Interest grows to preserve Pleasant Ridge School

A local drive to preserve the historic Pleasant Ridge School near La Conner is gearing up for the long haul.

“We realize the project will take many years to complete,” says Lori Buher, secretary-treasurer of the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery District, which has purchased the school building and adjoining property, with designs of seeing it restored for public use.

Buher helped to organize a meeting attended by some 25 people at the La Conner Middle School Library the evening of February 7.

Joyce Johnson was among the cross-section of people committed to the preservation cause in attendance. Now 99, she was treasurer of the Pleasant Ridge School Association, which spearheaded improvements to the building in the 1970s and 1980s.

All came away fueled up for the task at hand.

The vacant schoolhouse, long admired for its sturdy and striking stone foundation, dates to the 1890s. Today its broken windows are boarded. A roof installed four decades ago is in dire need of replacement. The building has neither running water nor electricity.

There was consensus in favor of establishing a non-profit entity with officers, a board of directors, and three-year project plan so that donations can be solicited and grant monies pursued.

“The obvious need,” says Buher, “is for fundraising.” Replacing the roof alone might cost $35,000.

The tax-supported cemetery district, which envisions the former school being a future venue for memorial gatherings and special events, is not in position to use public funds for the restoration.

“It’s going to have to be a grass-roots thing, one that relies on donations,” Cemetery Commissioner Curt Buher, Lori’s husband, told those attending last week’s meeting. “We’re looking forward to getting going, but it’s going to take awhile.”

The district’s acquisition includes about two acres of land, much of it earmarked for anticipated future cemetery expansion.

The fate of the school was the focus of this meeting.

Retired attorney Gary Jones, who resides on nearby Landing Road, offered insight into both the history of the prior Pleasant Ridge School preservation campaign – which stalled when a purchase agreement for the property couldn’t be reached – and the legal process for going forward.

Dan Royal was involved in restoration of the Skagit City School on Fir Island as a board member of the Skagit County Historical Society and Vice-President of the Skagit County Pioneer Association. He stressed the importance of applying for grant awards.

“If you do the grants right,” he said, “it’s well worth it.”

The current effort does enjoy a head start of sorts. Some $7,000 remains in a certificate of deposit from previous Pleasant Ridge School Association fundraising.

“It was all small donations,” Johnson recalled. “There were no big donations. I don’t know how we ended up with $7,000 left over.”

Jones cited two other advantages – the building’s location, amply protected from storms out of the south, and its iconic foundation.

“I’d venture to say the school wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for the stone foundation,” Jones said.

Fittingly, the group that met last week is rock-solid behind rehabilitating the building.

“It’s nice,” said Steve Thein, a third-generation Landing Road resident who regularly drives past the schoolhouse, “that you’re considering that the building be restored.”

Another public meeting devoted to the Pleasant Ridge School is set for March 7, again at the La Conner Middle School Library, starting at 6:30 p.m.

Those wishing additional information between now and then are invited to contact Commissioner Buher at 360-466-3141.