Haunting chalkboard drawings, frozen in time for 100 years, discovered in Oklahoma school. I think this is remarkable, don't you?

2015-06-06T17:33:46-04:00

Teachers and students scribbled the lessons — multiplication tables, pilgrim history, how to be clean — nearly 100 years ago. And they haven’t been touched since.

This week, contractors removing old chalkboards at Emerson High School in Oklahoma City made a startling discovery: Underneath them rested another set of chalkboards, untouched since 1917.

“The penmanship blows me away, because you don’t see a lot of that anymore,” Emerson High School Principal Sherry Kishore told the Oklahoman. “Some of the handwriting in some of these rooms is beautiful.”

The chalkboards being removed to make way for new whiteboards are in four classrooms, according to the Oklahoma City Public School District.

A spokeswoman said the district is working with the city to “preserve the ‘chalk’ work of the teachers that has been captured in time.”
A wheel that apparently was used to teach multiplication tables appears on one board. “I have never seen that technique in my life,” Kishore told the Oklahoman.

The boards carry not just teachers’ work, but also that of students, and every room has a lesson on pilgrims, according to the district.

“Their names are here; I don’t know whether they were students in charge that day that got to do the special chores if they were the ones that had a little extra to do because they were acting up,” Kishore said. “But it’s all kinds of different feelings when you look at this.”

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 6 at 2015 5:34 PM

2015-06-06T17:34:11-04:00

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 6 at 2015 5:34 PM

2015-06-06T17:34:38-04:00

Response by MAJ Ron Peery made Jun 6 at 2015 5:44 PM

2015-06-06T17:44:32-04:00

You think maybe they did this stuff as a "time capsule"

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jun 6 at 2015 8:50 PM

2015-06-06T20:50:08-04:00

That is a great find! Talk about priceless.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 6 at 2015 8:57 PM

2015-06-06T20:57:49-04:00

I honestly hope they preserve this history!

Response by LTC Bink Romanick made Jun 6 at 2015 8:59 PM

2015-06-06T20:59:11-04:00

Amazing... Something to smile about.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Jun 6 at 2015 9:02 PM

2015-06-06T21:02:56-04:00

SGT Keith Bodine - Amazing story - thanks for posting it!

Response by SFC William Farrell made Jun 6 at 2015 10:49 PM

2015-06-06T22:49:21-04:00

Amazing find. And to think they just covered it up and forgot all about it. I love history and coming across finds like this just reinforces that there is so much we never know, so much we have forgotten and so much there is still to learn.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jun 7 at 2015 4:26 AM

2015-06-07T04:26:44-04:00

Hopefully they really do preserve these finds. Talk about priceless! Thanks for sharing SGT Private RallyPoint Member.

Response by SPC Jeffrey Bly made Jun 7 at 2015 7:36 PM

2015-06-07T19:36:10-04:00

I did roofing for a while with my kid brother and we were tearing a roof off a 100+ year old house in Massachusetts. Sometimes people just put a new roof over the top of an existing roof. Well we came upon some signatures on some wood covered since around the time was built. We gave the wood to the homeowner who got back some interesting info on the identity of the person and history of their home. So yeah, I get it. These chalkboards are an awesome find!

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 10 at 2015 9:40 PM

2015-07-10T21:40:06-04:00

Literal time capsule.