I toured a bunch of one-room schoolhouses in Rehoboth with the Rehoboth Antiquarian Society. There were way too many people on the tour (over 40) to get decent photos but at least I now have a list of all of the old buildings and their street addresses. I did manage to get a few shots inside the Hornbine School, and one of those shots is the subject of today's photo.
The Hornbine School was built in the 1840s although the original section was about half of what is still standing today. A 14 foot addition doubled the size of the structure in the 1920s. Attendance reached an all-time high in 1928 when 49 students were enrolled. By 1937, though, at the height of the Great Depression, only 14 students attended and the school was forced to close.
The desks you see are authentic from the period. In fact, when I started school at the old Saint Ann's School in Providence in 1964, these are the type desks I used in the 1st and 2nd grade. Those inkwells you see in the right corner were no longer used to hold ink, of course, but that hole was perfect for tormenting any girl that decided to come to school that day wearing her very long hair in either pigtails or a ponytail. It's amazing how quickly a 2nd grade boy can tie that girl's hair to a ruler through the inkwell... It's equally amazing how quickly a nun can drag that 2nd grade boy to the front of the class by an earlobe. Not, mind you, that I'd have any experience with either, of course. (whistles innocently.)
For today's processing, I wanted to give the photo a really old feel with a washed out effect, but I wanted to retain a hint of color in the wood. I ran this shot through Redynamix to bring out the full range of color and texture. I then used a saturation filter to dramatically reduce the overall saturation, and then adjusted the levels slightly. The final layer was a sepia photo filter.
Look at the craftsmanship of those desks! And that they're old...just beautiful! When I was in elementary, we used what we call divans sans the iron details. Great pic, Ron!
Love all the wear and tear on the wood......it makes you wonder who sat at those desks, and what they ended up doing/did for a living etc. Awesome shot!
Thanks, everyone! You could really feel the history in those old desks. Fitting into them was a different issue. I seem to be a lot larger now than I was in 2nd grade...
Thanks, everyone! You could really feel the history in those old desks. Fitting into them was a different issue. I seem to be a lot larger now than I was in 2nd grade...