Gallery: Record Turnout for Ice Cream Social at Weber-Blaess School

The annual ice cream social at the Weber-Blaess One Room School attracted a record turnout Sunday.

Organizers estimated the crowd at well over 300 people.

Visitors enjoyed scoops of ice cream, homemade cake, hot dogs grilled by firefighters and other treats. Children and parents crowded the old school house, which was built 149 years ago. Inside the school they were treated to an interactive history lesson by Rebecca Groeb-Driskill, who played the teacher, and a group of young actors, who played students in the old rural school.

Outside, visitors played old fashion games, attempted to walk on stilts, watched a magic show,  and listened to music. Around 2 p.m., Fire Chief Craig Hoeft and the Saline Area Fire Department rounded up the children for a bucket brigade, demonstrating how fires were put out in the days before fire hoses.

The Weber-Blaess School is one of several living museums in Saline. Originally located on Ellsworth in Lodi Township, the township was donated to the school district by the family of Milton Wiedmayer and moved to its current location in 2002. The building is maintained by the Saline Area Schools Historic Preservation Foundation.

Jim Hoeft was instrumental in moving the school house to its current site.

“125 years ago, most people in Saline earned their living by farming. This was their school,” Hoeft said.

Many long-time Saline families have descendants who learned at the school house.

Each year, hundreds of elementary school students visit the school house to experience what school was like in Saline in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Saline Area Schools Superintendent Scot Graden said the school house is a unique asset for the district.

“The opportunity for our teachers to bring their students to this school is an outstanding educational opportunity for Saline,” Graden said.

The annual ice cream social has come to serve another purpose for the district.

“We’ve held this event for several years right before the school starts. It’s a fun way to get back in the swing of things,” Graden said.

Money raised at the ice cream social helps pay for maintenance of the school house.

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