Lessons in nostalgia as century of Levenmouth school memories goes on show

Schoolday memories remain with us forever.

And some of those memories will be rekindled in a new exhibition taking place at Methil Heritage Centre next month, including photographs spanning over 100 years from more than 10 Levenmouth schools past and present

Schooldays is being put together by the Friends of Methil Heritage Centre and OnFife to coincide with the annual cultural Doors Open initiative, which invites visitors to take a look behind the scenes at local attractions.

Mary Reilly, Membership Secretary with the Friends group, said: “When we heard that OnFife was holding an Doors Open event at the centre on the theme Walk down School Lane, featuring old photos and artefacts from Levenmouth schools of the past and present, we thought it would be a shame to just have it on for the one day, so we decided to organise a whole exhibition around it.

“We have hundreds of old photos in our Rankin Archive, named after well-known local historian Frank Rankin, and we thought it would be good to have some of these on show as part of the exhibition, which we are calling Schooldays.”

The exhibition will run from 9 September to 3 October, and the Friends are inviting members of the public to contact the heritage centre with details of their old school photos and artefacts to see if they could form part of the display.

Hannah Draper, Museum Assistant at the centre, explained: “We have quite a few items already from members of the Friends group, centre staff and members of the local community and we plan to recreate an old school classroom using some desks and chairs and mannequins dressed in school uniforms.

“We also hope to have an old school blackboard, where we will encourage visitors to leave feedback on things like their favourite subjects, teachers and other memories.

“We have photographs spanning over 100 years from more than 10 Levenmouth schools past and present, and we would love people to come along and see if they can spot themselves, their parents, aunts and uncles or even grandparents in them.

“We will have as many photos as we can accommodate up on the walls and we will also have larger printed versions out on tables where people can fill in the names of themselves or people they know or remember from their schooldays.”

Gordon Sutherland, another Friends member, said: “People always love seeing themselves or their relatives in old photos and we think this exhibition will really stir up lots of old memories and reminiscences for lots of people.”

As well as photos, the exhibition will feature school uniforms. Among the things the centre would love to have on loan are ties from schools that have closed over the years, although Buckhaven and Kirkland High Schools are already represented. Also of interest would be any old logbooks, yearbooks or more unusual schooldays artefacts.

“We don’t have a great deal of space to store things here, but if we could borrow them for the duration of the exhibition, that would be great,” Hannah said.

If you have any photographs or school artefacts which you think may be of interest for the exhibition, contact methil.heritagecentre@onfife.com or call 01334 659339.

Image

From left, Rachel-Jane Morrison, OnFife Community Impact Manager, Gordon Sutherland and Mary Reilly, both from Friends of Methil Heritage Centre, and Hannah Draper, Museum Assistant. In the background is Methil Public School, which used to be on High Street – opposite the heritage centre – built in 1893, closed in 1969 and demolished in 1972. (Pic: OnFife)

Ends

For further information contact Sheona Small, Press & Communications Manager, 07809 727 989 or email sheona.small@onfife.com   

Notes to editors:  

OnFife is a registered charity and manages and operates theatres, libraries, museums and galleries and cultural partnerships on behalf of Fife Council for people living, working and visiting Fife.  Further information can be found at www.onfife.com