The first scholarship and artistry award presented by the Country School Association of America was given to  Jeannette and John Kottke at the CSAA annual convention held June 16-18 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
    The Kottke’s did much of the research and directed the production titled “One-Room Rural School House Days.”  Videotaping was done in and around the restored District No. 1 rural school located on Highway 18 a half mile east of Fredericksburg.
    “It was an award for artistry really, and it came with a $300 cash prize,” Jeanette Kottke said.
    The school was in operation from 1854-1959. It sat idle until area citizens decided the school should be restored. In February 2001, the Chickasaw County  Country School Preservation Foundation headed by Dianna Engelbrecht was organized. The school was moved from the Kottke farm in 2002 to its present location on the Engelbrecht farm.
    For the next two years, several volunteers headed by Ray Niewoehner worked to restore the school into an authentic country school museum facility that can be enjoyed by school children, seniors and history buffs. The volunteers received financial backing from many area business and community groups  and individuals.
    The focus then turned toward the development of historical documentary. Twenty-one former students and teachers who attended area country schools were interviewed by a former one-room school teacher, Syvilla Hewitt. The video is divided into nine segments dealing with educational and rural  issues from 1930-1960. More than 200  historical images were included in the140 minute production.
    Sue Benning was the videographer and Terry Folkers from the Historic Photo Archives Studio in Klemme provided voice narration, some historic photos and video and transferred and edited the video into a DVD format. Teacher Linda Burgart and students from New Hampton elementary schools helped with a historical reenactment for the production.
    The country school video can be purchased for $20 plus  $4 for postage by contacting Kottke at 2676 240th St., Fredericksburg, IA 50630.
    The CSAA was formed in 2006 at the University of Northern Illinois in response to a growing in country (one-room) schools. Purpose of the groups is to promote the preservation of the programs, buildings and history of country schools.