Voices of generations have said the Pledge of Allegiance at Meadows School. The rural one-room landmark was built in 1906 in what was known as Bluff, Missouri, a rural place near the Taney-Christian county line.
It was once among hundreds of one-room schools that dotted the region. Nearly 80 years later — it closed in 1949 — the school still draws friends and family for a reunion every two years.
Howdys, hugs and hymns began the event, which were followed by remarks, a group photo and awards – like for the couple who had been married the longest.
Amid those memories, a potluck dinner and an afternoon of music by the Creek Rocks — members Mark Bilyeu and Cindy Woolf are part of the family here — came a realization: That this is probably the last reunion with the school as it is today.
“Every year for the last 20 years, my husband has had to adjust the locks on the door because the building has leaned a few inches more every single year,” said Elane Bilyeu Crum, who has deep local roots and is president of the board for Meadows Cemetery, which is right next door. She said that after years of classes, singing schools, Christmas gatherings and reunions, the building’s condition prompted a survey about its future.
That led to a survey about what to do — and an answer. Folks decided to turn the school into a pavilion, keeping parts of the original building at the front and back. The agreement is in contrast to the past, when the area was marked by the infamous Bilyeu-Meadows feud in the 1800s.
Randy Pace, one of the attendees who recently wrote the book Blood Feud on Bull Creek, shares more.
“A lot of people think it was about two families. They had an argument over a fence, which is partially true,” Pace said. “But…there was some other issues that happened prior to that that got some people riled up. And then the families, who were very much intermarried, had a feud, and it ended up with, at the fence, a shooting which killed three Bilyeus.”
But that’s all in the past. Those who feel close to the landmark expect the school-turned-pavilion will take on a new place in local life. That’s made possible in connection with the Society of Ozarkian Hillcrofters, a preservation group that has helped restore several historic buildings.
“In this day and age, we have got so many factors, whether it be technology or whatever, that are not conducive to community,” said Curtis Copeland with the Society of Ozarkian Hillcrofters, a preservation group that is helping with the project. “The more things that we can do that bring people together for community, that's what makes these projects worth this historic preservation. Because these are places that draw people together. In the old days, they brought together for school and for church. But now — neighborhood picnics and gatherings and stuff.
“Really, it's not the buildings that people are so attached to. It's the memories, right? That's the importance of why, why we want to keep a structure there. It's more of an anchor to bring people together.”
Copeland and fellow Hillcrofter Tammy Morton told me that it was important to find a balance between historic preservation and practicality when planning this project.
“It's a good balance between, you know, the high-dollar amount for complete renovation but not tearing it down and just having a concrete slab,” Morton said.
Right now, they’re collecting funds to make the project a reality, which really, is about bridging past and future. And those memories of the school — from days gone by to the ones still in progress — matter.
“I'm excited because we're maintaining an opportunity for our children and our grandchildren to experience Meadows School,” Crum said. “And to maintain our memories and then, also, to bring together perhaps community that wasn't here then that does not have any connection to Meadows School, but it will become important to them.”
