Twin Lakes class reunion prompts stories

TWIN LAKES — The hardy folk of North Idaho did things a little bit differently back in the day ... like using a school bus as a snow plow.

"One day, they went to school in Rathdrum and before the school was out, there was about 2 and-a-half feet of snow on the ground," recalled 88-year-old James Sams of Post Falls. "Two-and-a-half feet of snow came down while they were in school and Harry Shove (the bus driver), he’d get the school bus and drive into the snow as far as it would go, and then he’d get out and he’d shovel snow for about 20, 30, 40 feet, and then he’d get a run at the snow again and he did that for five miles. We were supposed to be home from school at about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Well, it was 8 o’clock at night by the time they got home."

Upper Twin Lakes School in Twin Lakes was built in 1920 and was active as a school through 1947. Some of its students actually did walk uphill in the snow for miles, just to get an education. Without modern conveniences, those country kids had to be tough. They worked together, played together and many have continued their friendships long into their golden years.

A handful of these former schoolchildren gathered at the Twin Lakes home of Sylvia Blaine, Twin Lakes Community School Foundation vice president, for a casual reunion and luncheon Wednesday afternoon.

It's been more than 70 years since those youngsters spent their days in that schoolhouse.

"My class was the last grade there," said Renabel Hawley, 82, who was known as Renabel Hattenburg when she and her siblings attended the school.

“Renabel and I go back to when she was about 5 or 6 years old,” Sams said, inspecting a black and white class picture on display. Sams said he attended the school from 1941 to 1945.

"James lived in a little house right by our back door, and then they got a newer house that was up on the hill back there," Hawley said, gesturing to the north. "He was there when I was born. They lived right next to our house."

After the final class was held, the 1,000-square-foot building became a community center used for social gatherings, elections, church functions and other events through 2000. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and remains one of the last one-room prairie school houses in North Idaho.

A cracked foundation and necessary repairs came to the attention of those who want to restore the school, and they have been on a mission to return it to a community building while preserving its history. The foundation has been fixed and the nonprofit Twin Lakes Community Schoolhouse Foundation board is presently generating funds to pay for electrical and plumbing repairs.

The annual ice cream social will be held from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, featuring root beer floats, ice cream sundaes, games for kids, crafts, a community country store, raffles, prizes and more. Admission is free. Proceeds will support the restoration, which foundation members hope is complete in time for the 100th anniversary of the school in 2020.

Blaine and colleagues are also working on an oral history project to preserve not just the building, but the treasure trove of stories that only its former students can tell.

"When he walked in this door, his excitement was awesome, just being able to talk and looking at these pictures," said Sams' daughter, Rhonda Vig of Post Falls. "It was really good to see him like that. Because he’s getting up there, he’s decided to get to his bucket list and one of the things was to come check out the old homestead and the old school.

“He’s been excited about this for weeks."

Information: twinlakesidaho.org