The annual Preservation Lampasas fish fry fund-raiser will be Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Holiday House, 908 Fourth St. Cost is $20 per plate.

Tickets are available from Old Town Antiques, Cattles Pharmacy, Hodges & Sargent Pharmacy or from board members.

And over the next few weeks, Lampasans will notice Preservation Penny Jars in local businesses. Area residents are encouraged to contribute their loose change to help with restoration of the Lampasas Colored School.

The Colored School has roots that date from 1898, when a oneroom frame structure was erected on land purchased by the school’s first professor. In 1923, the frame structure was replaced by a rubble limestone building that was in use until 1962, when segregation was abolished.

After its days as a schoolhouse, the building was used by the county as a maintenance shop, and portions of the limestone walls were removed to retrofit sliding garage doors.

In 2007, Preservation Lampasas Inc. received a $30,000 grant from the Texas Historical Commission and began the restoration process. To date, Preservation Lampasas has invested approximately $115,000.

The group will work next on switches, outlets and interior lighting, heating and air-conditioning, wood flooring and baseboards, interior plaster repair, painting and replacing the tin ceiling.

Preservation Lampasas is seeking further grant funds along with local donations. Renovations to the landmark school will cost approximately $150,000 to take the building back to its late 1920s appearance.

When restoration is complete, the facility could serve as a meeting place for private and civic groups, and as a repository for the records and memorabilia of the students who attended the school.