Hidden On The Land

It is by the place we’ve got, and our love for it and our keeping of it, that this world is joined to heaven. (Wendell Berry)

The 1/2 acre school property on W Cheney Rd was covered by at least a half century of debris: large fallen trees uprooted by storms over the years, knarled stumps, dense underbrush, decaying logs, dead branches, big rocks and a variety of dirt-caked items like old tires, plastic children’s toys, empty cans, rusty wire and broken glass. These things had to be removed in order to discover what was hidden on the land.

 

 

We had purchased the small land triangle, site of the former Miller Hill School, in December 2017 when the Glen Lake Community School Board of Education decided to sell it. Since it was adjacent to the 2.5 acre property we had purchased earlier that year, we bought it as a privacy buffer for the home we were hoping to build. We knew very little about the school property and had no other vision for it. The only visible evidence of a former schoolhouse was a piece of concrete peeking through weeds, and a faded yellow post standing near the concrete.

As new stewards of the property, we felt a sense of responsibility to tend it, to improve it while it was entrusted to our care. In January 2020 we hired Deering Tree Service to remove the fallen trees and stumps that were too big for us to handle ourselves. In April as the ground began to thaw, we got personally involved by systematically removing the remaining debris.

We wondered: What will it look like when all the “clutter” is removed? What will we discover? Will a vision for the school property emerge over time? If so, what will it be?

The cleanup process lasted several weeks, and required a great deal of physical effort. With exercise gyms closed during the coronavirus pandemic, it was easy to build rigorous upper and lower body strength-training into the fabric of our day. Most mornings (unless it was raining or we needed a recovery day), we went to the pole barn after breakfast to gather supplies for the day: Lloyd’s wheelbarrow and chain saw, my green utility wagon, rakes, clippers, shovel, handsaw and other tools that might be needed. Then, still in the pole barn, we changed into work clothes we had previously sprayed with permethrin for ticks and other insects, stepped into mud boots, pulled on leather work gloves, and headed into the woods of the school property for several hours of hard work.

During the clean-up process we filled a fifteen-yard Builder’s Waste trailer with debris and burned at least four times that amount of additional debris.

 

By the third week, we discovered what was hidden on the land: the concrete steps to Miller Hill School, the partial foundation of the one-room school house, the partial foundation of a small back room, a Well now covered by a wooden pallet, and a sunken area towards the back of the property, likely where the privy used to be.

 

We were surprised to find so much physical evidence of Miller Hill School while cleaning up the property. We knew there was a slab of concrete on the land (which we gradually uncovered to find the steps), but had no idea we would find partial foundation remains of the one-room schoolhouse or its additional back room. Further digging is still required to level the ground and expose more of the remains.

We were also surprised by a number of  intangibles that emerged during the clean-up process. These too, were hidden on the land and all of them were gifts to us:

A way to connect with others

Since the Miller Hill School steps are near W Cheney Road and our all-day burns usually took place just beyond the steps, it was easy for people to stop and talk as they walked or drove by. In this way, we met numerous area residents who knew bits and pieces about the history of Miller Hill School. One of our neighbors, a local history buff, shared his collection of historical information with us.  Through the Glen Arbor Facebook page, we became aware of a more individuals interested in local history. They introduced us to others at the Leelanau Historical Society, and the Empire Area Museum. We are still gathering  information and learning. It has been a great deal of fun, and has helped us get acquainted with, and connected to this area and its wonderful people. We hope we can continue to work together to restore the connection between story and soil at Miller Hill School.

Information about the history of Miller Hill School

Here’s what we’ve learned so far: Miller Hill School, built in late 1800’s, was one of five one-room district “grammar” schools in Glen Arbor Township. They operated independently and were located in Glen Arbor, Glen Haven, Port Oneida, Miller Hill and South Manitou Island. In 1925, consolidation of the grammar schools began and students began to attend the Glen Arbor School. The process of consolidation continued until 1939, the last year the district schools were used. The Glen Arbor Township invited  bids up to July 13,1940 to sell the Miller Hill School.

Common ground with those who have gone before us

As we worked on the property and learned about Miller Hill School, we felt a deep connection with the past. We could sense the lingering presence of the students and teachers.  They were not just thoughts or historical facts but, as Wendall Berry puts it,  “presences, approachable and near.” Charlotte Egler’s labor of love as a teacher, remains present in this place. Cleaning-up the school property made us more aware of the common ground that binds us in living membership with those who have gone before us.

Vision for the school property

When we first purchased the school property, we saw it as a way to preserve the woods around our house. We didn’t know a vision of restoring the memory of Miller Hill School would evolve, or that we would want to somehow offer it back to this community. When we finish leveling the dirt, we plan to beautify the site with native flowers.  After that, we plan to build a sign (out of cedar leftover from the construction of our home) to display historical information and pictures about Miller Hill School.

As we continue to care for the school property, we wonder how this vision will unfold, and what other gifts might still be hidden on the land.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vicki Vanderkwaak On June 1, 2020   /   A Place