By Sue Wilcox
How good will you look on your 100th birthday? Although the two-room historic Buckeye School is approaching its 100th birthday next year, you can’t tell it from just passing by. Her siding is painted, her windows and screens rebuilt, the roof replaced, a ramp makes her ADA accessible, and an outdoor ADA restroom (complete with crescent moon) accommodates all visitors. Many improvements were made with generous matching grants from Larimer County and Colorado Historical Society funds.
We will celebrate Buckeye School’s 99th birthday at the Quilt and Fabric Arts Show on Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22, from 10 am-4 pm at the SEC of WCR 80 and NCR 17. The theme is “Nature’s Handiwork,” and the proceeds will be used to move the former Great Western Buckeye sugar beet Scale House from the corner of County Roads 17 and 68 to Buckeye School and refurbish it for next year’s Centennial Celebration! In addition, there will be vintage farm machinery and vehicles to admire, burgers and dogs to munch on, a yard sale, a bake sale, and craft vendors from 10 am to 4 pm both Saturday and Sunday. (Cash and checks only please.)
Other Buckeye School improvements include updated wiring, replacing crumbling concrete steps, and a fire-resistant safe used to store historic Buckeye School attendance records and grade books, and Buckeye Community Club documents. A Ponderosa pine windbreak was planted in 1993 and shade trees were added in 2019. The original playground slide and teeter-totter were restored and swings and a fence added. Most of these improvements also involved labor and funds from Buckeye Community Club members and the community.
Recently a generous gift from two Questers groups allowed removal of the ancient brown carpeting from the classrooms and restoring the original oak floors. Questers is a group of history enthusiasts who support the restoration and improvement of historic buildings. Plans are in the works to use funds from last year’s Quilt and Fabric Arts Show to provide a vapor barrier and attractive surface for the concrete floors in the basement.
So, what is Buckeye Community Club? Buckeye School was built in 1925 and consolidated students from 5 smaller schools: Round Butte, Spring, Fairmont, Soapstone, and Buckeye. It supported two classrooms, with a movable divider with doors in between, and was a community center for Buck ‘N Ears 4-H Club, ladies’ lunches, information meetings, voting, and square dances. When Fort Collins, Wellington, and many small rural schools were combined as Poudre R1 School District in 1960, Buckeye School was closed, and her students bussed to Waverly School. A group of local residents leased the School for $1 a year to continue its use as a community center. The group became Buckeye Community Club, which bought the building for $767 in 1970.