Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Eaton 4 - Sunnyside ************************************************ 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 30, 2007, 10:32 pm EATON 4 —SUNNYSIDE Suspended Eaton school district number 4 was designated the Sunnyside district because the schoolhouse was located on the sunny side of a hill sloping to the east. It. is often referred to as. the Lax school as it was located a short distance from the Lax Chapel. Eaton residents often referred to it as the Heinzen school. Eaton No. 4 district was organized in 1894 in order that a school within walking distance might be provided the children in this area. This district belonged originally to the St. Nazianz and the Elder Grove districts. Today it is an oblong area composed of sections 21-22-23 and the north halves of sections 27 and 28. Much of the western part of the district is made up of swamps and gravel hills unfit for farming. The eastern half of the community is composed of rolling farm lands, but the whole district is assessed at only about $180,000. The first and only schoolhouse was built in 1895 on a school site purchased from Anton Burkhart for $35. The schoolyard was located on the north-west corner of the NE 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of section 27. The frame school, about 22 x 28, cost the district $592 complete. It was built by John Knier who did the carpenter work; Peter Heinzen and Ludwig Kaltenbrun did the mason work. Each district resident spent a few days assisting in the building for the treasurer's record book shows that 19 residents were paid sums ranging from $2 to $7.50 for labor. The sum of $500 was borrowed from the state at 4% interest, and $270 was borrowed from Math Haungs at 6% interest. Seats and blackboards were purchased from the Manitowoc Seating Co. for $49.50. More double desks and seats were purchased from the same company in 1897 for $18.60. The new school was painted by Jos. Boeckle for $21.35 with Christel and Miller furnishing oil and paint for $38.64. It was not until 1901 that Math. Wollersheim was paid $12.50 to build a board fence costing $16.48. A woodshed was erected La 1904 with Math. Wollersheim doing the labor for $23.40'and the lumber furnished by O. Aslackson of Valders for $36.89. The old boxstove was replaced by a stove-type heating and ventilating system in 1909 for $88. The frame schoolhouse had open steps leading up to a small storm shed attached to the front of the building. This shed was used to store the day's supply of fuel, the pupil's outer wraps, and the dinner pails during moderate weather. The interior of the shed was lighted by two small windows facing the road. A door from the shed opened into a schoolroom with three windows on each long side. The room was barely furnished with double desks, a library cupboard, a teachers' desk, and a heating plant in the northwest corner of the room. This school remained in continuous operation until the year 1940 when it was suspended because the average daily attendance had dropped to three pupils. The public school children were then transported to the Geo. Washington school at St. Nazianz, but by 1944 there were no pupils in the district who were enrolled in a public school. The school census listed fewer than 20 children of school age residing in the district. Those attending school were enrolled in the parochial school at St. Nazianz. For the past four years the district has had no school tax since it did not educate any children in a public school. At a special meeting held in the spring of 1946, the voters authorized the school board to sell the school buildings at public auction. Accordingly, an auction was arranged for June 8, 1946, at which the school building was sold to Gerhard Endries, a World War II veteran, for $1,000. He moved the school to St. Nazianz and remodeled it into a restaurant and living quarters on a site just south of the canning factory. The school equipment and outbuildings were sold piecemeal for about $200. The site was sold to Henry Baer and has now become a part of his farm. According to assessment records on file in the county treasurer's office, pioneer residents of this district about 1858 were John McMunn, John and David Cronin, Geo. Sukowatey, Jos. Stahl, Anton Fessler, Alois Schweitzer, A. Kautzer, and Christian Adelmann. The treasurer's book is neatly and well-kept, recording the expenditures of the district since its organization. This record book gives the names of the school-board members from the time of the district organization. The district residents serving on the board up to 1906 when the county school annuals were first issued were: Ludwig Kaltenbrun, Mich. Meyer, and Math. Wollersheim as clerks; Art Burkhardt and Math. Heinzen as treasurers; and Math. Wollersheim and Jos. Sukowatey.as directors. It was not until 1907 that payment was made for attendance at a school-board convention. That payment was made for the treasurer's attendance, as that officer was required to attend at that time. The first term of school held in the winter of 1895-6 was in charge of Fred Schwalbe. He taught a six month term for $30 per month. After 1897, eight month terms were common until shortly before a state law passed in 1937 forced all districts to maintain at least a nine month term to be eligible for state and county aid. Teachers in addition to Fred Schwalbe who taught this school in 1895 and 1896 were Sadie Dunbar 1897-1901, Adelle Lawrence 1901, Emily Rauch 1902, Susie Richards 1903, Katie Laughlin 1904, Theresa Gries 1905, Anna McCarthy 1906-07. Other teachers after that year until the school suspended in 1940 have their names recorded in the county annuals. The last teacher in the school was Ruth Rolland of Cato who taught the nine month term for $85 per month. The sunnyside school has always been handicapped by a very small enrollment. The teachers and pupils took an active part in the town contests, but never sponsored the old-fashioned spelling bees and debates so common to other county districts. The community is now much more accessible since the construction of a county trunk highway through the district which connects St. Nazianz with highway 32. Lax Chapel in this district is the scene of religious pilgrimages on August 15th each year. With the passage of new school legislation, the time will soon come when the district will be attached to operating school districts and pass out of the Manitowoc county rural school-system. 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/eaton4su120gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 7.1 Kb