Pineywoods Writer's Retreat
By 1960, there were only four common schools left in Wood County. The Coke Schoolhouse (Lloyd C.S.D.17) was the last to close in 1965.
The Coke Schoolhouse served as a center for community life. Newspaper articles report events such as the Coke Rhythm Band, three performers and a trained horse, Halloween carnivals, minstrel shows, musical concerts, and public plays (including a western jubilee with over 600 in attendance). in 1950, students hosted a week-long art exhibit with over 100 pastel drawings (some of which have been preserved and are on display at the school). Award-winning actress Sissy Spacek credits seeing the Coke School Coquettes as sparking her interest in a career on stage.
The current owners of the school would like to acknowledge that the Coke Schoolhouse operated before the desegregation of schools. The amazing opportunities available at the Coke Schoolhouse described herein were only available to white children and, indeed there were no black families in the Coke community. Now, ALL people are welcome in the Coke Schoolhouse regardless of race, gender, orientation, age, religion or belief, disability, socioeconomic status, nationality and ethnicity, or any other artifice humans use to divide or degrade others