concerned with informing the public about the history of the township,” co-curator Jim Keys said. “The preservation of Eldred Township’s history is worth much more than any item or antique here. It’s priceless.”

For more information on tours and events, contact the Frantz Schulhaus Facebook page.