Community Celebrates Grand Reopening of Historic 1913 Lincoln School

By ANGELA KELLOGG-HENRY

Cleaver Managing Editor

On Saturday, Oct. 24 Lincoln Township hosted an open house at the newly remodeled Lincoln School. I admit I felt emotional seeing the new windows, beautiful floors, restored artwork and a building the community can use when I approached the school.

My first opportunity to see the little school at the corner of Pine and Arthur was about 10 years ago. I toured it with friend Scott Welty and family with permission from the owners at the time the Stephenson Wyman Funeral Home. The funeral home had acquired the school in the 1980s considering making it a small chapel for services in Lake George. That never came about and recently the Wyman family donated the building to Lincoln Township.

Our interest in touring the school came from a photo in the Welty family collection that showed artwork on the walls. Welty wondered if the artwork was that of his family which counted among them a number of artists.

The building was in bad shape, to say the least with an unfinished addition and showing its 100+ year age. The artwork was mostly intact except for two paintings. The paintings were signed CCC, which we researched and found were painted by Charles C. Calkins (1891-1960). Calkins was a Lincoln Township and Clare County resident all of his life.

The school might have continued to sit in a state of disrepair if not for Carol Majewski, clerk at Lincoln Township. Through Majewski’s efforts the township received a "Michigan Rehabilitation and Stabilization Grant" with help from Clare County Treasurer Jenny Beemer-Fritzinger. The project of restoring the schoolhouse began in June.

Throughout the project a school committee was formed to help guide the process. Members include Deb Briggs, Marilyn Hudson, Holly Brown, Dawn Kibbey and Darci LaFave. The committee will continue for the foreseeable future to help with details regarding rental, décor items, and other small caretaking items that require thoughtfulness and volunteers.

“Larry Wyman donated it to the township, and everybody thought I was crazy; I was crazy enough,” joked Majewski of taking on the project. “You’ve got to have a little vision. Craig Hubble [Hubble Construction] was amazing. I would come in from the very beginning of the project; I would stop every week or so just to see how things are going. When people would ask for a report at the board meeting, I would say, ‘I can’t even give you a report, you’ve got to see it.’”

The project work began in June and was completed just a month ago. Over the summer the old bus garage and matching brick outbuilding were torn down. The bricks were saved and some used were used where needed for repairs during the remodel. Those bricks were made locally in Clare. Eventually, the rear parking lot will be expanded after a few trees and other clearings are completed.

A full kitchen was installed along with two accessible bathrooms. Some finishing touches are also historical. Gordy Mason, Jon Ringelberg, Larry Levi and other donated logging tools, logs with log marks, and John and Jennifer Wilson donated a beautiful table.

The Lake George Property Owners Association donated $500 to go to the purchase of tables and chairs. Donations were also received by Deb Briggs and Bill Bergy, the Clare County Historical Society and other locals supported the project.

“I’ve been eyeballing this for a long, long time. I’m so happy this came to fruition,” Majewski said. “It’s the highlight of my time as clerk. We just did the Shingle Lake park too and added bathrooms and that was a really good and fun project. That was a grant through the DNR Sparks program. I received a grant from Consumer’s Energy to do a little work at Bertha Lake.”

The original school bell hangs at the Lincoln Township Fire Hall, taken there years ago. Local resident Sharon LaPalm donated several bells, and one will be hung outside the schoolhouse on a post.

The artwork by Calkins proved a little problematic as the art is permanently affixed to the wall. An artist was sought out to repair about a quarter of one painting, touch up many others and completely remake another.  And speaking of art, Jon Ringelberg, on behalf of the Clare County Historical Society, donated a 4-foot-tall aluminum portrait of Abraham Lincoln to give a similar look as the original.

The Lincoln Township school is located at the corner of Pine and Arthur Roads in Lake George. Visit https://lincolntwp.net/ or contact Carol Majewski at the Lincoln Township Hall.