You may have seen an old school house along Cyntheanne Road near Southeastern Parkway, across from Hamilton Southeastern Intermediate & Junior High School.  It was originally constructed as a one-room school house for what was then a rural farming community.  In more recent times, it has been used as a home.

Curt Tappendorf is in the middle of a massive remodeling project to convert the old school house to a coffee house.  The plans include a second story for customers and a 25-car parking lot adjacent to the building.  Tappendorf says his goal is to open the building for coffee by July 7th of this year.

Monday, Tappendorf had two men that spent their time in that one-room school house visit the construction site.  George Underwood and Charles Whelchel are the only living graduates of the 1946 class.

Whelchel has fond memories of his days at the old school house, saying “we were like one big family.”  There were three teachers, and it was common for studenst to listen to what the other teachers were saying, with the lower grades trying to hear what the upper grades were doing.

Whelchel is excited that the old school house building is still here and being put to good use.  He stopped farming two years ago on his 90th birthday.  “I said I was gonna farm until I was 90 years old and I made it,” Whelchel said.

Walking around that old school house building brought back memories of my father telling me about the one-room school house where he was educated in rural Martin County, Indiana.  Curt Tappendorf is working to preserve history and create a new coffee shop on that location.  Watch for the opening of School House 7 Cafe in July.