Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Centerville No. 6 - Maple Leaf ************************************************ 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, 4:07 pm CENTERVILLE NO. 6 —MAPLE LEAF Florence Kutz Thieleke Centerville school district 6 was designated the Maple Leaf school in 1918 to conform to the requirements of Chapter 40.36, Laws of Wisconsin. It was given that name because it is situated across the road from the Maple Leaf cheese factory. The school site of one-half acre is located on the N. E. corner of the NE 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of section 15, Centerville township. The school is often referred to as the Jacobi school because it is located near the Jacobi farmstead. August 3, 1907 marked the organization date for this district. It originally belonged to the Centerville number 1 district. The first annual school district meeting was held on July 6, 1908, at the home of Fred Schuette. The voters assembled voted to buy the school site from Fred Schuette. The district set up is composed of parts of sections 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, and 16, all in Centerville. Construction of the first school building was for some reason delayed for four years. During those years the children from this newly created district used the German Lutheran summer school building which was located one-half mile west of the present public school site. Mabel Sell was the first teacher hired by the district board at a salary of $49 per month for the eight month term. The present school building was constructed in the spring of 1912 by mason Wm. Toepel, carpenter Art Rieck, and painter Henry Born at an approximate cost of $1516. The frame building is 30 x 34 feet with a schoolroom 29 x 24 x 12 feet. A large entry-cloakroom is provided to store the children's wraps and the dinner pails. A part of the entry is cut off and is used as a stairway to the basement. The full basement has a furnace, fuel storage space, playroom, and facilities for hand washing and drinking water. A spring, high in iron content, supplies the drinking fountain. The other schoolyard buildings are the outdoor toilets. The schoolroom has two built-in libraries, correct window lighting, electric lights, a filing cabinet, chairs and tables, and most of the modern teaching and learning equipment. Twenty-eight single seats and the teacher's desk were purchased in 1912. By July 7, 1913, the building was ready for the annual school meeting. Centerville district 6 has never had a large enrollment. The number of pupils enrolled in 1909 was 27 with an average daily attendance of 23. The average enrollment since.the district was organized has been about 15 pupils yearly. During the school year of 1945-46 the average daily attendance was 9 pupils. The usual rural factors account for the decrease in attendance. The 1945 census lists only 28 children of school age from 4 to 20 years of age. This district is a farming community which was settled by Germans. The family names of Leiteritz, Schuette, Jaeger, Grube, and Schneider are still common in the district as they were in 1856. Because of the low enrollment, the number of graduates since the organization of the school in 1907 has been limited, but all of them have become leaders in the communities in which they eventually settled. The voters of Centerville 6 have always shown a keen interest in the affairs of their school. The selection of members of the schoolboard received careful consideration with the result that the school has always ranked high in the county. The first school board members were clerk Fred Schuette, director Frank Rettele, and director Wm. Jaeger. In its 40 years of existence the names of Schuette, Rettele, Sixel, Bruckschen, Lorfeld, Jacobi, Kielsmeier, Siggelkow, Zimmerman, and Jaeger are repeated again and again as members of the various school boards. Since the school was organized after the Manitowoc county school annuals began to be issued, the names of all of the teachers of this school are listed therein. For some unknown reason the county annual directory of 1911-1912 failed to include this school's record so that the name of the teacher, Josephine Schulte, was omitted. One of the most prominent teachers who taught this school was Anna M. Pritchard who was promoted from this school to the position of Manitowoc county supervising teacher in 1920. Centerville school district has no places of historical interest. The scenic and recreational areas are confined to the shores of Lake Michigan at its eastern boundary and to Fischer Creek which winds its way along the southern boundary and empties itself into Lake Michigan. In the spring of 1947, a special meeting was called to vote on the question of suspending the district school for the 1947-1948 term. This meeting was held on Thursday evening, February 27th. The vote was in favor of closing and of the transportation of the nine pupils to Centerville No. 1, the school from which the district had detached itself in 1907. After 40 years of operation the district children were again using the school organized by the pioneer settlers of this community. 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/centervi77gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 5.7 Kb