Lynne Ternus, 3rd grade teacher at D-G Elementary, receives a check from Dysart Community Foundation board member Mark Hookham.

Recently the Log Cabin at D-G Elementary received some attention thanks to grant from The Dysart Community Foundation. It received a new cedar roof and some additional repairs on the inside to get it back to condition that is safe to be utilized by staff and students at D-G Elementary.

The Log Cabin was built as a U.S. Bicentennial project in 1976 by the Dysart-Geneseo F.F.A. The cabin was made out of used telephone poles and shingled with cedar shakers. It is outfitted inside as an outdoor classroom with a blackboard and benches. The benches were furnished by a retired D-G teacher and were constructed and finished by Kent Folsom. The cabin won many chapter awards after it was built.

In past years, the building was frequently used as a science classroom during lessons in the outdoor classroom. Many years ago, fifth grade social studies used the cabin during “Little House on the Prairie Days” each year. During Prairie Heritage Day, environmental films were shown in the cabin along with prairie trial tours and pioneer activities such as spinning, weaving and Indian Fry Bread.

The cabin has also been used to show students how a classroom was used in the early 1900’s. It has also been used during a unit on the “Westward Expansion” as a part of Native American unit. Stories are read of pioneer children and talk about what school was like back then and compare it to today’s school. The students are also responsible for cleaning the classroom.