Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Meeme 2 - Spring Valley ************************************************ 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 4, 2007, 6:53 pm MEEME 2 — SPRING VALLEY Nora Griffin Meeme school district No. 2 includes the village of Spring Valley, so it was natural to name the public school the Spring Valley school when official names were given in 1918. The village got that name from the fact that many springs are found in the valley in which the hamlet is located. Today the schoolhouse is located on a site on the northwest corner of the NW 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of section 23, Meeme. Meeme No. 2 was organized about 1850 according to the township assessment rolls. It then included all of sections 13, 14, 15, 23, and 24, and parts of sections 9, 10, 11, and 22. Since its organization many pieces of land have been detached and attached, but in general the area is about the same as it was in 1850. There are no written school records of this district before 1900. All historical facts recorded in this article were obtained from old-timers and from county records. The first school was a log structure built soon after 1850. Just where that school was located is unknown, because it was not until December 17, 1870, that the present site was sold to Meeme No. 2 by John Bohne for $40. The description, as given in Vol. 16, p. 91 of the deed as filed in the Register of Deeds office, is as follows: Commencing at the center of the Green Bay road as now (1870) traveled on the section line running between section 14 and 23 in T. 17 N., and R. 22 E., thence running due west 6 1/2 rods, thence due south 6 rods, then due east 6 1/2 rods, thence due north 6 rods to place of beginning, making 39 square rods in all. In 1903, an additional one-half acre of land to add to the schoolyard was purchased from Fred Bohne for $75. The second school was a frame building built in 1871 for $600 according to county records. It was about 24x30 feet with a little, storm shed attached at the entrance. Three windows made up of many small panes, on each long "Side provided the natural lighting. A framed picture of this school now on display in the new building seems to indicate that the single entrance door led into a combination cloak and storage room extending across the front of the building. Two doors from the hallway opened into the classroom. It is said that Henry Langenhahn made the first blackboards from 2 inch planks. These were later replaced with slate boards because of the cracks between the boards. The seats and desks at first were homemade affairs which were later replaced with patented double desks. The usual boxstoves, water bucket, dipper, woodbox, and teacher's desk on a platform completed the old school-room furniture. About 1903, the little frame schoolhouse became too small for the growing school population with the result that an addition was voted to the west end of the building at a cost of $700. The addition was of the same construction as the old frame school-house and added about 16 more feet to its length. An entrance shed was added to the southwest corner of the new addition. A woodshed was attached to the rear of this new structure. The chimney was between the two rooms. Two small out-door toilets and shade trees were located on the school grounds. When the enlarged building was abandoned, it was torn down and the lumber sold at auction to Wm. Diedrich for $125. The third and present school was erected in 1920 and finished in January, 1921, at a cost of about $15,000. It is of brick construction with a full basement which houses a Wausau furnace heating and ventilating system. The old dry toilets, a part of the equipment connected with the furnace, have been replaced by flush type lavatories. The basement has a playroom, a fuel storage space, furnace room, and toilets. The first floor entrance leads into a small hallway from which steps lead to the basement and another stairway leads to the cloakrooms on the first floor. From these cloakrooms two doors open into a large class-room furnished with single desks, sand table, steel filing case, a piano, radio, maps, globes, and adequate blackboards and bulletin boards. An open alcove library addition on the west houses the hundreds of library and text books. A well-equipped kitchen is a part of the building in a small room next to the library. Running water is available throughout the building, making the Meeme No. 2 school one of the modern schools in Manitowoc county. The Spring Valley school district has had a large enrollment except during the past 20 or 30 years. During the years from 1903 to 1910, this district maintained a two-room graded school with an enrollment of about 70 pupils yearly. After the school again became a one room rural school in 1910, the enrollment averaged around 50 to 60, although the average daily attendance was around 40. The fact that the older boys and girls attended only during the winter months brought down the average daily attendance for the year. By the time that the present school was built in 1920, the enrollment averaged about 30 yearly out of a school census of over 100 children of school age. The establishment of the parochial school in this community has affected the enrollment in the public school. The early assessment rolls show that these were pioneer settlers in Meeme.No. 2: A. Herr, W. H. Smith, H. Kolwey, A. Kleiber, C. Conway, M. Madigan, W. Lorfeld, C. McCarthy, F. Bonne, P. Hoffmann, and C. Willmas. Hubert Simon, one of the first two white children born in Meeme, was born in this district on February 2, 1848. The same year the first religious services were held in this district by Father Brunner in a private house in section 10. Among early day businessmen, there was Mich. Herr who founded the village of Meeme located a half-mile south of the public school. He settled there in July, 1847, and began a trading post handling dry goods, groceries, liquors, and tobaccos. The post office named Meeme was located in this building until the establishment of the rural delivery system. Mail for the surrounding countryside was gotten from Meeme. A water power site was located on the H. Kolwey farm now the Fred Langenhahn property. Kolwey operated a grist mill. Residents of this district have become well known in politics, business, farming, and the professions. Pat Conway and David Lorfeld became assemblymen, while Paul Hertel became town clerk of Meeme for many years. The list of those who became prominent is too long to include in this school history. Since there are no written district records, it is unknown what residents served on the first school boards. Those names on file in county records are clerks Peter Phillips 1872-5, C. E. Conway 1876-80, John Hertel 1894-98, Paul Hertel 1899-1904, and John Bertsche 1905-. Other board members before 1906 were Fred Bohne, Math. Hauch, and Ed. Ohse. A later clerk, C. F. Heckmann, served on the board for 25 years from 1919 to 1946. The salaries paid teachers of the Spring Valley school were usually the second highest in the town. Irish teachers seem to have been favored according to the following names recorded: Mary Sexton 1872 S., John A. Stewart 1872-3, Pat Donohue 1874, Mary Lantry 1875, Peter Brady 1876, Thos. Galloghy 1877, Lizzie Donohue 1878-9, Kate Donohue 1880, Maggie Hayes 188-, A. J. Taugher 1894, Maggie Garry 1895; Hubert Jenmarie 1896, Mary Conway 1897-8, Prin. Alice Finch and Nellie Laughlin 1904-5, Prin. Rose Voboril and Nellie Laughlin 1906. Prin. Agnes Conway and Anna M. Pritchard were the other graded school teachers while this school had two departments. The names of teachers after 1910 are listed in the County Annuals. Two terms of school were common up to about 1890. The fall term began in October or November and lasted for about three or four months. The spring terms began about March or April for two or three months. The first nine month term was voted in 1878. Two old textbooks used in the 1880's and now in the possession of Henry Langenhahn are Montgomery's "American History" and Swinton's "Condensed United States History". Places of historical interest are found in this district. The building housing the Meeme post office still stands on the old Green Bay road. This structure was the stopping place for early travelers. The old Green Bay trail wound its way through the district and past the school. The ruins of the old grist mill and dam are to be found on the present Henry Langenhahn farm. The hamlet of Spring Valley itself has an interesting history. Today Meeme No, 2 with its modern school is able to provide its children with modern rural school conveniences. Whether it will serve a larger area remains to be seen. It has served the township for years as an examination center for its eighth grade graduates! 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/meeme2sp190gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 9.4 Kb