FLUSHING, Ohio – Students and faculty at Olney Friends School are thankful for many things. From their beautiful, 350-acre campus to their newly opened, state-of-the-art Stillwater Science Center, members of the Olney community recognize that they have much for which to be grateful.
That is one reason service to others is such an important part of student life at the independent high school in Barnesville. In fact, stewardship – of both the environment and the larger community – is one of the values upon which the school was founded by local Quakers in 1837.
One recent community service opportunity turned into a learning experience for six Olney Friends School students.
Freshmen Antonia Sigmon and Rachel Smith joined sophomores Emilio Valverde and Holden Fry, junior Liarucha Zahnke-Basuki and senior Lee Tran on a trip to the Underground Railroad Museum in Flushing. Their mission was to re-shelve books, magazines and videos as part of the ongoing effort to relocate furniture and materials at the facility following an incident that damaged numerous items in January.
Last winter’s deep freeze broke a waterline on the museum’s second floor. The resulting deluge soaked everything from ceiling tiles to irreplaceable historic records. After Curator John Mattox discovered the mess, volunteers from Olney and other community groups helped with the cleanup.
Olney students later returned to the site, putting finishing touches on that project before spending time absorbing some of Mattox’s knowledge and wisdom.
“They were great,” Mattox said of the students. “I gave them a tour and shared some information. They just did a wonderful job and asked a lot of questions. I didn’t think we would get the work done so quickly.”
The students’ reward for a job well done came in the form of a local history lesson. Olney Friends School educates young men and women of many faiths and ethnic backgrounds, and many of its students come from other parts of the nation and the world. The group that visited the museum included teenagers from Big Stone Gap, Va.; Westerville, Ohio; Russia; New York; Urbana, Ill.; and St. Clairsville. As a result, many of them knew very little about the history of slavery and the Underground Railroad in the local area.
Today, Olney is an independent boarding, five-day boarding and day school for grades 9-12. When it was founded in 1837 at Mount Pleasant by the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, many of the families who sent pupils to study there were staunch abolitionists. In fact, many of the homes in and around Mount Pleasant are known to have been stops on the Underground Railroad.
Olney relocated in 1876 and has been part of the Barnesville community ever since. But Mattox’s vast knowledge about slavery and the Underground Railroad helped shed light on aspects of the school’s history that the students knew little about.
And Mattox shared even more with the students. He discussed historic U.S. 40 and gave each of his visitors a copy of the book “A Traveler’s Guide to The Historic National Road in Ohio.” He also told tales of local politicians of note and told the teens how powerful people can set the course of everything from policies to local roadways.
“Those kids are so dedicated,” he added. “One girl had been to another Quaker school, so when she saw some of my information, she was really interested.”
Another group of Olney students had a chance to help a community organization a little closer to home. Emilio, Liarucha and Lee were joined this time by freshman Joe Velick, juniors Adrien Taylor, Julian Fahl Matlack and Nils Bechtel and senior Mishka Smith.
This group volunteered at the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store in Barnesville. They worked together to sort and fold clothing and to move sale items from basement to the main floor in preparation for a sale.
Dean of Students Micah Brownstein said, “Olney supports development of the whole child, including their intellectual, physical, social and emotional capacities, as well as those of the spirit. Giving to others through community service helps our students grow in all of these ways.”
