Exploring the Abandoned Lykens PA Public School

[@pierrelubold2553]

I attended 7th and 8th grade here. It was a wonderful school with community involvement and a scale that was very human and appealing to young people (unlike the mammoth education factories that my kids had to attend). I built a radio in the science room, studied Shakespeare in English with Mr. George Miller, built a small cedar chest and cutting board in the shop, played basketball in the gym and loved the "pep rallies' in the auditorium on Friday afternoons. I was on my way home for lunch when I learned of President Kennedy's murder. I remember the school mascot which was the Lykens Tigers. It didn't look creepy then at all. It looked inviting. As you pointed out several times, the very large windows gave so much light. Perfect for reading and learning. I'm so sad that it has been allowed to rot. That leaves me with a sad, melancholy feeling. Only the children of the very wealthy will know what it is like to attend a small school that the whole community is proud of and in which teachers and learning were valued and respected.

[@superzstuff]

My mom Dorotheanna Lebo , graduated from there in 1945. She was in the band, played trombone, taught by Les Brown's father. She is 91 now(2018) and I will have to show her this video. Thanks for the memory!

[@tomibeers3708]

I was in the last class to finish elementary there. 1991 was the last year it was open. The upstairs was condemned the whole time I was there. We had music, art, and library in the basement. Very fond memories. Thanks for sharing! Love all your videos, surprised to see you up here in my neck of the woods!

[@amybohner1350]

Thanks for the memories. Attended school there from 1955, kindergarten through 1965, ninth grade. We then joined Upper Dauphin high school and finished there. I too remember singing Christmas carols in the A and B room. I was in music in the band room when we were told of President Kennedy being shot. Played basketball in the gym and performed in many concerts there as well. The library was upstairs across from the A and B room. I think we also had art class in that room. So sad to see it in such bad shape. If only walls could talk!!!

[@debsmith9819]

So many historical sites end up being demolished. I'm glad you will have it preserved in video!!!

[@jimhoffman3914]

I worked as a janitor there back in the 60's. Wish I would have known you were there. I could have filled in some history on the place as well.

[@DesignsbyDonBrown]

I like seeing people do video and photo documentation to preserve the memory of these old places. I did this at Guilford Middle School, where I went to school, before they tore it down. I took video and several thousand pictures.and panoramas. I'm about to make a virtual tour of the school.

[@rosemarykasper4001]

Sad that that building wasn't preserved for it's historic value. Awesome exploration! Thanks for braving the flood to get to it for us!

[@thewanderingwoodsman7227]

It is a shame, but unfortunately it just casts to much money to restore it.

[@ElementofKindness]

The other half of the token is, how much of the original is left, after all the asbestos and lead remediation, gutting and rewiring, etc is complete?

[@MattWilliard]

Wow, what a blast from the past. I went to Elementary school here in the late 70s and early 80s. I can remember the inside like it was yesterday and can’t believe what it looks like now!

[@reh3997]

I was in junior high ( 7th and 8th grades) from 1971 to 1972. I can see my ghost walking those halls and classroom. I remember exactly where I was sitting in each of those rooms. In a way you have made me a time traveler. If I could have ever known how this would look today as I walked those halls and classrooms back then I would never have believed it.

[@smileygladhands]

I think about this type of thing sometimes. Will my ghost be wandering the halls of my old schools one day? What will my current house look like 200 years from now? Gets you thinking...

[@galaxycrafter0468]

Wow. It's so crazy to see the inside of a building that I see the outside of all the time. It's soooo cooolllll!!!

[@tweet-tweettweety9704]

Thanks for sharing and navigating through the floods to video this landmark before it's destroyed. I love the old architectural details on these old buildings- arched windows, crests, the aqua paint on the walls was gorgeous- they are all beautiful details and sadly missing from modern buildings.

[@thisisdawnsartroom]

It was the Lykens High school, then the Lykens elementary school which funneled into the Upper Dauphin Area school district. So many memories of this place from the 70s.

