Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Mishicot Jt. 2 - Kettle Range ************************************************ 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 21, 2007, 5:57 pm MISHICOT JT. 2 —KETTLE RANGE Evangeline Klein The Kettle Range School got its name through the fact that it is located in the Kettle Range area. The Kettle Range hills can be seen as one travels Highway 163 between Mishicot and Tisch Mills. The school district lies in the townships of Mishicot and Gibson. The school house is located on the town line between these two townships. The older residents of this and surrounding communities identify Mishicot Jt. 2 school as the Tetzlaff School because it is located on the former Otto Tetzlaff farm. The town supervisors of the townships of Mishicot and Gibson, on August 31, 1865, notified August Wilkonsky that Jt. District No. 2 Mishicot had been formed. The supervisors who had signed the notice were Louis Kahnke and Helmuth Zander of Gibson and John Sourasch and Thomas Wagner of Mishicot. The district in 1865 consisted of the W 1/2 of Section 18, the W 1/2 of Section 19, and the NW 1/4 of Section 30 in the township of Mishicot, and the E 1/2 of the NW 1/4, the NW 1/4 of the NW 1/4 Section 25, all of Section 24, and the E 1/2 of the SE 1/4, the N 1/2 of the NE 1/4 of Section 13, all in the township of Gibson. In 1910 the SW 1/4 of Section 7, in the township of Mishicot was added to this district. The last described piece of property had belonged to Mishicot No. 6 school district. The first school meeting for the newly organized district was held in the house of Louis Kahnke on December 9, 1865, at one o'clock P. M. The records show that the following voters of the district were notified of the first meeting: Gottlieb Bigalke, August Stehn, Henry Kippel, Wm. Koelsch, Etrieme Mirit, Carl Schmidt, Fred Krueger, Carl Pries, Ole Olsen, Fred Quistorff, Carl Schramm, Henry Ploeckelmann, John Quistorff, Tuliex Olsen, Jos. Mathey, Ferd. Albrecht, Ole Tidemann, Frank Lousier, Peter Ploeckelmann, Louis Kahnke, Matthias Mathieson, and Mathias Legro. Louis Kahnke acted as chairman of the first meeting. Clerk Louis Kahnke, treasurer August Stehn, and Director Frank Lousier were chosen as the first school officers. The minutes of the first meeting were recorded by Henry Tisch who acted as clerk of the meeting. At this first meeting it was voted to purchase one-quarter acre of land from Tuliex Olsen for five dollars for a school site. The description of this site as recorded by Henry Tisch was as follows: "to commence at a certain post, 70 rds. due south from the NW corner of the NW 1/4 of Section 19 in Town 21, Range 24 East, and from fence to run eight rods due east from fence, seven rods due south from fence, and eight rods due west from fence to the center of the Kewaunee-Mishicot road." The first school house built on the site was of hewn logs. It was 22 feet wide and 26 feet long. John Langhoff built the school at a cost of $173.92. The buildings consisted of the school, a wood shed and outdoor toilets. The records reveal the fact that the logs and lumber costs were $41.90. The furnishings of the school, consisting of twelve benches, tables, a book chest, two blackboards, and a chimney box cost $36.50. This log building was abandoned in 1887 and sold to Fred, Jenkins for ten dollars. He used it for a residence for many years. A new school house was built in 1887 and is still being used as the center of learning today by the children of the district. This building is of brick, 26 x 36 feet. The cost of the new school was $790, and Carl Pries, Robert Guse, and August Stehn were members of the building committee. The first teacher in the first log school house was Henry Tisch who. received $30 per month for his four months of winter and three months of summer teaching. Casper Braasch taught in 1867 for the same wages. His term consisted of 154 days. Mathey Smith taught the winter term in 1868, while Ella Sachetl taught the summer term. Henry Sibree was the teacher during the winter of 1869. Other early teachers were Charles and Melora Shove, Annie Burnett, Maggie Kelly, Oscar Stockmeyer, Joseph Wojta, Casper Ploeckelmann, Walter Runge, Lizzie Hayes, Ernest Pries, C. F. Canright, D. R. Soler, Nancy Quistorf, J. A. Miller and Melvih Halverson. The first teacher in the present school was Maggie Kelly. Some of the texts used by the first teachers were Sander's Readers, Sander's Speller, Ray's Arithmetic, McNally's Geography, Winston's History of the United States, Montheith's Geography, and the Phinneas Grammar. The enrollment in 1871 was seventy. The average enrollment during the 1800's was between fifty and seventy-five. At present the enrollment has dwindled down to fourteen. Various factors pertinent to rural areas have had its effect in reducing the attendance in this school. By 1874, the district voted to have a seven month school term instead of a winter and a summer term. In 1887, the district began maintaining an eight month school year. At present the term of nine months, required by law, is being maintained. This school has always been a one room rural school. During its eighty years of existence, many of the qualified patrons of the district served as school officers. A few of the earliest officers in addition to the first board members were Carl Pries, August Wilkowsky, C. Wullner, H. Stehn, and Geo. Kahrs. Those patrons serving from 1906 to 1945 are listed in the County School Annuals. Hundreds of boys and girls have attended this school since its organization. Many of the graduates became community leaders. Among the more recent graduates who attained prominence were the Benesch girls who became leading county teachers; Albert W. Tetzlaff, a county teacher and later our well known and popular County Clerk; Glynden Tetzlaff who is teaching in Milwaukee at present; L. O. Tetzlaff, the principal of Sheboygan County Normal; Earl Tetzlaff, a teacher in Manitowoc; Robert Guse, a formerly county supervising teacher; Randolph Stehn, cashier of Mishicot State Bank; Hugo Ploeckelmann, town clerk of Mishicot; Ernest Wilsmann, a former teacher and now with the Manitowoc Post Office. The district has no recorded places of historical or scenic interest. 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/mishicot205gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 6.9 Kb