DEBORGIA, Mont. — Community members in DeBorgia are once again rolling up their sleeves to help preserve a piece of local history.
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Volunteers are working toward a goal of baking 335 apple pies this year. Proceeds from the pie sale help maintain the historic DeBorgia schoolhouse, which now serves as a community center for the small rural community.
Jennifer Drawby, president of the DeBorgia Historic Schoolhouse Foundation, said the building has become much more than a former school.
"It's great to get to know your neighbors. And it's a cool place where everybody who's in this community, which is really very small, can still come in and gather," Drawby said.
The schoolhouse hosts a variety of events throughout the year, giving residents a place to connect and access services.
"We do several events throughout the year where we see our neighbors come and hang out and just participate. But we also host things, you know, like for political people will come in and they do debates here or when there's like a snow emergency or something, then we'll have the Red Cross or we'll have people come for vaccinations and stuff like that. So it really just becomes a meeting place for our small community," Drawby said.
In addition to the annual pie sale, the foundation organizes several fundraisers to support the building's upkeep.
"We have a huge yard sale in the summer. We do a spaghetti dinner or a hunter's dinner in the fall. And it's just really fun to come and work on those things and then see all of the people in your neighborhood who you might not see every day because sometimes we're spread out. It's a small group of people, but a large area space. So it's good to get to see everybody and just make some memories and share some with you and me," Drawby said.
The foundation's work focuses on preserving the schoolhouse and its history for future generations.
"We just work to make sure that it stays together and that everything stays in as close as we can keep it in some areas to the actual historical location," Drawby said.
Drawby says the building remains an important part of the community's identity.
"There's so much history and community and memories here," Drawby said.
As volunteers continue baking pies, organizers hope the fundraiser will provide support for the historic building while bringing neighbors together.
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