Sometimes, among day-to-day responsibilities, life provides a chance to make a change. Jimmie Gideon was presented with one of these moments earlier this year when he was asked to demolish an old, dilapidated schoolhouse north of Pineville.
Gideon regularly removes unused structures but, when he visited the property, he knew pieces of the building could be repurposed. According to Gideon's research, the old Puckett School was constructed in the late 1800s or early 1900s -- meaning the materials used were now more than 100 years old.
"I remember, when I was really young, my Dad and I would go hunting, and whenever we passed the old building, Dad would point it out and comment on it," Gideon said. "He went to school there in elementary, along with a few uncles of mine."
After serving as a school, the structure was also occupied as a church and a home.
When he began stripping the floorboards, Gideon decided to remove a handful of floor joists and use them to create a bench that he later donated to the McDonald County Historical Museum.
"I tried to keep the look authentic," Gideon said. "You can still see the sawmill marks and years of wear. There are still original nails on the runners and edges."
He said the hardest part of the project was removing the old-time nails and preserving the scars they created. Aside from using polyurethane on the wood, Gideon refrained from further preparation to retain the history.
The bench is on display at the McDonald County Historical Museum and can be viewed during the museum's grand opening on Saturday, May 25.
General News on 05/16/2019