Although the Schoolfield Preservation Committee was not successful in its efforts to save the Schoolfield Recreation Center from demolition, its members have reorganized to try to save other historic buildings in the community.
“After the loss of the recreation center, several of us got together and felt like we had to do something,” Jim Hyler, chairman of the original group, said Wednesday, “so we formed a new nonprofit corporation called the Schoolfield Preservation Foundation.
“Our mission is to undertake programs to preserve the history of the Schoolfield village and all that goes with that.”
He said the members hope to work with the owners of the Schoolfield Mill buildings to save as many of the buildings as possible.
Old Mississippi Brick & Heart Pine Co. in Crystal Springs, Miss., has been on site deconstructing the Schoolfield Mill buildings.
David Kleier, the real estate and development manager with the company, said the preservationists have spoken with him, but called the process a “work in progress.”
“Yes, we have talked and would like to be sensitive to what the group is trying to accomplish in preserving as much of Schoolfield as possible,” Kleier said. “However, that is predicated upon what makes economic sense to the overall project.”
Old Mississippi Brick is currently working with the Dewberry engineering firm to put together a master plan for what the company is trying to accomplish, Kleier said.
“We have not made any commitment as to what buildings will be saved,” he said.
Hyler said there are several obstacles to the foundation’s mission.
“Funding is a big issue, and we are asking the public and corporations for funding,” he said. “We also need capable personnel who are available to help sustain the operation.”
Hyler said the group is especially looking for younger members since many of the seven founding members are older.
“We want to expand the board to 15, with people who can help us,” he said. “Even at our stage in life, we felt strongly that we had to do something or the Schoolfield way of life will disappear. We don’t want to look back and say, ‘How could we have let that happen?’”
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