[@SueGirling68]

Hi, it was pretty cool that the people who you were there with went to school there so you were told which room was which. Such a shame to see a lovely well built building like that, which obviously has so many memories attached to it fall into the ruin it is today. Thank you for a great explore. x

[@johnwrhel9190]

I went to an old elementary school like that complete with old teachers..they always referred to the little rooms where we put our "wraps" as cloak rooms..This was in 1969-1970.

[@karenpacker8862]

Loved this explore. Glad the men were with you to tell of memories and the rooms. Thanks for braving the floods.

[@dsantos10]

That close up of the dead skunk reminded me of the electrocuted cat underneath the chair in the Christmas Vacation movie. I haven't laughed that hard in a while. I am so glad you got that close up, it ended up making my week.

[@janellevanreyendam7857]

Thank you so much for this tour! So cool to see my grandmothers classrooms and such

[@Wistful77]

Wow! That was so cool, but looked quite dangerous. Brings back thoughts of elementary school. Thanks for the extended tour!

[@stephanieventuro8898]

I remember going to school here back in the late 70's - early 80's. We weren't allowed to go to the 2nd floor anymore because the flooring wasn't stable up there. We had music and art class in the basement. As soon as you came into the main entrance and down the hall and made a right was the gym on the right and the cafeteria on the left. I Remember all the broken arms and wrists on the playground from the macadam. I miss those carefree days 😢

[@dalenelson7161]

All someone had to do was keep the roof fixed and the building dry and it COULD have been saved.

[@Caddl123]

Hi its interesting how many german Name inPA are.. Schulhaus is german and means school-building at all. I will show this video to my father. He was until 1994 for 42 years teacher and headmaster of our village school. He is a "living historybook" in the village. He is now 86 years old a far as i know now the oldet living ex-tacher in the valley my homevillage is.

[@davidemenheiser189]

Hi. We just moved to Lykens in May and have been wondering about this wonderful old school building. Did your "tour guides" tell you what happened to the school and why it's in such horrible condition? Especially why the roof and upper corner on the west side of the building are so bad? We're saddened to hear they're planning on tearing it down. Too bad the cost to repair it is so high now. Such great architecture that should have been repurposed long ago.

[@Wingone18]

Torn down now

[@terrynichols7199]

Outside brick work is fantastic, I would think there would be some sort of preservation funds for local landmarks and such. There is some great historic value in this building but in Wisconsin they have to deal with asbestos which I'm sure is present in this building.

[@owen4248]

Awesome explore great you meet up with the owner and were able to get inside. Great storys and the pictures of what it looked like back then was cool. Sad it could not be saved at least the outside part. Beautiful building back when they built things with attractive style.

[@southernman5839]

They converted our Middle School in to beautiful apartments. I wish a lot of towns and cities would do that. The football field behind it is still being used today.

[@dennismanbook]

Interesting explore! When you were on the second floor, the ceiling light fixtures look like it had the shade fittings with the light sockets (if incandescent) removed but only the down rods and ceiling canopy covers are still on the ceiling.

[@577buttfan]

Awesome place,mother nature has some reclaiming power for sure,really cool!!

[@abbybuffington1026]

My mother went here when she was in elementary school in 76. It’s a shame it’s being torn down. I’ve always wanted to go inside.

[@pheeshankar4731]

AWESOME TOUR..THANKS A BUNCH GUY'S...WOULD BE GREAT TO SAVE THE BUILDING.... BUT FOLKS...DID I HEAR RIGHT 11 MILLION...

[@gingergunnythethreebears6039]

So sad! I wish they would have done something to preserve the building. My grandmother in law taught 2nd grade here. I've been curious what it looks like inside. Thanks for sharing.

[@saigenrose1032]

Wow Cliff that's crazy I hate it when it floods like that. Glad you are safe.

[@56kicki]

This was a wonderful video. I wonder; how do a bunch of auto tires end up in the 2nd floor class room? That is so odd....if you wanted to just get rid of them, why carry them to the 2nd floor?

