Old Hartline School celebrates 90th birthday

HARTLINE - The annual town celebration and a 90th birthday party for the school will be the attractions Sept. 8.

The town celebration kicks off at 11 a.m. with the "Anything that Rolls" parade, old trucks, tractors, combines, bicycles, anything on wheels that can move is invited to roll down Hartline's main street, said Jerry Dormaier, one of the organizers. That's followed by a catered community dinner at noon in the basement at the Hartline Methodist church. Fee is by donation.

The annual scholarship auction takes place at the church after lunch. All money raised goes to a scholarship fund for Almira/Coulee-Hartline students.

The school's 90th birthday party begins at 3 p.m.

The Hartline school was built in 1922, an era when the city fathers had big dreams and they built a big school to match. The building, designed as grade school and high school, is 12,000 square feet with 12 classrooms, an auditorium and gym. A new gym and cafeteria was added in the 1960s.

Generations of Hartline residents graduated from the school, Dormaier said, including generations in his family. "My father graduated from that school. I graduated from that school and my two kids graduated from that school," he said.

"But it's not a school anymore," Dormaier added. The district stopped using the building in December 2008 and declared it as surplus property in 2009.

The building was sold to Grant County Port District No. 5 (commonly known as the Hartline Port District) in September 2009. The purchase came with some controversy; some Hartline residents thought the building couldn't pay back the investment.

Dormaier is involved in the preservation effort. "The big question is, 'What are you going to do with it?' And the big answer is, 'We don't know, but if it's gone, all your options are gone," he said.

The old school does have two tenants, a thrift store and an office for a cell phone retailer. A museum and a coffee shop and art gallery will open soon, Dormaier said.

The building's most unusual feature is the 300-seat auditorium, which also has a projection booth for movies. "It's just an awesome room. Awesome room," Dormaier said. The auditorium will be featured in the Sept. 8 celebration; the local band The 45s will perform during the afternoon. This will be the first performance in the auditorium since the building was sold, he said.

A "very small beer and wine tasting" is scheduled for the afternoon, featuring brewers and vintners from Odessa, Wilbur and regional producers, Dormaier said. Art groups from Coulee City and Grand Coulee will display works from their participants, and Dormaier said he will show some works from his collection and works loaned by artist friends.

Donations will be accepted, and will be used for the Hartline School and Rehab and Reuse Project.