North Fork residents should be kept in the loop

A Forest Service announcement that they were going to remove the additions to the rear (north) end of the Ford Schoolhouse has created some comment and concern among North Fork folks.

The Ford School was originally built as a one-room school on private property. It had a couple of special features. There were no windows on the west side because the North Fork Road went by close to that side of the building. On the east side, facing the river, there was a long line of windows to help light the schoolroom.

The school closed during World War II due to few students and the building again returned to private ownership. In the years since WWII, I can remember three families occupying the old school. First were the Rockwells, followed by the Waltzes and finally the Funk family.

Among them, they made some significant changes. A window was added to the west wall, perhaps because the North Fork Road was moved 150 feet or so further from the cabin and maybe they just wanted to see passing vehicles. There were not many of those in the 1950s.

Biggest change was removing the lean-to wood shed on the north end of the building. A new doorway was cut in the north end of the building, which led to a kind of storage space hallway, which led to an add-on bedroom. These additions to the north end of the cabin are going to be removed this summer. The Forest Service also plans to clean out the school, which has been occupied by mice and packrats in recent years since the Funk family sold the property to the Forest Service as part of the Wildland and Scenic Corridor purchases.

The recent Forest decision has raised two concerns. A few folk feel that something should remain of the private landowners who summered there since WWII. I agree with the Forest Service, it should be restored as a schoolhouse with maybe some photos on display showing what the uses have been.

Biggest concern is the Forest Service not including locals in their planning. Nothing was said at the Interlocal and volunteers would certainly be ready and willing to help restore the area around the school. In the hundred years since the school was built, trees have grown to the point where they threaten the structure and are encroaching on the meadow.

The latest Forest archaeologist probably is not even aware that locals have been pushing for nearly 20 years for the historic structure to be restored and saved. We would like to be a part of the effort and would be quick to offer our sweat, expertise and maybe even limited funds.

At the very least we should be kept informed.

Larry Wilson’s North Fork Views appears weekly in the Hungry Horse News.