Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Centerville 4 Center School ************************************************ 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, 3:46 pm CENTERVILLE 4 —CENTER SCHOOL Lorina Horstmann Center School in all records was designated as School District No. 4. However, to the people in the district it is known as the Nenning School because of the Nenning families who have lived and are living across the road. In 1918 the school was given the name "Center School" because it is situated on Highway 141 about halfway between Manitowoc and Sheboygan. The district included the E 1/2 of Sec. 17; all of Sec. 16 except the N 1/2, the SE 1/4 of NE 1/4 and NE 1/4 of the SE 1/4; all of Sec. 21; the E 1/2 of Sec. 20; all of Sections 29 and 30; the E 1/2 of Sec. 32; and all of Sec. 33 except the SE 1/4 of the SE 1/4. The district was four miles long and a mile and one-half wide. Since 1856 the eastern and western boundaries have undergone some changes. On the 12th of May, 1856, the town superintendent of schools of the town of Centerville directed George Leonhard, a resident of the district, to, notify every qualified voter in the proposed Centerville District No. 4 to attend the first school meeting at the home of F. Miller on May 23, 1856. The main business transacted was the election of officers. The records show the written acceptance of each officer for his elected office. Incidentally, from the very first year until the present time, very neat and detailed records were kept. For the first 35 years most of these records were written in German! In September, 1856, the annual school meeting was held at two o'clock in the afternoon. Plans were made to select a school site and to determine the type of building to erect. A quarter acre of land at the southeast corner of Section 20 was purchased from Joseph Leonhard. In 1901 another one-half acre was purchased from George Leonhard. On this site a log building 20 x 25 feet was erected. The people of the district furnished the logs and helped build the school. Those who furnished material and helped build received one dollar per day. Those who furnished only labor were paid six shillings per day. The crude log building was clapboarded for extra warmth. The interior was furnished with long benches, a small blackboard, and maps. Pauline Rosebergen, the first teacher, taught from Decmeber 1856 to March 1857 for twelve dollars per month. In 1857 four months of school were to be held. However, if there was money left in the treasury, school was to be taught longer. The teacher was Agnes Walthers. She also taught the next term of six months at $20 per month. The records reveal the fact that most of the district people were German immigrants. At each annual meeting it was definitely stipulated that a teacher who could speak German be hired! Evidently, many of the pupils could not speak English upon entering school. -This, of course, necessitated a teacher who could "handle" both languages. The people at the annual meeting also discussed and voted on the question of whether a male or female teacher was to be employed, the school board fees, the length of the school year, the teacher's salary, and the tax to be levied. On March 12, 1887, a special meeting was held to vote on the question of a new school. The vote was 26 yeas and 2 noes. On the question of whether a brick or a frame building was to be erected, the vote was 19 to 10 in favor of a brick building. The new structure was to be 36 x 24 x 12 feet. The building committee consisted of John Doersch, Carl Toepel, and Christ Wetzel. The structure was well-planned having a double hardwood floor, eight windows, and only "good" shingles and bricks were used. It was built on the same site as the first building and is now a part of the present building. The contractor was paid $700 to construct the. building. The old log school was sold to Adolph Klessig for $14. In 1901 the voters at the annual meeting decided to lengthen the old brick school-house by adding sixteen feet to the west end at a cost of $300. Seven years later at a special meeting, it was decided to install a ventilating system. Playground equipment was purchased. Since 1915 the following improvements were made: a flag pole erected; a new hardwood floor laid; adjustable seats purchased; additional blackboards installed; electric lights, electric plate, and clock added; a new furnace with fan-driven heat distribution installed; and other modern teaching aids purchased. During 1946 a modern fully-equipped kitchen to make possible the serving of a complete hot noon lunch was added to the schoolroom. These many improvements and additions reflect the genuine interest of board members and parents in the welfare of their children. In 1856 to 1865 the enrollment was about 25. This increased each succeeding decade as more and more boys and girls took advantage of the education offered to them. The largest enrollment was 63 in 1917. At that time a special meeting was held to discuss ways and means of coping with the over-enrollment situation. State Supt. of schools C. P. Cary suggested adding a second room and making the building a graded school. This suggestion was voted down. In its stead, it was decided to enroll no child below six years of age. This plan brought the attendance below sixty. Today the enrollment is 24, due to the fact that many district children now attend the St. Wendel parochial school. The first census record taken in 1867 lists a total of 134 children of school age—67 boys and 67 girls. The census records since that time show that there has been little change in the number of children since that time. The villages of St. Wendel and Cleveland account for the large number of children living in the district. The Centerville assessment roll of 1856 lists these settlers living or. owning land in the district: F. Benkard, John Schneider, Chas. Bogenschutz, T. Ahrens, Joseph Schneider. The first school officers were Clerk C. Jaehnig, Treasurer C. Mayer, and Director T. Kiefer. The treasurer's records show that in 1857 the clerk received 25 cents to attend some meeting and 13 cents to post notices of the annual meeting. Some district settlers who served terms as school officers were Frank Nenning as treasurer for 25 years; Frank Arends as clerk for 24 years; Wm. Arends as clerk for 21 years; and C. Toepel as treasurer for 21 years. Some early teachers in the first school were Wm. Hillman, Domnick Schneider and a Dr. Quehl. It is interesting to note that Dr. Quehl was a doctor of medicine. Dom. Schneider was town superintendent of schools when the school was organized, but who resigned his position to teach this school. The first teachers in the second school were: Maggie Pinter, Emilia Oberland, E. Schmitz, Theo. Conner, G. J. Groth, Wm. Burke, Henry Duckart, Erwin Cary, now Dr. E. C. Cary of Reedville, John Arends, now a teacher in Illinois, and Jerome Ledvina, now our county judge. The district has no notable places of scenic or historical interest 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/centervi75gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 7.7 Kb