[@laredokarl]

Lula Belan I thought the same thing when I saw them.

[@yarrow_and_sage]

Very interesting video! It reminds me of a school I attended in 3rd and 4th grade in Illinois. It has been converted into apartments now.

[@moseptyagami606]

I live in Lykens but was born to late to be in the school it’s a shame. I’d love to see the inside of my old towns school

[@laredokarl]

Cliff, now I know why you liked those particular rooms because the foliage growing in them reminded you of the woods. There may have been edible plants in there. Thanks for the video.

[@IndianJS]

Just came across your channel, love the content man. I just subscribed too👍🏾

[@obscureadventures5349]

This is so cool! I definitely want to come here and explore!

[@gregkellow4723]

It has that eerie echo to it. Hard to imagine the bustle of kids in the hallways. Every building has a soul.....that one is in it's final days.

[@jdiddlydingle5476]

Or should you say ERIE haha kill me

[@jdiddlydingle5476]

I'm coming back from North Carolina and I'm gonna be stuck in rain instead of sunny weather, oh well Pennsylvania may have it's downside but it's still a great state.

[@marleneestabrook1999]

i definitely liked this video the detail on the outside was amazing its a shame that its been allowed to deteriorate like that what a beautiful view too it will be a real shame when its destroyed thanks for taking me along

[@kiesemedia433]

i really liked seeing this video footage. keep going 👌

[@JennyBrett]

My mom got busted exploring this by a guy that said he was the owner...he just basically told her to leave LOL I grew up in elizabethville which is just down the road from lykens....wow the flooding here is awful! So cool to meet you today...we will have to make plans to explore more places on a non rainy day! :)

[@thewanderingwoodsman7227]

I enjoyed meeting you guys as well. Sometimes it feels a bit weird meeting people you see on youtube in 'real life'.

[@JennyBrett]

@@thewanderingwoodsman7227 yeah for sure I had anxiety

[@Ryan-qh6oz]

What's up Jenny don't listen to people if he said he was the owner a person that says that he's not the actual owner

[@saigenrose1032]

Very awesome history it's a shame though that it's going to be torn down but on the flipside why keep up if it's not being used. That was cool they let you inside to do the video. 🙂👍

[@thirzapeevey2395]

So sad to see those old WPA buildings falling in. That one reminds me very much of Wickersham and Hand in Lancaster. I bet they shared an architect. That was back when we built attractive buildings in which to educate children to be adults, rather than incarcerating children to break their spirits and indoctrinate them.

[@coldblue9mm]

The Wandering Woodsman Hey buddy, I google earthed this place and noticed there was no grass playgrounds to be seen. I wonder if the church parking lot took out a play area. I can't imagine kids not having a place to burn off some of that energy. Thanks for the video! That was a nice building back in the day.

[@dkrepich]

The playground was on the west side of the school and had been macadam for as long as I can remember. Between the school and church. It depends on what time of year google was updated. Towards the end of summer the playground is green because it's full of weeds. During the winter it is back to macadam. Many of kids got skinned knees over the years. :)

[@pdpauldelaney]

Hey man, like your channel. Subbed. From Paul in Wilkes-Barre

[@trucksold]

Pretty sure the unknown room at 13:09 was a boiler room as well. The building has 2 chimneys, one in the original section and one in the "new" addition.

[@CheapestGamer]

I love the smell of lead, asbestos and mold in the morning. You can practically smell this building in the video just watching it. I remember the boiler room in the elementary school I went to in Scranton. That was where they sent bad kids to clean the erasers by whacking them together over a big vacuum motor or something. Very peculiar punishment to say the least. lol

[@johnwrhel9190]

Well...it beats getting your ass paddled....lmao

[@saigenrose1032]

7:29 awe a pretty kitty 🐱 ❤😀👍

[@dalenelson7161]

I hope they remodel these beautiful buildings they have to be saved.

