Post Falls school turns 100
<p>Bob Ickes, president of the Pleasantview Community Association, talks about what he believes to be the original school house chalk board Tuesday at the 100-year Pleasantview School in Post Falls. The organization has raised approximately $100,000 over the past several years for a restoration project that is close to the half-way point.</p>
POST FALLS - Watching Pleasantview School being restored piece by piece is a sight that Bob Ickes never gets tired of.
"We've been at it since 2001 and we're about halfway through," said Ickes, president of the Pleasantview Community Association, during a tour of the building. "It's been fun because it's a neighborhood project and it's a historical building. It's a good excuse to get to know what your neighbors are doing.
"We're not fast, but we're persistent."
A centennial celebration for the school south of Post Falls will be held on Saturday from 1-4 p.m. at 18724 W. Riverview Drive. The public is invited to tour the building and see the restoration's progress. Hamburgers and hot dogs will be served. Donations are welcome.
About $100,000 in grants, donations and money from fundraisers has been raised for the restoration, which is expected to cost about $200,000.
The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. It ceased as a school in 1937 and sat vacant until the early 1970s when a remodel of the kitchen downstairs was completed.
The association took the torch in 2000. The structure now has a security system, new roof, restored stage, fixed windows and a rebuilt front stairway.
Kathy Darrar, the community association's vice president, said the project has drawn volunteers experienced in a variety of trades to lend a hand.
Current projects include tapping into a neighbor's water system, the front doors and repairing cracks in the masonry.
"We've gotten it to where it's structurally sound and there's no more leaks and water damage," Ickes said.
In recent years, the building has served as a community center and a place for fundraisers, receptions, garage sales and other events.
Ickes said there have been unexpected side jobs along the way such as when a piano fell through a rotting floor.
The association holds two breakfast fundraisers each year and keeps an eye out for grants to help fund the project.
Several remnants such as old wood stoves, the original chalkboards and bell and school desks are still in the building.
Ickes loves ringing the bell as he shares the story about how it was "missing" for years after some students allegedly snatched it for school spirit at Post Falls football games.
Ickes, a former school board member, helped get the bell back.
"I asked if we could have the bell back or we'd give the school district its (Pleasantview) school back," Ickes said. "They gladly gave the bell back."
The association was honored in 2007 with an Orchid award from the Idaho State Historical Society for its restoration effort.