- September 19, 2024
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It was an impromptu tour of the Old Miakka Schoolhouse, and local resident Becky Ayech wanted to start with the closets.
If she hadn't started with the closets, just inside the front entryway, it would have been a short tour.
The building, constructed in less than a month in 1914 for $1,390, is a one-room schoolhouse.
Every inch of the building is beloved by the community — that's Miakka with an "i" as opposed to nearby Myakka City with a "y" — and Ayech is the guardian of the sacred ground.
You would have thought that Ayech was unlocking the secrets of a tomb as she opened one of the closet doors, but like Al Capone's vault, opened in prime time in 1986 by TV journalist Geraldo Rivera, it was quite empty.
That was OK because Ayech had stories to tell.
"The community used to keep treasures in here," Ayech said with a smile. "In the country, you never throw anything away. You know, if you throw something away, and then you need it, you will get the most punishable thing they can do to you.
"Make you go to town."
Again, a wry smile.
It was in 2014 when Sarasota County came up with $30,000 to help preserve the community landmark. Ayech explained that it was in the early 2000s when Sarasota County had committed $60,000 toward "neighborhood planning" that was aimed toward preserving the rural lifestyle. The first $30,000 was spent on tree planting and documentation, but the other $30,000 was forgotten — by everyone but Ayech.
She reminded Sarasota County about the promised funds in 2014, and the money eventually was used for some renovation of the schoolhouse. Among the tasks was repainting the building, including the closets. Steps were rebuilt, a wheelchair ramp was repaired, doors and windows underwent repairs, and the bell that sits on top of the schoolhouse was scraped and painted.
So what treasures were found when the closets were emptied to be painted?
"We found all kinds of good stuff," Ayech said. "There were crooked nails and Phillips screwdrivers, bed frames ... all stuff that people in the country can use."
If those around her find that Ayech says the word "country" multiple times a minute, it's only because she doesn't want anyone to be unclear about what she is trying to preserve.
Although the schoolhouse is her project centerpiece, it serves as monument to a lifestyle that is slipping away. As of the 2020 census, Old Miakka's population was up to 1,743, and development was creeping closer.
Annually for the past 39 years, Ayech has held the Old Miakka Fall Hootenanny & Schoolhouse Benefit to raise funds to maintain the schoolhouse and the 2 1/2 acres where it sits. This year's event is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 6.
Last year Ayech raised $5,000 at the fundraiser, which just about covers expenses for the year, minus any expensive repairs. The insurance on the building costs $1,300 and there are electric and water bills to pay.
The free event itself features live music, food and drinks, crafts, artwork, a silent auction, and kids games.
"I am not Disney World," Ayech said.
After 39 years, Ayech is in danger of becoming as much of a historical landmark as the schoolhouse. She is a drum major whose marching band is shrinking.
Four years after the schoolhouse was closed in 1944, the Old Miakka community formed the Miakka Community Club to preserve their rural lifestyle and to maintain buildings of historical significance, such as the schoolhouse, which currently is celebrating its 110th year.
"The Community Club held monthly meetings," Ayech said. "That was pre-TVs and computers. They would invite speakers — somebody from agriculture or somebody from the Cattlemen's Association — or before an election they would hold candidates forums.
"In 1980, I got involved. I live on 5 acres and I raise, sheep, chickens, rabbits, goats and turkeys. When I moved here in 1978, I saw the schoolhouse. Wow!"
So what about all the people with Miakka Community Club who have been just as passionate as she is?
"They're all dead," she said.
She urges younger members of the community to step up to fill her role, or to help her. What does she do to get people to help her when things get tough?
"I cry well," she said.
She said anyone interested in joining the Miakka — with an i — Community Club can call her at 322-2164 or send an email to [email protected]
"We fixed a lot of stuff in our generation (such as polluted waterways)," she said. "Now it's your turn."
