Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Maple Grove 2 - Kasson 1948 ************************************************ 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 November 3, 2007, 10:31 pm MAPLE GROVE 2 -KASSON Phyllis Kings The Kasson school district was organized about 1855 in the township of Maple Grove. Since it has always been located near, the hamlet of Kasson, the school has always been referred to as the Kasson school. In 1918 it was officially designated by that name. Maple Grove district 2 was set up when the area of Maple Grove included the present townships of Maple Grove and Rockland. This district first was composed of sections 4-5-6-7-8-9-16-17-18, all in Maple Grove. Today the western, northern, and eastern boundaries remain the same but the southern boundary was moved northward when district 4 was organized. The first log schoolhouse was erected about the year 1855. It was located about 1/4 mile east of the present school site. There are no records of the size of the first building but old timers report that the school had wooden shutters painted white. It was the teachers' task to close them at night and open them before school began each morning. The desks and seats were made of planks supported by blocks of wood. The blackboards were just boards painted black. The erasers were small blocks of wood covered with sheepskin, and it was the schoolboard's duty to see that these eraser blocks were renewed and recovered at the beginning of the school term. The pupils came to school supplied with a slate, slate pencil, and a slate rag. After the building had served its purpose, it was torn down and the logs used for firewood. The second schoolhouse, a frame structure, was built about in 1875 on the present site. The land for the school was purchased from G. Stern for $24. The building erected in 1875 was about 18 x 30 feet, with four windows on the long sides, and with two doors for entrances. An open platform porch was built onto the front of the building. In the year 1887-88, an addition of about 12 feet was built onto the rear of the school to care for the increased enrollment. A picture of this old school is to be found in the 1910 Manitowoc County School Annual. The seats and desks used in the second school were home-made affairs. The building was abandoned in January 1910 and was sold to Christ Heinrich for $57, and is now used as a granary on that farm. The woodshed was sold to Anton Fritsch for $26, the stove and pipes to Wm. Ziegler for $3, and the flag pole to John Boldt for $1. The third and present school building was erected in 1909 on the same site as the second school. A special meeting was called February 4, 1908 to vote on the question of building a new school or repairing the old one. The vote for a new structure was 22 for and 12 against. Many meetings were held before the final plans for a brick school 38x38 with a classroom 38x28 feet were approved. The structure has a full basement, a library room, and two entrance-cloakrooms and cost about $2,800. Today the Kasson school is one of the most modern rural schools of the county with an air-conditioning heating and venilation [sic] system, electric lights and services, modern seating, recitation chairs, drinking fountain, hand-washing facilities, steel file, reference books, etc. The playground is large with well-kept playground equipment. Outdoor toilets are still in use. Kasson school has always been a one-room rural school. As the decades passed, in the later 1800's, the enrollment increased until by the year 1883 there were 89 pupils with 22 in the primary class. The town clerks' reports to the superintendent of schools show that the highest enrollment occurred in 1883 but the average attendance from 1880 to 1900 was between 70 and 85. During the 1940'sthe attendance has averaged between 20 and 30 yearly. The early assessment rolls for the town of Maple Grove list John O'Brien, Thomas Kings, Lawrence Gill, John Schulz, Mike Maloney, John Braun, Louis Krueger, Henry Dorn, Edward Korb, James Mullins, and Arthur Cavanaugh as early settlers in this community. Thousands of students throughout the county and state are proud to call Kasson their home school. No record of district residents serving on the school board prior to 1872 was obtainable. The county records show that S. Connell served as clerk in 1872. Others on record as serving on the board up to 1906 were John O'Brien, David Caflisch, John A. Horn, Wm. Mullins, August Schilling, Sebastian Schuh, James Hickey, and John Caflisch. County records in the superintendent's office reveal the fact that summer and winter sessions were held up to about 1875. District records indicate that the term varied from year to year, since some years the term was 5, 6, and sometimes 7 months. By 1895 the term of 9 months was already in vogue. The salary of the teachers in the 1860 to 1870's ranged from $20 to $30 monthly. By 1890 the average salary was $30 to $40 per month, while in the early 1900's the salary paid a teacher increased to $60 a month. The list of teachers from 1860 up to 1906 when the County Annuals were published is quite complete. The school records list these as former Kasson teachers: Sarah Watt, Anna Watt, Margaret Stoker, Kate O'Donnell, E. A. Benedict, John Connell, Mike Mulloy, Josie Murphy, D. Doleman, John Barnes, James Kirwan, Alice Kennedy, Pat O'Brien, Mary Burke, John Meany, Goff Morrissey, Wm. Koch, Alice Monahan, John Regan, Henry. Werner, John Brennan, D. H. Guhin, James Gill, George Kings, Arthur Bleser, Wm Gills, and Margaret Doolan. It is quite evident that Irish teachers were preferred! John Barnes later became Justice of the Supreme Court, James Kirwan became a well-known lawyer at Chilton, John E. Meany became a physician in Manitowoc, and Goff Morrissey later became principal of various high schools in Manitowoc and Calumet counties. Old-timers like to reminisce about the early school days. They recall that some of the children from large families used to carry large baskets instead of lunch pails. In the basket they had two loaves of bread which the children cut into large pieces for their noon lunch. They also recall that in the early days the girls wore bustles filled with cut-feed. A favorite trick of the larger boys was to cut these bustles with their pocket knives and watch the cut feed trickle out. In later years the Kasson school became the meeting place for school fairs, spelling bees, and 4-H club meetings. Maple Grove district No. 2 has no places of scenic or historical interest. Kasson, once a thriving rural village and postal center of the area, has gone the way of many other rural hamlets. With the coming of the rural free delivery system in 1905, the postoffice was moved to Brillion and Kasson's importance to the community diminished. The district is rich in gravel deposits brought down by the continental glacier. Today Kasson district is a community of prosperous farmers who are intensely interested in providing their children with the best in modern educational opportunities. 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/maplegro184gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 7.7 Kb