Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Centerville No. 5 - Red Arrow ************************************************ 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, 4:01 pm CENTERVILLE NO. 5 —RED ARROW Clara Lallensack Centerville district No. 5 is located in the old village of Centerville, now known as Hika. It was named the Red Arrow school in 1919 in honor of the famous Red Arrow, or the 32nd Division, to which many of the local boys belonged during World War I. To county residents it is commonly known as the Centerville or the Hika school. Centerville district No. 5 was organized on January 19, 1852 as Centerville district No. 1. In 1856 the school districts in the township were for some reason renumbered and thus the old Centerville No. 1 became district No. 5. On January 5, 1852, D. Schneider, town superintendent of schools for the township, ordered Peter Schneider a resident of this community, to notify all qualified voters in sections 14, 15, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28 and the E 1/2 of sections 32, 33, 34 to meet on January 19, 1852, to consider the establishment of a school district. Thirty-three voters met at that meeting and they elected Director Fred Babenroth, Clerk Frederick Langenfelt, and Treasurer Joseph Schneider. It was also agreed by a majority vote to build a schoolhouse on Lot 6, Block 9, in the village of Centerville at a sum not to exceed $100. This money was to be collected by the treasurer at a five per cent fee by August next, through taxes. On June 30, 1852, Susan Gretz was engaged to teach a three month term beginning on July 1, at fourteen dollars per month. The district did not maintain its original boundaries for long, for in November, 1852 the E 1/2 of sections 29 and 32 were attached to district 2. In May, 1856, the N 1/4 of section 14, the N 1/2 of 15, all of section 16 except a small area, the W 1/2 of section 21; the W 1/2 of the E 1/2 of 21, the W 1/2 of 28, the W 1/2 of E 1/2 of 33, and the W 1/2 of the E 1/2 of section 23 were attached to districts No. 3 and 4. The first schoolhouse was built in the summer of 1852. In September, 1853, the schoolboard leased the schoolhouse for one dollar per month to Geo. Leisemer for a period of six months with the agreement that one room of the house was to be kept free for classes should it be decided to hold school. The crude building had very little equipment. Two tables and two benches, each twelve feet long made for the sum of four dollars, were provided. The old school and site were sold at auction for about fifty dollars in 1858. F. W. Otto, in 1858, presented the district as a gift the SE 1/4 of Lot 11, Block 12, village of Centerville. Whether this gift was accepted is a question,' since the district later bought the S 1/4 of Lot 9, Block 1, from John Sachse for twenty-five dollars. This was the site of the present school grounds. The district, in 1858, appointed a building committee to design and to contract for a new school. Joseph Hermann was hired to construct the building for the sum of $162, said structure to be ready for occupancy by October 1, 1859. A stone foundation was put under the building in 1866, and at the same time a woodshed was built in front of the school "so as to be convenient for fuel in cold weather". Records do not seem to indicate the kind or size of the second school. By 1871, the second schoolhouse was considered inadequate. A special school meeting was called at which the voters decided to erect a brick school. Bids were let, and by October, 1871, a brick building, 26 x 46 x 14 feet was built for $867. This building, after 77 years is still in use today. The structure still has the old time lighting with windows on the long sides and at the entrance. It now has a large classroom, an entry hall, two cloakrooms, a floor furnace, built in library cupboards, a piano, radio, electric service, a steel file and other necessary teaching and learning aids. The school does not have a basement and outdoor toilets are used. Single adjustable seats and desks now replace the old double seats. In 1911, through the efforts of R. H. Hinz, then Clerk of the board, the Hika school installed the first playground equipment for a rural school in the state of Wisconsin. The swings and whirligig were homemade at a cost of about $18. The school had an artesian well which had an outdoor bubbler. The first school term consisted of a three month session, but by 1858, a summer and a winter term was inaugurated. The summer term was usually taught by a woman teacher, while the winer [sic] term was taught by a man teacher. By 1860, an eight month term was maintained as a single term, being one of the first districts to do so. The voters also decided "that school shall be taught no more than five and one-half days per week". Although a German settled community, this district did not vote to teach German in the school until 1865, when it was decided to teach German one-half of the time. In 1875, it was decided to teach German one-half hour per day. By 1893 this language was taught only one-half day per week. The records indicate that the teaching of German was discontinued in 1903. The earliest record of enrollment was found for 1858 when 33 pupils attended. The attendance has always fluctuated, more or less, but in 1874 there were 106 children of school age enrolled, the youngest being three and one-half years of age and the oldest seventeen. Centerville No. 5 has always been considered a "large school", but the rural factors affecting all rural districts has had its effect on this school. The average enrollment for the last few years has been about thirty pupils. In 1894, the voters agreed that no child shall attend school unless he or she furnish evidence of satisfactory vaccination against smallpox. That act shows that the people of this district were leaders indeed in progressive movements. Records show also that for many years the teacher would have to pay for broken windows if he or she could not make the children pay or collect damages from the parents! In the past years the district allowed children from other districts to attend this school upon payment of tuition in advance, said tuition ranged from seventy-five cents to a dollar per month. Early settlers of this district as shown in the Centerville assessment record of 1856 were the Wagners, Schneiders, Eickhoffs, Schultes, Huhns, Sachses, Werners, and the Mills. Otto and Evers owned much of the land in the village and in the surrounding area. Most of the settlers were farmers, but many families lived in the village where the men worked in the pioneer industries of Centerville. The men elected to the schoolboard have been progressive and deeply interested in the welfare of their school. A few of the officers who served prior to 1906 were August Mill, Charles Keune, G. Mill, Peter Werner, John Sachse, W. T. Albers, Wm. Strattmann, and members of the Schneider family. The record books show that some member of the Mill family has been on the board almost continuously since before 1870. The list of teachers from 1852 to the present time is complete due to the excellent records which have been kept. The names of these teachers in order of their succession up to 1906 are: Susan Gretz, Mrs. Susan Hawkins, Catherine Skelley, Adelaid Blin, Gustave Markwardt, Mina Wolter, Edward Carberry, Owen Hillman, J. T. Cummings, Charlotte Edwards, T. H. Baker, Peter Werner, W. Quehl, Ida Schaffland, Sherwood Hayes, Thomas Gallogly, W. Elfred, Ferdinand Lonsdorf, W. T. Albers, Henry Deters, Joseph Guidinger, R. C. Nicolaus, Fred Dicke, W. G. Wehrwein, A. H. Zander, J. F. Walter, Fred E. Kolb, and Willie Engel. A. H. Zander later became city clerk of Manitowoc. School fairs were annual fall events in the early 1900's. These fairs featured farm and garden products as well as material made in the schoolroom. The school board always appropriated prizes from the school treasury. Red Arrow students, were always to be reckoned with in the township and county spelling and achievement contests. Centerville has a great deal of history connected with it. Much of this history can be found in books written about the early years of Manitowoc county. The early village was an important lake port and a fishing center. It once had a feed and cider mill, a brewery, general and hardware stores, blacksmith shops, warehouses, and other business common to lake ports. Remains of the old pier are still extending out into the lake. 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/centervi76gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 9.1 Kb