[@merlinmonson2133]

Enjoyed the video. Its a shame when newer schools are built and the old ones are left behind. They could be repurposed if they werent left go so long before they thought of doing something else with them.

[@katiefyock9607]

Please do a video (If you can get permission) of the old Central High School in Chambersburg, PA on the corner of Third street and Queen street. I've seen photos but never a walking tour. The Council Of The Arts used to have yearly plays of A Christmas Carol in there back in the late 80's early 90's. A boy in my 5th grade played Tiny Tim in 1988. My mom's work used to rent office space in there and I found the building to be old and creepy. I just remember lots of green painted walls.

[@tomibeers3708]

The home ec room was 4th grade Mr. Klinger. The science I'm pretty sure was the lunch room. You can see the rectangle window they served lunch thru. I'm sorry for all the comments.

[@thewanderingwoodsman7227]

Don't be, comments are helpful

[@OutdoorsWithShawn]

Turn around, don't drown! Or buy a Dodge and go right through! Lol (just kidding) I just made it through tropical storm Gordon, had some decent flooding & had to miss part of my day at work until the water subsided.

[@Chris66Mas]

Very interesting. Thanks. 👍 But, ugh, careful, there might be asbestos!

[@tomibeers3708]

After it was closed as a high school they still had elementary until 1991.

[@1834RestorationHouse]

Sadly there are thousands of other buildings around the country which suffer the same fate. The takeaway here is: Don't let your roof leak!

[@thomashazard525]

Just watched this video today, Aug 13, 2022. Very interesting. One minor thing: when you were on the 2nd floor, you entered a room that had chalkboards. There appeared to be some writing on some of them. Looked like they may have been written back when there were classes. Might have been interesting if you had stopped and shown what was on them (assuming someone didn't write something offensive on them sometime after school was closed).

[@darlenegood4101]

Great to see the before pics of the rooms.

[@cindywho134]

My dad was from Lykens and I'm guessing he would have gone to school here.

[@mrpaulgrimm6129]

Once the roof leaks the buildings gone

[@adamheck3627]

Alrighty, now I know who you are. You were right in front of my house with a camera and I was so confused lol

[@Eddy1969]

Seems like you and 539 Productions are having a lousy year with the rain this year!

[@thewanderingwoodsman7227]

It has made things difficult....

[@2DAKE2]

Anybody know where the opening picture is from?

[@sandraplonka5225]

Beautiful school at one time. But the wall color, that green. Too much. But real neat place.

[@jameskelly9800]

Lead paint and asbestos tour!

[@chelseydeetta2847]

iTS SO SAD OF THE DETERIATION. I THINK IT WAS CHEAPLY BUILT, AND IT WOULD NOT LAST FOREVER. HAS BEAUTIFUL BRICK OUTSIDE. NICE FIND, GOOD JOB.

[@merlinmonson2133]

It was not cheaply built. Once the roof on any building starts to leak its just a matter of time. If you keep a good roof on an old building it will stand almost indefinately.

[@JudithLou]

Seeing left over school books and papers, that would be a fire trap wouldn't it? Why didn't the fire marshal inspect the building after it closed? Why wasn't the school building cleaned out after the closure? A lot of unanswered questions.

[@cwb0051]

when was this school built?

[@southernman5839]

I don’t understand with all the smart people in this country why they can’t fix and repair school buildings like this and keep them functional. You can rent parts of the school out for night classes or have community activities. You could have public Birthday parties and pay the town or city. Rent for flea market spots. It’s just sad to see a waste like that.

[@shelbdizz]

I think the stuffed animal in home economics room may have been used as a pin cushion?

[@thecritic3710]

SAD...….school board and municipality dropped the ball....

[@garyjohnson4608]

what a sad old school

[@1954crc]

When was the school's last year?

