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Show The Salt Lake Tribune ARTS Sunday, October31, 1999 Fairfield Schoolhouse Still Rings Out WithStyle JACK GOODMAN Utah Filmmakers Explore —, Diversity in KUEDSeries THE SALT LA\ Ethnic and cultural diversity continues to be an essential and contentious part of the American experience. And Utahnsshare that ever- ‘The Utah Preservation Magazineissued bytheofficial arbiter and catalogerofpast events in ourstate, the Utah Historical Society, is sponsoring a photo contesttitled “Back to School.” Since thestate’s smali fry have been backat schoolfor two months, the contest seemsa bit late — or growing connection to diverse races, colors and creeds. Overthe next three years, Ch. 7 (KUED) plans a major outreach campaign scrutinizing issues that rise from its changing population. This month, three Utah film- makers explore Utah's ethnic, educational and sexual multiplicity. “Diversity, the way we look at it, is more than just race,” said Mary Dickson, KUED director of creative services, “It is age, gender, employment. did, until I realized the contest is aneffort to spotlight schoolbuild ings themselves, where thou- sands of youngsters now grown gray or bald were incarceratedin “And these first three have years goneby. been produced by women, and women producers tend to be a smaller group.” Thefirst of these hourlong documentaries, “A PolynesianGift to Utah,” premieres Wednesdayat 7 “Incarcerated” is meant jokingly—there are those among us who enjoyed ourdailyschool. ing, although wejoinedour fel- lowsin shouting “No more penno more books, no more teachers’ cross-eyedlooks.” Since I cameofagein aneastern metropolis, I have always Boar Fairfield schoolhouseresulted from Utahterritorial “free schoollaw” at a time when LDS schools bors: A Community Divided” ex- been intrigued byat least the look were considered inadequateby those of otherfaiths. als within the LDS Church. of small-town schools. If I were to p.m, enter the photo contest, I would select the smallest townsubject familiar to me the long-closed nae District School, which, ill stands in that Pr rural community in Utah County, west of Utah Lake and a short distance from Lehi. It re- On Nov. 5, “Friends and Neigh- population came when, in 1860, it The Fairfield District School was constructed by An- drewFjeld of Lehi and HansR.Petersen ofFairfield. Therestrooms were outside until 1935, when they were providedin a smalladdition, which also housed a furnace room. reached 7,000 — before Johnson’s ers seeking a quietlife. in Fairfield, was shuttered when local youngsters beganto be shut wardly in fairly good shape, due tled by bus to Lehi. Architectstell usit is the most “elaborate and expressive example of VictorianEclectic stylefor miles around.” Myown elemen: tar hoolhouse on Prospect Place in Brooklynwas just a dozenyearsolder, but more than 10 timesas large. P.S.138 served 1,200 pupils at a time, The Fairfield school's nearest neighbor as andis the CarsonInnat now state park. ‘est well-known neighbor to P.S. 138 was Loehman's,a famous cut-rate dress shop, which displayed andsold the usedcloth. ing of Broadway theatrical stars, including Mae West andClara Bow(both Brooklynnatives). ‘The Fairfield District School Was constructed by AndrewEjeld of Lehi and Hans R. Petersen of Fairfield. Th trooms were outside until when they were providedi mall addi tion, which also houseda furnace room. (Myowncity school was steam-heatedfromthestart. We kids, with wet mittens and Tim's”caps decoratedbywell aimed snowballs, would march gious groups suchas the Presby- diators.) There wasnoairconditioning in either school, ofcourse, and roomswere swelteringinlate Juneand early September in New York and Utah. But our Brooklyn system offree public schools dated backto 1800orearlier. The Fairfield school wasthe result of adifferentsort of history — re terians and Methodists “took ad- sulting fromthe “fr hool law” in Utah Territoryof 1890. Beforethat time, Utah had two kindsof schools, Mormonand non-Mormon, or so the Utah Historical Society reports. It says there was a“lack of funding for Mormonschools although educa tion was likewise priority.” There was lack of adequately trained teachers and materials.” Modern times havenot com- vantageofthat deficiency andes- tablished scoresof schools throughout theterritor: part of their missionaryefforts among the Mormons.” According to the Historical Society applications to place the Fairfield School onthe ational Register of Historic Places, “those schools usually provideda better edu the Mormon schools. It was sage ofthe‘free school’ lawin 1890 and subsequentreformsthat finally establisheda viable public school systemandeliminatedthe need for church-sponsored schools.” Nowadays, of course, there is constant needfor Catholicparochial schools, andgrowing public supportfor charterschools and a pletely corrected suchmatters. Things weredifferentin voucher systemtopayfor private Brooklyn, whereP.S. 138 served