Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Cato Jt. 3 - Valders ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wi/wifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com October 27, 2007, 12:04 am CATO JT. 3 —VALDERS By Prin. C. E. Bray Cato school district No. 3 was organized about 1852 as indicated by the township assessment rolls of that period. In 1856, when this township was a part of Franklin, it was known as Franklin school district No. 3 and consisted of sections 29, 33, 34, and the south one-half of sections 27 and 28, and the east one-half of section 32, all in the present Cato township. In 1860, when the Cato Falls district was organized, section 29 was detached from Cato No. 3. A large area in the eastern part of the district was detached and attached to Cato 10 in 1930 because the property owners in that area objected to the high village taxes. It was not until 1872 that this school district became joint with Liberty. Today, Cato Jt. 3 is joint with the towns of Cato, Liberty, and the village of Valders which became incorporated in 1920. There were at least two school buildings prior to 1906. Little is known of the first or its exact location although it may have occupied a site farther north and there is a possibility that it was of log construction. About 1870 a one-room building about 36 x 20 was built. The floors were of soft wood, the heating plant a large wood-burning box stove; water was carried by the children from a neighboring farm about a quarter of a mile away. The drinking facilities included a large dipper in conformity with those times. The conventional entry was used as a place for clothes, wood, and dinner pails. Since this was outside the heated area, cold dinners (ice cold in winter) were thawed out by the stove. The furniture consisted of home made benches and the black boards were just what the name implies — boards painted black. There was no play ground equipment and recreation was afforded by the games and pranks of the children. This building was disposed of to Herman Kattreh in 1906 and moved to Valders where it was remodeled and became a dwelling. It still stands and is in use. The voters in 1906 voted to abandon the old school building which had served the community up to this time. A two story frame building, 36 x 40 feet, with school-rooms 27 x 34 1/2 feet, was erected at a cost of approximately $2,500. The upper room was not completed until later because only one teacher was employed at first. The school had a full basement which housed the furnace, fuel, play, and manual training rooms. This school was also located north of Valders at the northeast corner of the SE 1/4 of the SE 1/4 of section 32. It was not until the summer of 1910 that the upper room was completed and classes held in the two rooms, making this a second class state graded school. The first principal of the two room school in 1910 was Viola Sullivan with Isabelle Woods the primary teacher. The enrollment that year was 78 out of a school census of 111. The first eighth grade graduates under the two-room system were Harry Berge, Owen Brennan, Meta Kattreh, Inga Torrison, Viola Johnston, Arnold Jacob, Richard Arndt, and Laura Arndt. The year 1911-12 seems to mark a peculiar teaching situation for, according to records, Viola Sullivan taught five months; Isabella Woods, one month; Elma Hanson, two months plus teaching Fridays; Elizabeth Murphy, six months; Omar Miller, two months and five days; Joseph Voboril, three months; which seemed to pretty well take care of a two-room nine-month school. The salaries at that time ranged from $40.00 to $70.00 a month. By the fall of 1914, the enrollment had increased to the point where three teachers had to be employed with Herbert Wernecke as the principal and Elizabeth Murphy and Althea Westgor teachers. The ninth grade was added that year with Guilford Berge, Leona Brennan, Alvin Christel, Bruno Jacob, Eli Johnston, Leonard Johnston, Esther Mallman, Irving Maney, John McCulley, and Norris Johnson as the first ninth grade graduates from the Valders school. Adolph Stangel, now a business man in Manitowoc, became principal, for the 1916-17 school year. Mildred Dedrichs and Elsie Deffke were teachers of primary and intermediate grades. Manual training classes were provided in the basement. Mr. Stangel organized football as a playground activity. There were no suits, no pads, and sometimes no ball. Later basketball was played, also out doors. Members of that team were Floyd Evenson, Norb Christel, Hugo Pankratz, Florian Isselman, Adolph Haese, Art Hill, and Guilford Berge. Mr. Stangel was also actively interested in the Men's Social Life Club which was in existence until a few years ago. K. O. Berge, Otto G. Berge, and Otis Johnston were members of the board. In the year 1919-20 Walter Fritch, Viola Cavanaugh and Mrs. Clara Bremer comprised the teaching force. By the year 1921, a tenth grade was added with Prin. V. J. Romdenne and three grade teachers, Leoha Brennan, Eleanor Benishek and Constance Huhn. Cloyon Nelson was janitor. The enrollment that year was 153 out of a school census of 198. The new building was now under construction and the old building was sold to the Valders Lime and Stone Company for $1,400.00. It remained on the site as a two-family dwelling until the year 1946 when with war time scarcity of building materials it was dismantled and sold for lumber. In 1922, five teachers were employed — L. M. Adams was principal, Constance Huhn, Irene Melkers, Eleanor Benishek and Leona Brennan were teachers and the school was moved to the new building and site. The next year, 1923-24, seven teachers were on the staff and a full four year high school course set up. L. M. Adams was again principal and Geo. Keller, Cora Wolfram, Ellen Rouillier, Mabel Pfingsten, Verna Hall, and Leona Brennan were the teachers. Henry Erickson was janitor. The first high school class graduated in the spring of 1924 and consisted of Alice Behnke, Agnes and Arline Berge, Harold Brennan, Myrtle Ellestad, Mildred Evenson, Blanche Helgeson, Alyda Johnston, Marjorie Norton, Kenneth Olson, Myrtle Thompson, and Hartley Torrison. The present principal, C. E. Bray, was chosen head of the school in the fall of 1924. Blanche Hayden, Irene Cavanaugh, and Tessie Teipel were new teachers. Wm. Behnke, Otto G. Berge, and Clarence Evenson were members of the