Bringing an old schoolhouse back to life

There’s one remaining corner of brickwork to be completed before snow flies on the old Sharon Township schoolhouse.

by Marsha Chartrand

Bob Mottice and his wife, Sandy, have always enjoyed their historic Sharon Township home. And for the last few decades, they have enjoyed creating a miniature historic village that surrounds their home. This includes a reconstructed 1840s cabin and other historic structures, all built or re-built using methods and tools available to their original time period.

The Mottices have welcomed the Manchester Area Historical Society to host various events at the farmhouse, which was once a part of the Uphaus farm. The Mottice home has also been part of the Christmas Tour over the years, and the obvious pride they take in the house and property is evident to all who pass by.

But the most recent addition to the property (which is not yet complete) is an 1870 brick Sharon Township schoolhouse, which took Bob, along with his son-in-law and grandsons, two and a half years just to dismantle. The original site of this schoolhouse was on the Kastl farm just west of the intersection of Sharon Hollow and Sharon Valley Roads. It had been used as a granary on the Kastl farm for many years, storing oats and wheat. That didn’t cause much structural damage to the building but the interior was pretty much destroyed.

“It was a mess,” Mottice recalls. “I wanted to reuse as much of the original material as possible, and the building was constructed of hand-made Manchester bricks. They didn’t kiln-fire them; they are very soft. So as we started taking the building apart the bricks began crumbling — some of them more than others.

“My wife, bless her soul, lovingly scraped the old mortar off every brick and soaked them in water before they are laid in place. Each brick varies in size, shape, and texture; some are light in color, others are dark like soot.”

As the colder weather approaches, Mottice has covered the window openings, put a metal roof on the building, and replaced the old belfry and chimney with ones he made that are close replicas of the originals. He hopes to finish as much brickwork as he can before the snow flies so he can work on the interior this winter. He figures he has a year to a year and a half longer before the project is complete.

His Amish connections in south-central Michigan and northwest Ohio are helping him to find replacement glass for the windows (he’s got all the window frames and casings but some of those, too, had to be repaired), authentic slate chalkboards, and other details that you can’t find just anywhere.

“I’m having a ball,” he says, with a wry smile. You can tell he is, but taking on a long-term project like this is still kind of a big deal. “Had I known at the beginning how much work it would be … but, anyway, I’m glad I did it.”

Bob Mottice shows the varying colors, shapes, and sizes of the Manchester-made bricks used in the schoolhouse. Each one was lovingly cleaned by his wife, Sandy, before being replaced on the schoolhouse.

The brick looks completely different when wet. The sandstone “medallion” over the door is an addition created by Bob for the project. There was not a medallion over the door of the original schoolhouse. “I hand carved that in the sandstone,” he said. “I think it should look really sweet over the door.”

For the interior of the schoolhouse, in addition to the chalkboards, Bob has most of the original wainscoting and has re-created the pieces that were too damaged to use. In keeping with it being a family affair, his daughter Heather Rathburn has also helped out with approving paint colors that are compatible with the original color and style. He has resources for school desks appropriate to the period, and will have a bucket and dipper in the back hallway for water. He has many of the old school records, given to him by Mrs. Kastl, some with teacher comments about a student’s behavior or scholastic achievements — or lack thereof.

One mystery that remains is the identity of a mischievous youngster (presumed, of course, to be of the male persuasion) who inscribed two of the bricks, right at eye level, with the initials “KW.”

“I’m trying to find out who that is,” Bob says, with his own mischievous glint in his eye. “I have a theory the young man in question was named Karl Weidmayer. … I’m going to find out if he was ever enrolled in this district.”

Now that would be a momentous mystery to solve. But somehow, it seems quite possible that will be another one of Bob Mottice’s accomplishments.

The schoolhouse from the east side, with belfry.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.