desymbol: Construction Crew Goes To Renovate A School In Oklahoma City, Discovers Chalkboards From 1917

Emerson North High School is pretty much the closest thing to a time machine there is. In 2015 and 2016, construction crews went there uncovered chalkboards with historic drawings from the early 1900s.

The boards contribute to the already rich history of the school, established in 1911. The principal at the time, Sherry Kishore loved the historical treasures. She said they provided a glimpse into people that were in this building before, and the way they taught.

At first, workers renovating the historic school in downtown Oklahoma City discovered slate blackboards with incredibly well-preserved pieces dating back to 1917. They included an old multiplication wheel, as well as civic and music lessons. All from the year when the first Jazz record was released. The Original Dixieland Jass Band would be proud. There were also rules for keeping clean and a vocabulary list with words like “blunder” and “choke” written in cursive.

Later, the school decided to pull old chalkboards to make room for smart boards. Again, workers were called in and again they found priceless artifacts. A detailed rendering of Oklahoma’s Indian territory, more sentences in cursive, and various shapes, explaining perspective. Some flowers in different shades of green and yellow. Everything has perfectly stood the test of time.

The current principal of the school, Jack L Reed, M.Ed., took the position after his predecessor, Ms. Kishore, was promoted to Alternative Education Director for the Oklahoma City Public Schools. She was the one who informed him about the discoveries. “A few [of them] are exposed with an acrylic glass protecting them,” Mr. Reed told Bored Panda. “Others have a sheet of plywood covering them until funding can be received to purchase and install the acrylic glass to expose them.”

“These boards have a significance to the school that the teachers and students could not have realized back in 1917. They have survived the test of time and now represent the school in a way that no person could have imagined.”