Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Mishicot 7 - Pleasant View School ************************************************ 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 22, 2007, 6:21 pm MISHICOT 7 — PLEASANT VIEW SCHOOL Lorraine Kracht Mishicot district No. 7 was given the name of Pleasant View because of the pleasant view of rolling hills and wooded tracts which can be obtained from the school site. Residents from the surrounding communities refer to this as the Skubal school because it is located at Skubal's Corner. All early records of the district kept by the school clerks were destroyed by fire when the home of the former school clerk, Anton Skubal, burnt to the ground in recent years. In 1858, when Mishicot and Gibson townships were one, the land in this district was known as Mishicot district 13 made up of sections 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21. After the two towns separated, this area became Mishicot No. 7 according to the Mishicot assessment roll of 1859 on file in the county treasurer's office. In 1865 when Mishicot Jt. 2 was organized, this district lost the west one-half of sections 18 and 19, but it has had added a tier of farms along the northern edge of sections 28, 29, and 30. The first log schoolhouse was built shortly after the district organized. The cost of the structure is unknown. It served the community until 1871 when a frame structure costing $412 was erected. A picture of this school taken in 1899 at some community affair is in the hands of a district resident. It shows the school with the exterior improvements made since its erection. The building seemed to be about 24 feet wide and 30 feet long with four windows on the long sides. Each window had 12 panes. Older residents recall that the original plank floor was removed and regular flooring laid. The interior of the building had one large cloakroom, across the entrance side and a classroom for the rest of the structure. The classroom had a high teacher's desk with a high stool behind it on which the teachers sat. This teacher's desk is now used as a business desk in a cheese factory a quarter mile south of the school. The desks and seats were home-made, large enough to seat six to eight sturdy youngsters. The seats had no backs and were high enough off the floor to care for all sizes of pupils! A big woodstove in the middle of the room was the heating plant, while the wood was piled conveniently in the rear of the room. Standing on a small bench near the piled wood was a water pail with the drinking dipper hanging on a nail nearby. Maps, a globe, a large dictionary, and "black" boards completed the equipment. About 1900, new, patented double desks were purchased. In 1916, the voters decided that a new and modern building was in order. Louis Skubal, who owned the tavern across the road, was planning to enlarge his dance hall about the same time, so he purchased the old school for the addition to his hall. The old school building still stands as the western part of the hall. All that was necessary to add it to the hall was to remove one end and attach it to the Skubal property. Building operations for the new and present school began in 1916, but it was not completed until the summer of 1917. The contract was let out on bids and the lowest bidder, Matt Zima, built the school for about $4,000. The building is modern in all respects, having a full basement housing indoor toilets, and rooms for the heating and ventilating system, for fuel, and for play. The first floor has a large entry, a cloakroom, built-in library, and a large correctly lighted classroom. Electric lights were installed in the early 1940's. The school has a large bell-tower with bell which can be heard in all parts of the district. The building is equipped with the best in modern teaching and learning aids. Single, chair-type desks replaced the old double desks. This school is one of the most modern in Mishicot township. Mishicot No. 7 was thickly settled as early as 1870, consequently the school enrollment even at that time was higher than average For the summer and winter terms of school for 1870, there was a total enrollment of 87 pupils as shown in the town clerk's report to the county superintendent. After the two term school year was given up about 1874, the yearly attendance averaged between 50 and 70 pupils. During the early 1900's, there were from 35 to 50 children attending. The present enrollment averages about 25. There are about as many families residing in the district but fewer children in a family, older residents, and high school attendance by those over fourteen years of age has decreased the enrollment. The 1859 Mishicot assessment roll lists these as settlers, or land owners in the district: Christ Nagel, H. Kracht, Mathias Gloida, John Mach, John and Jos. Mali, Jos. and Wenzel Bardosh, Paul and Wm. Krueger, Geo. Eggert, Andrew Smith, Ferdinand Dankier, Hy. Burmeister, Wm. Fink, Heinrich Wolf, Albert Voight, Etieme Miret, Hosea Allen, and Christ Bean. The Beriesch, Yences, Jockam, Schroeder, Kakes, Hanek, and Voelker families were later residents. Edward Kracht was the first boy from the district to get a common school diploma. He is now the principal of Eagle River high school. This is the home district of town chairman, Anton Skubal, who was also a school board member for many years. The former pupils of this school have become prosperous and successful in their work. As records for the early years of this school are destroyed, it is possible to list only the names of those school officers remembered by older residents and by using the incomplete office records. It is reported that Charles Yences, John Voelker, and Frank Shebesta were on the first school board. The county records show that the following served as school clerk from 1872 to 1906: Henry Wolf 1872-74; John Gabriel 1874-76; A. Lyon 1877; Henry Engelland 1878-80; Jos. Skubal 1894-98; and Wm. Engelland 1904-05. The early teachers boarded around at the homes of the nearest families with pupils in school. Some of them who lived in nearby communities walked to and from school each day. Summer and winter terms of school were held up to 1875. Teachers names recorded in the superintendents' books were: 1872(S) Catherine Stitt; 1872(W) Kate E. Robinson; 1873(W) Ernest Pries; 1874(S) Mary Ross; 1874(W) Samuel Stitt; 1880 Wm. Ross; 1894-5 Casper Ploeckelman; 1896 W. Tomek; 1897 Lloyd Brown; 1898 Emma Eggert; 1904 Jos. Murdrock; and 1905 Edw. Gerl. It is reported that P. M. Simms taught this school in 1884 Two others who taught here at some time were Louis Levenhagen and Katie Sechrist. Those after that date are listed in the county school annuals. Isaac Craite, the teacher in 1878-9, became a well-known jurist in Manitowoc. Jos. Murdrock became a doctor and now practices at Columbus, Wisconsin. Mishicot district No. 7 has always been a farming community. Francis Kracht built a blacksmith shop in 1855 at the crossroad at which the school is located. Only the foundation remains. A cheese factory, a short distance south of the corner, was built by Henry Engelland. This factory is still in use today. Maack's tavern, now torn down, was located 1 1/2 miles north of the school site. A Lutheran church was situated at the same place, but that too was torn down in 1918 and a new church built at Two Creeks. The Indians used the land on the present Oscar Stueck farm for their camping grounds. 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/mishicot210gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 8.0 Kb