Two Lives, Two Dreams, One Love Story, and An Old Schoolhouse
It was a walk back in time, as if one could almost hear the children laughing and playing. Actually seeing artifacts that remain in a once children’s place of learning to a building left to decay and rot in the elements and human vandalism. The Old Schoolhouse is being restored into an Artist Retreat Center. It would take someone with a vision far far beyond the condition of the building. Well, meet Mike McColl.
Mike went to school in Fosston, but moved to the cities after graduation in 1974. Years later, while visiting his uncle, Bill Vasilakes, helped Mike find an arts space where he could put an art studio and retreat center. Mike is an accomplished artist in sculpture, drawing and print making. Finally in 1992, Bill brought Mike to the Old Schoolhouse and a deal was made.
The Old schoolhouse was built in 1906 and the last year classes were held was in 1968. The school had housed 1st through 8th grade. One level was the first through fourth graders, and fifth through eight on the other floor. After the school closed it was the Good Food Store co-op for several years. After the co-op the building was a workshop and gardening shed before being completely abandoned.
The building was at best a disaster, nearly destroyed. The windows were broken out, and the roof had a very significant leak, a huge hole was in the basement wall, an extreme amount of graffiti among other things. Mike’s uncle and the building owner worked out the sale and suddenly Mike had a building. Mike might have been given the building for free had there not been electricity and a well. Purchase price? A mere $3000.
With his dream of an artist retreat center and now with a building, Mike continued to travel back a forth fixing the issues as he could, only to return and find what he had done vandalized. He often found himself taking three steps forward and two steps back due to vandalism. Mike was done with his dream being wrecked each time he left, so in 2017 he moved “home” to Old Schoolhouse. A “new” home, new town, and new job as an Art Teacher at Fosston High School, Mike was settling in.
Mike had the first floor of his “new home” in a semi “livable” state, maybe. Mike recalled a funny story. One morning he woke to find that his cat made his way under the covers, something his cat had never done. Mike got up to check the cats water and food bowls. He found the cat bowl frozen to the floor. The room was 38°! At that point he knew the baseboard heaters were not enough for Northern Minnesota winters. He needed a second heating source. He installed a wood burning stove, an old Montgomery Ward cast iron stove he bought used in Park Rapids.
Mike continued to chip away at the serious renovation necessary while working as an art teacher. His dream, turn vision was coming into fruition. He had reached a place where he could breathe, at least small breaths, for all he had accomplished. Mike actually found his mind and heart thinking it would be fun to share this life/dream/passion with someone. Not just any someone. Mike’s someone would need to be a special person, someone unique, quirky, fun-loving with a free spirit AND in Northern Minnesota.
Jump ahead a few years Mike found himself on a dating site, match.com. While scrolling through the matches he happened upon a profile that caught his attention like no other profile had. The profile started out describing the importance of the first kiss. Mike had to read on. Janette had a very similar dreams that paralleled Mike. Janette herself was a well accomplished artist. At the time she too was a teacher in Fargo. Soon the two started chatting and began a long-distance courtship. Three weeks later, she agreed to come to Lengby for the long Thanksgiving weekend 2021. Mike, an accomplished cook/chef made her a romantic Greek meal complete with Lamb Chops, Spanakopita and Htipiti Dip.
The two continued to drive back and forth for the next six months. The pair were at “Restore” looking for used building materials needed for various repairs in the Old Schoolhouse. Both came upon a beautiful bathroom sink. At that point they looked at each other and knew they were going to embark on a joint plan to renovate the upstairs and open a retreat center together. That sink was purchased and became known as the “engagement sink”!