Workers will re-create old Forest Grove School door

The nearly 8-foot-long piece of wood doesn't look like much, but it's enough.

The piece is what remainsof the front door from Bettendorf's circa-1873 Forest Grove School, and coupled with old photos and millwork catalogs it containsenough clues to give the people atCarver Custom Millworks in Milan the direction they need to create a replacement.

Besides the length and thickness dimensions, the door piece contains depressions where hinges once were, dowels thatsupportedhorizontal panels, andcove (concave) and bead (rounded) milling.

Getting the school's front door replaced is one of many upcoming projects for the Friends of Forest Grove School, a group that organized three years ago in an attempt to save theone-room school that closed in 1957.

For the first time since the project was announced, the school is "buttoned up" for the winter, with a new roof and shingles installed over the summer and the window and door openingsboarded up. Replacement windowsare waiting in the wings, though, just in need of paint, group organizer Sharon Andresen said.

A furnace also has been installed.

Priority spring and summerprojects are to complete the exterior, including soffits (the wood under the eaves), molding, siding (cleaning, repair, rehab and painting), chimney and bell tower construction/replacement, and door and window installation.

The group is restoring the school to its 1920s appearance and hopes to use it as a museum.

Fundraising also is ongoing, with a trivia night fundraiser scheduled forFriday, Feb. 13, at the Golden Leaf, 2902 E. Kimberly Road, Davenport. The evening will include a showing of the film "Forest Grove Memories" by Tammy and Kelly Rundle of Fourth Wall Films, plus a pie auction.

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Workers will re-create old Forest Grove School door