Since that eventful day 50 years ago, the HVACR industry’s leading educational facility has trained more than 50,000 students in Morton Grove and over 125,000 worldwide through its “traveling classroom” program.

The first instructor at the Schoolhouse - Frank Gall - is at the far right in the first row.

Many of today’s leading consulting specifying engineers, mechanical contractors, system designers and facility engineers learned the tricks of their trade at the Bell & Gossett Schoolhouse.

Major Anniversary Celebrations Planned

To celebrate this momentous occasion, a variety of special events are planned for 2004. A special reception will be held in late August at the Schoolhouse to share with the industry the many innovations and trends in education that have originated from this renowned educational institution. The events will include recognition of past graduates from around the world.

“This is a very special occasion for all Fluid Handling employees and the entire HVACR industry,” said Roy Ahlgren, Director of Training and Education at ITT Industries' Fluid Handling Division. “We hope to re-connect with many of our past Little Red Schoolhouse graduates, including some from the very first Class of ’54.”

Meet Bill Gray - Class of '54

Although the methods of training have changed from a blackboard to computers and electronic projection, the educational principles and value to students have remained true. Today, seven 3-day courses ranging from Hydronics Basics to Design of Large Chilled Water Systems are offered. Classes include:

• Modern Hydronics Basic Seminar
• Modern Hydronics Advanced Seminar
• Design of Commercial HVAC Systems Seminar
• Service & Maintenance Seminar
• Steam Systems Design Seminar
• Operation & Maintenance of Steam Systems
• Large Chilled Water Systems Design Seminar

According to Ahlgren, many of the graduates continue to use the materials and manuals they received in class many years ago to train others in their organizations. “We estimate that our graduates have used our material to formally or informally train and educate over a million HVACR professionals.”

Ahlgren notes the success of the Little Red Schoolhouse’s programs is that no commercialism is practiced. “Students come to learn about proper installation, maintenance and design techniques - they don’t come to hear a sales pitch,” he emphasizes.

Several Industry Innovations Introduced at the Schoolhouse

In addition to teaching the industry about the latest trends and technologies, several industry innovations originated at the Schoolhouse. Gil Carlson, an instructor at the Schoolhouse from 1954-1985 and a well-known industry pioneer, invented several hydronic products and system design concepts that are widely used today.

Among Carlson’s and other Bell & Gossett innovations are the SystemSyzer® calculator, development of the primary-secondary pumping concept, identification of the point of no pressure change in a closed loop system ("pumping away"), and many other industry firsts.

To stay at the leading edge of innovations in technology and education, the Little Red Schoolhouse is constantly updating and modernizing its offerings. Two new courses have been added to the curriculum in 2004 - Modern Hydronics Basic Seminar and Modern Hydronics Advanced Seminar.
All Little Red Schoolhouse classes are filled months in advance and all students must be “sponsored” by an R&CW representative

Little Red Schoolhouse - Christmas, 1958

On August 26, 2004, theLittle Red Schoolhouse Celebrated its 50th anniversary. Attendees included former instructors and industry guests.