board. Today the Valders school is one of the largest rural high schools in the county, graduating about 60 students yearly. During the summer of 1922, the new red brick grade and high school at Valders was completed at a cost of about $80,000. It is a modern structure with modern conveniences throughout. The first floor houses the grade and some high school classrooms. The second floor has a large auditorium and several classrooms. The basement houses the agriculture, shop, and domestic science classes in addition to the heating and ventilating plant and a small gymnasium which was used for a basketball court and physical education until the new gymnasium was built in 1940. The new gym was constructed of cincrete blocks and Valders limestone and was added to the northwest corner of the school. It is 60 x 113 feet in size and cost the district about $33,000. The future plans are to add a new unit to house the crowded vocational courses offered. Four school buses transport high school students from within a ten-mile radius of Valders. Early residents of this district about 1861 were Christ Larson, Michael Lyons, H. Knudson, Ole Olson, Eric Erickson, David Morgan, Ole Christiansen, Andrew Jackson, John Morgan, M. O'Brien, Michael Thornton, S. S. Clark, E. Olson, and John Lyons, Ole Aubol, Christopher Thompson, and Thomas Veblen. Thorstein Veblen,. son of Thomas Veblen, was raised in this district and later acclaimed as one of the oddest geniuses ever to come out of Wisconsin. His two books "The Theory of the Leisure Class" 1899 and "The Theory of Business Enterprise" 1904 did much to revolutionize the thinking of the time. His brother A. A. Veblen was a clergyman and professor. Wm. J. Morgan became attorney general in Wisconsin. Boyer Amunds was school clerk during the 1870's and 1880's. Two other early school clerks were E. S. Aubol and Theo. G. Larson in the 1890's and 1900's. Otto G. Berge served from 1916-1933. Alfred Christianson who took over the office of director in 1927 is still on the board with a record of twenty years of service. Floyd Evenson, another member of the present board, took over as clerk in 1933. The third member, Dr. E. W. Huth, was elected to fill the treasurer's office to replace J. E. Cisler in 1947. The list of teachers teaching the old one room school prior to 1906 is incomplete as district records of those times are missing. The names of teachers on record in the county office as having taught in the Valders school were M. McMahon, Dora Kelley, Annette Amunds, Jane.Synon, Bridget Fox, John Lyons, Walter Fitzmaurice, Charles Stowers, and Bridget Taugher in the 1870's; Kit Thornton, Katie Clark, Martin Marken, and Mayme Laughlin and Christine Ullness from 1894 to 1899; and B. N. Belgum and Sidney Terkleson. in 1904 and 1905. Summer and winter sessions of three months each were common up to 1876. Later teachers who are still in the community are: Fred Brockman 1925-33; Marion Hougen (Mrs. Fred Brockman) 1926-29; Olivia Thompson (Mrs. Gordon Helgeson) 1926-31; Mary McCulley (Mrs. John Ryan) 1929-34; Catherine Hanrahan 1929-1942; Helen Lauderdale (Mrs. Orin Thompson) 1936-40; Ann Merritt (Mrs. Ray Christianson) 1936-1939; Joyce Turrie (Mrs. Russel Glasow) 1944-1947; Viola Ermene (Mrs. William Christel) 1944-1947; Mrs. Isabel Miller 1942-1944. Other teachers still in service who have been on duty three years or more and who have done much toward developing the school are: Norman Dorschner who joined the staff in 1928 and except for three years in the Army has been on duty, ever since; Len Turnell, agriculture, came in 1942; William Dayton joined in 1943. Mrs. Bernice Martin has taught math since 1944 and Esther Stuebbe has taught intermediate grades since 1944. Mail was obtained from the post office at Clarks Mills until after the Soo line railroad was built in 1895. Joe Sipper built the first building, the Central Hotel, in 1897, and Christopher Evenson built the first dwelling in 1898 in Valders. Otto G. Berge, August Rabe and Edward Aubol also contributed to the early building of this period: The Valders post office was established about the year 1898. The development of the village accelerated with the coming of the railroad. The Valders Lumber Company was founded in 1902 and in 1904 the Valders Elevator, was constructed by the Manitowoc Malting Company. In 1906 the Jerpen-Valders Telephone Company began operation. T. G. Larson started the stone quarry in 1905 and in 1908 Barney Brennan associated with Mr. Larson to establish the Valders Lime and Stone Company. Valders Cash Store known as Christel and Luelloff started in 1907. Electric light was furnished by the then new Oslo Light and Power Company in 1910. The Valders State Bank was organized in 1911. The Wisconsin Condensed Milk Company built the building now known as Nestle's Food Company in the year 1916. T. G. Larson built and established the Larson garage in 1916. The Valders Fire Department.was established in 1918. Physicians in the village have been Drs. Burke, Hopkins, Shaw, Gregory, Rauch, Simenson, and Huth. In 1905, the school census listed only 70 children of school age. By 1920 there were 160 children and by 1947 there were 325 children of school age. The grade school attendance is affected by parochial school attendance since out of the more than 300 pupils of school age only about 75 attend the Valders grades. The high school has shown a steady increase in enrollment as various courses have enriched the curriculum. With an enrollment of 68 in 1923 and two high school teachers it grew to 142 pupils in 1934 when music and commercial courses were added. In 1941 when agriculture was introduced there was an enrollment of 167. Vocational agriculture was offered in 1944 with 196 registered. There are now eight teachers in high school and three in the grades. The school is a member of the Eastern Wisconsin Conference and has attained considerable reputation in athletics, music, speech work, agriculture, and student council activities. Additional Comments: Extracted from: 1848 - 1948 CENTENNIAL HISTORY of the Manitowoc County School Districts and Public School System EDITED BY JOS. J. RAPPEL, COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS 1948 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wi/manitowoc/history/schools/catojt3v63gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 13.0 Kb