Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Centerville Jt. 3 - Pleasant Hill ************************************************ 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, 11:52 am CENTERVILLE JT. 3 —PLEASANT HILL Louise Goetschel The Pleasant Hill school, Centerville Jt. 3, was given that name by the school society members in 1918. That name was chosen because the school-house stands on a small hill from which may be had a pleasant view of farms and woodland. It was formerly known as the Saxon school because it was built next to the Saxon church, so called because the early settlers had come to America from Saxony, Germany. Residents of the nearby communities now refer to this school as the Klessig or the Wiegand school because of the official connections that these families have had with district affairs. This district was organized as Centerville district No. 2 in 1852 and included almost all of the western half of the Centerville township. In 1856, a part of this district was attached to Centerville No. 4. The northern half of the original Centerville district No. 2 set up a school district by itself in 1856. The school districts in Centerville then were re-numbered and the old Centerville district No. 2 became the present Centerville district No. 3. In 1906, a small area in Meeme was attached to this district, making this Centerville Jt. No. 3, joint with Meeme. The first log school was constructed soon after the district was organized for the sum of $150. It was located on the present school site. Little is known about the first building, except that it contained long benches seating about six children each. The room was said to have had a large covered opening in the center of the floor into which the dirt and refuse was swept. The old log building was torn down after it had served its purpose. The second schoolhouse, a frame structure, was built in 1873 on the same site. This new school was more modern for it had blackboards, double desks and seats, and a better stove. It was built by Carl Rieck at a cost of $525. The structural design conformed to the rural schools built during that period with windows on three sides and no special room for the wraps and dinner pails. After 43 years, this schoolhouse was abandoned and was purchased by the Cleveland Hardware Co. It was moved to Cleveland and used as a tinship up to the present time. The third and present school was erected in 1917 on the first site. It is a modern red brick building housing a full basement, a main floor, and a large attic. The basement houses the heating-ventilating plant, a fuel room, a large playroom and the indoor lavatories with running water. A new furnace and stoker were installed in 1945. The main floor consists of a large entry, a large classroom about 32 x 38 feet, and a large kitchen. The classroom is correctly lighted with natural and electric lights, has a spacious built-in library of shelves and drawers, and has all of the modern teaching and learning aids recommended for a one room school. Pleasant Hill school ranks as one of the county's modern rural schools. The Pleasant Hill school has maintained a fairly large enrollment since its organization. The district had no summer sessions at least after 1872, but it is known that the first log school served the early settlers as a church until a house of worship, the present St. John and Peter's Lutheran church, was built directly south of the school. This congregation at times used the schoolhouse for its summer Bible school classes. The highest enrollment on record, as reported by town clerks, was in the 1880's when more than 70 pupils attended. The community has always had a high percentage of its school age children attending. The average yearly attendance during the last hall of the 1800's was between 45 and 70. The community is not greatly affected by parochial school attendance, consequently the present enrollment is still high, being about 25 out of a total of about 45 children of school age. Early settlers influential in establishing the first school were E. Jaehnig, C. Wiegand, A. Katemann, G. Paul, G. Gabsch, G. Franke, C. Hammann, A. Klessig, G. Toehnisch, F. Klessig, C. Lorenz, C. Augustin, C. Trautman, W. Rossberg, C. Fritsche, F. Kolb, G. Lutze, and H. Huhn. The majority of them were farmers, but a few were carpenters, masons, and harness and shoemakers. Some of the pioneers made spinning wheels and funeral caskets during the winter months. Some district residents who have become prominent in town and county affairs were Louis and Otto Wiegand who served as town chairmen; Jos. Schneider, also town chairman; Kurt Wiegand, chairman of County AAA; John Lorfeld, a town chairman and state assemblyman; Oscar Huhn, a former pupil entered the teaching profession and later edited a German-American newspaper in Sheboygan. School records kept since 1851 record the fact that Christian Jaehnig was the first director, C. Kateman treasurer, and Carl Wiegand clerk. They served without salary and performed such duties as the voters set up for them. Other school officers since 1872 were Ernst Jaehnig 1870-1880, August Klessig 1880-, John Lorfeld 1806-1916, Louis Wiegand 1888-1917, and Joseph Schneider 1896-1906. District residents who have served for years on the Board after 1906 were: Otto Wiegand 1918-39 and Edwin Klessig 1922-1946. Ida Losner was the first teacher in 1852 and taught a four month term for a total salary of $50. The school term began in December. The next teacher, Dom. Schneider, taught for $20 a month. He also served as town clerk, and town superintendent of schools. Other instructors on record in the county office were H. F. Pohland 1872, P. J. White 1873; August Aurig 1874; W. L. Albers 1876-1880. Otto Zander 1894-6; John Kassa 1897-8, Wm. Birkle 1904, and Simon Wehrwein 1905. Of the former teachers prior to 1906, W. L. Albers served as captain during the Civil War before teaching this school, Wm. Birkle became county clerk of Sheboygan, and Simon Wehrwein became prominent in the county Progressive party movement. Otto Zander later edited the Brillion News until his death. There are no records of the subjects taught before 1870, but by that time McGuffey's spellers, Sander's readers, and Ray's arithmetics were used. In the 1880's, geography, grammar, and history were added to the course. Up to 1870, German was taught for three months each term, but that was gradually discontinued since the law limited the time to be given to foreign language in the elementary school. During the early 1900's the young people of the district formed a club known as "The School Society". This club put on plays and sponsored social affairs in the district and used the school for a meeting place. While school fairs and spelling contests were popular in the 1900's, this district was always to be reckoned with. Centerville Jt. 3 is a prosperous farming community today. In the early days a shoemaker had his shop directly south of the school. A cheese factory on the Edwin Klessig farm was the site of the first cheese factory in Centerville and was erected by Edwin Klessig's grandfather in the 1870's. The remains of apple orchards and lilac bushes in some spots in the district denote the fact that many of the pioneer homesteads have been abandoned and the present farms greatly enlarged. 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/centervi74gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 8.0 Kb