York Town Square

The e-mails bearing memories of one-room schools continue.
Karen Van Bibber remembers the now-demolished Ore Valley school, followed by Jay Cannon’s memories of the Springdale school in Foustown, standing but deteriorating:

My mother attended the little one room school located at the intersection of Camp Betty Washington Rd. and Springwood Rd.
She was born on the farm just south of the school in 1913. Mr grandfather, her father, bought the farm in 1912 after returning from a trip to South Africa where he worked. He met my grandmother there where they were married. They returned to Southampton, England and were preparing to return to the U.S. They had purchased tickets for the Titanic but later changed to the sister ship of the White Star line to get home sooner.
The York Dispatch published a picture of my grandfather when he was in his 90’s holding a newspaper that reported the tragedy.
I have a beautiful picture of the farm located just south of the one room school, which shows the original barn and how Springwood Rd. was once a dirt road leading to the farmhouse. The date of 1912 is etched into the back of the picture. Those posing were my grandfather, J.B. Raby, his wife, my grandmother who was born just outside of London, Nellie Castle Raby, and my grandfather’s brother and sisters.
I believe my grandmother was with child in this picture carrying my mother’s older brother James, who was born in October of 1912. My mother was born a little over a year later, on October 31, 1913, and named Haidee Elizabeth after my grandfather’s sister.
My mother told me a few stories of her experiences at the one room school and how she helped her mother get everyone ready for school.
Later when I was born, I spent many summers with my grandparents on the farm. They gave the railroad the right of way, through the farm and the tracks went right passed the back porch of the house and then crossed over Springwood Rd. The tracks were later taken up sometime in the 80’s.
The farm was a beautiful place. My grandfather and my father planted trees there and grafted many nut trees. Later to maintain the history of the farm and maintain tradition in the family, my grandfather gave my father grafts from some of the trees which my father planted at our family home located elsewhere in York Township.
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This is Jay D. Cannon, a graduate of Central High School emailing. I have enjoyed reading your many articles relative to the “memories” of the one room school houses.
For eighteen years of my life, I lived in a one room school house which is still standing and owned by my brother, Royal A. Cannon Jr. It was known as the Springdale School, and is located in Foustown on the Greenbriar Rd in the N. York area. It is now painted white.
At one time, it may have been part of the Central York School District. My dad purchased the school building in 1941 and converted it to a three bedroom house. We had to pump water outside and heat it in large buckets on the kitchen stove to take a bath. With ten kids in the family, many times my brothers I would use the same water for severa baths. What memories and what a humble beginning.