[@thezoid8508]

Yo no way ive been in there multiple times its so cool

[@thezoid8508]

Wow its weird seeing lykens on youtube

[@calebgallan9379]

@@thezoid8508 yeah it is dude

[@lambo58]

As bad as the condition is I'm surprised they let you in.

[@connie9]

Very interesting. You should have used a mask. I am sure there was lots of mold & lead paint.

[@debbiehills2928]

so very sad.

[@lotsoffish]

I don't understand why municipalities allow the roofs to go bad on these sort of buildings. That's what destroys them. If they just maintained the roofs they could sell or remodel a building like this and make apartments.

[@steel5886]

Awesome video so much history wasted . It's very sad to see history of the town deteriorated .All they had to do was maintain a watertight roof ,and that building could have been repurposed for a profit to the town .Now it's just a total loss . A shame.

[@thewanderingwoodsman7227]

Unfortunately a someone bought the building after it closed down, stripped the place of anything valuable, then just abandoned the place to let it rot......

[@steel5886]

That is a common thing unfortunely .Some of the existing doors ,and woodwork you showed in video looks valueable hopefully they can salvage at least some .When you walked the outside your comments about the work was so true we don't build anything like that anymore which made me comment . Thank you as always for sharing with us. I really respect your time,efforts ,and reaseach to bring them to us truley I watch your videos everyday . I would like to share my appreciation by a Parton donation to your account. Can you provide a website so I can do so please. Thank You . I will be traveling in the beautiful state of Pennsylvania next weekend up to Pittsburgh ,and the senery is so beautiful going thru mountains I use to often wonder what is looks like in the mountains ,and your videos bring that to life for me which I truley apprecate . Keep recording .. Oh you were close to Bear Gap in this video hope your next video is about that area it's my favorite . Thanks

[@steel5886]

You are right I see it all the time where I live as well . Great videos keep them coming I look foward to them every night.. I would like to donate to Patron out of the great respect I have for your work ,and appreciation.I do not participate in any social media ,and not sure how to contribute to your site.Can you guide me on how to donate .Thanks always

[@thewanderingwoodsman7227]

www.patreon.com/TheWanderingWoodsman This is the link to the site. I will probably make a video in the near future explaining what patreon is and how it works.

[@JudithLou]

I am a PA native (Harrisburg home girl). Currently live in Puget Sound area. In the Seattle area, which is pretty prosperous, the city council will make an announcement about planning a meeting about an historical site. Then they plan for another meeting to plan for another meeting to plan for a possibility to plan for donations to save the historical site, maybe. That is if Amazon or Microsoft don't want the land. If you go to Seattle, you see very few buildings older than 75 years old. The city was founded in 1865 I think and Washington became a state in 1889. Pennsylvania was a state for over 100 years by then and had been settled for over 200 years by 1889. Amazing.

[@haywoodyoudome]

Despite it's dilapidated condition there's surprisingly no graffiti. It must be nice to live in an area with so few "people of diverse cultural background".

[@matthewkriebel7342]

haywoodyoudome just a few pieces, including the Wu-Tang Clan logo, which made me laugh.

[@zzerby05]

@@matthewkriebel7342 wu-tang aint nothin to f*ck with

[@beverlykennedy126]

Too bad it has to be torn down ,rather than made into apartments for the elderly and homeless.

[@RimfireRat]

DAMN SHAME THEY ALLOW A ONCE SOLID BUILDING TO GET TO THAT CONDITION .

[@micromushroom40]

Who came to the comments when they saw the sawdust in his mustache?

[@IWillNotBeMute]

Where was the cafeteria?

[@thewanderingwoodsman7227]

They went home to eat lunch.

[@judithlengle6310]

originally we all went home for lunch and then came back - I went there from 1955 to 1965. They may have made a cafeteria after it became just an elementary school in 1965

[@nickmad887]

TU

[@blossommrose4929]

Why are you Why are you visiting abandoned schools you're gonna get used of being a predator that's what you get for thing stuck in the rain

[@hauntedbearchild]

Please stop saying "cool". There are so many other words to use. :)