A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit the old schoolhouse in Kingston and photograph a story on the 100-year celebration of the school building.

Countless young minds have passed through the doors of this old building, which still bears the marks of history on the walls. Original floors, chalkboards and fixtures still sit as they were a couple generations ago in non-public second story of the building.

The Co-op Preschool currently serves dozens of kids in structured crafts, music, play and education. It’s a statement to the history of the community, that after so many generations, there is still a ‘school’ in the old schoolhouse.

Recently, the school had a few upgrades to the floors, windows and lights in the main floor. What remained is a fixture with a 40-foot rope to the bell in the tower. A privilege for the selected student to ‘ring the bell’, a much coveted job for the older kids. So the next time you hear the chime of a bell ringing through town in the mornings, think about the hundreds of hands pulling the frayed white rope that sounded a start to the school day.

Brad Camp is a photographer for Sound Publishing, parent company for the Kingston Community News.Visit his blog at www.bradcampimages.blogspot.com