NEOGA, Ill.  Signs on the wall at the old Pioneer School here seem not to have not changed much since the ’80s. A multiplication table hangs on one wall, a copy of the Constitution on another.

But near the entrance to the cafeteria, where generations from this central Illinois farming community took their school lunches, one sign reveals just how dramatically the yellow brick building’s role has shifted: “Our dancers are entertainers not prostitutes so don’t ask!!!”

The building, sold by the school district in 2002, recently reopened as a strip club, shocking Cumberland County residents  many of whom walked its halls as youngsters and discovered its new use one week before it opened.

Some who want it shut down protest regularly. Praying for its patrons to see the error of their ways, they illuminate a small cross and display a sign that reads: “Does your family know where you are? Jesus does.”