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Published Friday, November 20, 2009 in Local

Photo by Winston Skinner

Paula Stanford adds a festive wreath to a collection of items that will be offered at the Christmas Bazaar at Mary Ray Schoolhouse on Saturday.

Proceeds benefit Mary Ray School

By Winston Skinner

The Newnan Times-Herald

Supporters of the Mary Ray Schoolhouse will kick off the Christmas season with a bazaar on Saturday.

The historic school building dates back a century. Located in the Raymond Community off Highway 16 between Newnan and Sharpsburg, the school closed many years ago.

Efforts began awhile back to restore the building for use as a community center. Where once there was peeling paint and weeds, there now is a building gleaming with a coat of white paint in a setting that shows someone cares and is working to restore the old school to its glory.

"It looks better," said Paula Stanford, one of the volunteers spearheading the efforts at the old school.

Volunteers will be at the site today setting up for the Christmas Bazaar. Christmas decorations, gifts, vests and other items will be available. The bazaar will start about 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and continue until around 4 p.m.

Stanford and her cousin, Linda Caldwell, spent some time earlier this week getting ready for Saturday. Wreaths, holiday towels, stuffed animals and ceramic Yuletide items were on tables awaiting the sale date.

"We have reindeer antlers. We have Santa Claus hats," Stanford said. "We're selling Christmas-type bows and other bows."

The school was constructed around 1909. The school was named for Mary Rawson Ray. Ray's daughter, Laulie Ray Shedden, and her husband, Robert F. Shedden, founded Raymond.

The Sheddens gave the land where the school sits to a board of trustees for the school on Oct. 1, 1909. The initial self-perpetuating trustees were Laulie Shedden, Tobe Donegan, C.J. Owen, M.E. Megee, J.G. Witcher, E.J. Bailey and A.H. Young.

The deed refers to the Sheddens' "desire to promote the educational interests and general welfare of the people of the town of Raymond." The property was transferred to the trustees and their successors "in trust for school purposes and for such public meetings as may be in the general interests of the community."

The school closed around 60 years ago but has continued to be a landmark in the area. "We used to play here when we were little," Stanford said.

Caldwell, walking across the wooden floor in the old structure, added, "We used to skate in here."

The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation awarded a matching grant of $1,000 to the schoolhouse group earlier this year. That money has already helped in ways that are evident to people who saw the building a year ago and come back for a look at Saturday's fundraiser.

Stanford said money from the grant remains to do the wiring, insulation and wallboard work. Eagle Scout projects resulted in the building getting a good cleaning and a fresh coat of paint.

Volunteers have done other things to raise money. They invited everyone to Sunday Dinner on Oct. 25. "We had a great turnout and made $904," Anita Keith, secretary of the preservation group, said.

The small cadre of volunteers is hoping to add members. Keith said the next meeting will be Dec. 1. "We decided to have a chili dinner that evening before the meeting," she said.

Dinner will be at 6 p.m., and people attending are asked to bring chili, cornbread, tea or dessert to help with the meal. The meeting will start at 6:30.

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