July 9, 2020 at 5:22 p.m.
Time capsule found at former Newbold School
Hoban family discovers self-addressed letters written by fifth-grade students
Time capsule found at former Newbold School
By Stephanie Kuski-
Rick and Lori Hoban bought Newbold School in 2007 and have transformed it into an extraordinary home. The couple grew up in the area and attended Pine Lake School, but decided to purchase Newbold School in order to have enough space for their extended family to visit.
"We came from large families, and we have six children and 34 grandchildren," Rick Hoban explained. "So when we have a get together, we need a lot of space, and that was the goal: to make this a nice place to get together and have fun as a family in the summer."
Thirteen years later, the Hobans' revamped home now features an eclectic design to match their out-of-the-box living arrangements. The retired schoolrooms have been converted to themed bedrooms ranging from Asian, Hawaiian, country, geranium and safari themes to a purple room for relaxing (to name just a few).
"We've worked on one room each year," Lori Hoban said. "Every year, we just do a little more."
For example, the former principal's office - with its original name and room number placard still fitted on the door - was fashioned as a superhero room.
In addition, the hallway was transformed into an art gallery featuring Lori Hoban's personal collection, and the boys' and girls' bathrooms were updated with a shower and other amenities for a homey ambiance.
To keep up with their grandchildren, the Hobans' home also includes a game room equipped with a pool table, foosball table, darts and a ping pong table. What's more, their home also features the school's original gymnasium, now fitted with an impressive collection of sports equipment - a dream come true for Rick Hoban, he said. If that's not enough, the former ballfields are also available for their grandkids to play kickball or fly kites.
Although the Hobans have spent years making this school their own, they also left small mementos around the building to remind them of its past, such as signs which read "Newbold School."
They said many visitors have stopped by over the years with fond memories of their former elementary school.
"We purposefully left little things up, like we left the alphabet up in a couple rooms," Lori Hoban said. "They did things on bulletin boards that we left. Some of the big posters that have animals on them, we left a few of those."
A year or so after the couple purchased the school, they said they were cleaning out some old cabinets left behind when they stumbled upon a time capsule filled with D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) letters written in 2002.
The letters were addressed by Newbold's fifth-grade class to their future ninth-grade selves and were meant to be sent in the fall of 2005. But because Newbold School closed in the spring of that same year, those letters never reached their intended recipients.
"I think when the school moved out, somebody didn't see them and forgot them," Lori Hoban said.
She added that only one of the D.A.R.E. letters had already been opened (in addition to a lone love letter), but the remaining letters are still sealed. Since the Hobans found the letters over a decade ago, they've wanted to return them to their rightful owners.
"We just thought they were so cute, but we felt they should get returned somehow and we didn't really know what to do," Lori explained. "We want them to have them, we feel like it's a touching thing."
Hopefully at least some of the letters will be returned their owners. However, if that doesn't happen the letters have found a more permanent home at the Pioneer Park Historical Complex (PPHC).
Those individuals interested in obtaining their letters are encouraged to pick them up at the Rural Schoolhouse Museum.
If no one collects the letters, they will remain at the museum.
The letters from Newbold School's fifth grade class of 2002-03 were written by the following individuals: Sarah Bess, Neil Kasmarek, Ryan O'Grady, Jacob Weber, Josh Helgeson, Brandon Knapp, Dani Unverzagt, Jordan Moxon, Rae Bassette, Molly Schlosser, John Kroll, Matt Zuiker, Matthew Ferguson, Kyle Borski, Meghan Wall, Roy Jaramillo, Danielle McRae, Kaitlin England and Jesse Robinson.
To inquire about obtaining one of the letters, contact the Pioneer Park Historical Complex at (715) 369-5004.
Stephanie Kuski can be reached at stephanie@rivernews online.com.
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