It was the “free school” law and local prosperity that brought the old schoolhouseintoday s il lustration into being. It was built as a “model school”for the nearby Maxwell Training School forTeachers, supplies were plen tiful andsalaries apparently good. In Utah, with the development gratefullyinto the warm andodif- ofa territorywide educational erous basement by the numbers at 8 of a wintry morning and dry system fostered by the Mormon lack of funding, non-LDSreli. schooling. ata time whenthe town was flourishing fromagricultural and sheep-raisingactivities on open ranchlands. The town population fell to 129 whentheschoo! was closed. Its real heydayin termsof “Walking in Two Worlds: Is- of the area’s anti gay rhetoric, sues in American Indian Education” premieres Nov. 12. viduals trying to balance twodis- tinct cultures. “We assume that when people to theefforts of suchcitizensasJ. attitudes on both sides of the issue. “T wasn't quite sure howI felt,” “They want to keep their culture, but they have to learn the way the rules work here. People on thefilmwasa form of therapy. “Tt helped me work tious soit whohave cometo this state from the Pacific Islands bring with brick on astone foundation. It values of Utahns.” hasa hip roof and a unique entrance/bell tower. Laidin stretcher bondfashion, the walls are buff, with salmon-colored brick trim. The archedrecessat the baseof the toweris formedof three coursesof dark brick with headercoursesoflighter brick. The squarebell tower has roundedarch openings on the front and sides but nobell hangs fromtheeaves,oratleast noneis visible frombelow. Inside thereis a vestibule and to the restroomaddition. How many youngstersorteachers the Fairfield District School onceac commodated I don’t know,but perhaps some contestants in the photocontest canfurnish the answer. Jack Goodman has been associ- ated with The Salt Lake Tribune them family values, spiritual and cultural connectedness — all of aspects of my feelings. But was raised in a homethat was ace ae ing, so for meit is not a blackand-whiteissu Producer ty Campbell which are the traditional family traveled throughout Utah, Idaho and Montanain herquest to ex- More than 25,000 Polynesians nowlive in Utah’s dry climate and plore issues of American Indian urban sprawl. Many were drawn. education in “Walking in Two: Worlds.” She said that the school by the educational and religious opportunities of the LDS Church, and many cameasearly as 1889. The documentaryalso looks at dropout rate on some reservations is 90 percent. “I was surprised how open and honest everyone was with us,” the dark side of a culture uprooted. said Campbell. “When sharing,it was incredibly painful. They “Noone hadany problemtalking about the gang problem,” said Weiler. “I was told that Polyne- wanted to be brutally honest.” “Walking in Two Worlds” highlights six successful educa- : sians have beenin denial about tional programs in the Inter. mountain West, including Monument Valley High School on the Navajo Nation. the existence of gang problems, Nowtheyaretrying to face it head on. cloak room, a large single room witha stage area, and doorways (. bors supporting their son. Other parents fond that they can't always count on religious leaders for aid. Casto offers a balanced forum that sheds light on arrive [in Utah], they arejust like us,” said Kathleen Weiler, producer of “A Polynesian Gift to Ben White, superintendent of the Camp Floyd-Stagecoach InnState Park a few years ago. The onestory rectangularstructureis 47 by35 feet in dimension, built of as a staff writer or free-lance writer for 53 years. they wrotea letter to their neigh- said Casto, adding that working Theold schoolhouseis outourouterwearon noisy steamra- Roband Kathyrn Stephensenof Provo, members of the LDS Church, had just learned that their son was homosexual. Tired Thethree films center on indi- placed an 1878 adobeschoolhouse and, always the only schoolhouse core values.” plores the struggles of homosexu- Army left Camp Floyd. Today, with its elevation of 4,876 feet and the rural look of things, the abandoned schoolhousestands at 59 N. ChurchSt, in a town thatis increasingly attractive to newcom- The art of Tongan weaving is featured in KUED's documentary “A Polynesian Gift to Utah.” Colleen Casto, producer of “Friends and Neighbors,” had been touched by the issue of homosexuality in her own family. She successfully taps into the powerful emotions that tug at people whoare taught to live by certain values, only to see them tested. “I tried to be balanced,” said Casto. “This wasthe mostdifficult project that I have ever worked on. Most of it stems from a con- troversial subject that touches At MonumentValley, s' learn geometry con creating rug designs on a computer. Then, they teach the elders about the computers. “A lotof people talked about the notion of working within two different cultures,” said Campbell. “Thatit was like walking in two worlds. 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