Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Newton No. 9 - White Trail ************************************************ 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 25, 2007, 10:54 am NEWTON NO. 9 —WHITE TRAIL Irene S. Hoyer Newton No. 9 was probably given the name White Trail School in 1918 because it was located on the White Trail Highway, now a part of U. S. Highway 141. The White Trail Highway was so called because of the white circular markings placed on it by a Chicago motor club. White Trail School is located in the village of Newton, unincorporated, S. W. corner of the SW 1/4, Section 27, Township 18. The exact date of the formation of the district is not known. Before a schoolhouse was built, a Mr. Watermeyer is said to have taught the children of the vicinity at his home, one mile south of the village. The earliest records beginning in 1859, are written in a neat, legible German and continue to be in German intermittently until 1921. The first entry, September 22, 1859, bears evidence that school had been running smoothly for some time. On that date, F. Hecker was re-elected treasurer, and it was decided to "keep" school for five months at a salary of $28 a month. H. C. Shiller was the first teacher on record, and the enrollment was 84 — 37 girls and 47 boys. The other two school officers in 1859 were W. Neuhaus and Ch. Hecker. It is generally believed that the first schoolhouse was built of logs on a spot 1/2 mile north of the present structure, also on Highway 141. The northwest portion of Treick's land was donated to the school district with the stipulation that the land revert back to the owner when the schoolhouse was no longer in use. The records show that in 1863, C. Stockmeier was paid $1.75 for a bench. In 1865, $2.75 was spent for repairing the schoolhouse. One dollar was spent for repairing the schoolhouse and $3 for school furniture in 1866. At all the early meetings male teachers were stipulated and obtained. Cord wood was furnished by the people of the district and had to be delivered on a specified day and hour. On September 30th, 1867, the people at the district meeting decided to build a new schoolhouse, recorded thus: "1. Resolved that a schoolhouse shall be erected and to raise the money for erecting in a time of two years. 2. Resolved to raise $300 for erecting a new schoolhouse and the schoouhouse [sic] shall be built from brickstones and the bricks shall be fetched from the inhabitants of said district against compensation. 3. The new schoolhouse shall be 24 feet in width and 34 feet long, and the height inside shall be 11 feet with an entrance six feet wide. 4. Said building shall have a foundation built up from fieldstones with two feet in the ground and two feet high over the surface of the earth. 5. The inhabitants of said school district shall have the right to deliver said stones for compensation to the Building Committee. The following persons were appointed as a Building Committee: Ch. Hecker, Fred Diederichs, and Ernst Rodewald." The above resolutions were carried out. The contract for erecting the school was given to the lowest bidder on condition that $300 were to be paid when the building was under rafter, and the rest when the building committee gives the contractor a certificate of satisfaction. The brick schoolhouse was completed in 1868 at a cost of $1,096.44. It was placed on the same spot on Treick's land where the log schoolhouse was thought to have been. The schoolboard and "Baucornmittee" (building committee) made the school seats. Our local octogenarian, William, "Grandpa", Rodewald, student of that school for seven winters, remembers that there was no bell. There was no well on the premises. The older boys were sent to the nearest neighbor, W. Kreie, to get water. Mr. Kreie apparently had legitimate reasons for allowing only certain boys on his yard, of which Julius Hecker, retired city fireman, claims to have been one. At a special meeting in 1869 it was decided to adopt the text, "This New Practical and Easy Method of Learning the German Language". Another special meeting was called in 1870 to insure the schoolhouse in the Newton Insurance Company. H. Meier, the insurance agent, insured the school for the sum of $700 and the equipment for $50 at a premium of $8.50 for a term of 5 years. In 1876, a board fence was built along the north, east, and south sides of the school yard by John Luckow for $6.50. A well was dug on the schoolgrounds in 1884 by John Luckow for $50 on a spot determined by C. Stockmeier with a divining rod. A 10x16 woodshed was built by William Rodewald in 1887 for $16.25. The records show that in the same year, 1887, the old seats were sold for $4.65 and new ones were purchased. A new stove was bought in 1892, and the old one sold for $1.50. By 1894 the brick schoolhouse proved to be unsatisfactory and it was sold for $50 to Mr. and Mrs. Hoecke who lived in it for about three years, after which it was abandoned and finally torn down. Nothing is left of it now but a heap of stones, and the land has reverted back to Treick's as was arranged. One-half acre was then bought in the village of Newton for $80 from John Kreie recorded thus in the Register of Deeds Office: "Commencing on a point 16 rods north from the southwest corner of section No. 27 of township 18 N. range, No. 23 east, thence running 8 rods north, thence due east 10 rods, thence due south 8 rods, thence due west 10 rods to the place of beginning, in all containing 1/2 acre of land." This is the location and size of the present schoolgrounds. Anton Tomczyk was the contractor for the 28 x 46 x 12 frame building erected in 1895, complete with tower and bell for $1,000. Every taxpayer of the district was required to haul 2 loads of either stones or sand, and whoever was unable to haul was required to pay $1.50 per load. The building committee consisted of Louis Franzmeier, J. Jagodzinski, John Kreie, Theodore Rodewald, and H. Stockmeier. They were paid 10c an hour for their duties. The new school was typical of many of that era. It was painted white, had green shutters, and yard was enclosed with a wire fence. But no little red schoolhouse! In 1900 the wire fence was removed and the wire was sold for 35c. The large gate was sold for 65c. An iron fence was then built on the west or highway side. In the early part of the 20th century, district fairs were popular and Newton No. 9 took part in many of them. At one time a school fair was held, and 5c and 10c prizes were awarded for the best fruits, vegetables, and needlework. White Trail School also prided itself on the adeptness of its students at winning prizes at the town and county contests, conducted annually for many years. .By 1921 the school again proved inadequate for the large enrollment, and it was decided by the people of the district to build a one-room addition to the original building thus making it a State graded school. William J. Raeuber, the architect, drew up the plans which were sent to the State Industrial Commission for approval. The contractor, Albert Tomschek, converted the old building into two rooms by placing a wall along the entire north side, leaving a six foot wide hallway The large addition on the east side became the primary room and basement entrance . A basement furnace was installed leaving room for a coal bin and play room. The building committee consisted of Oscar Rodewald, Fred Woepse, and John Hutchison. They received forty cents an hour for their work. Forty cents an hour was also paid for district help; eighty cents with team. The school equipment was stored in a room rented from Emil Rodewald until the school was ready. The old woodshed and double desks were sold for $44 and new single desks were bought for $752.80. Hinged doors separate the two rooms which can be opened for large gatherings. The first principal was Lena Geigel (Dewey) and the first primary teacher was Irma Rusboldt. Electric lights were installed in 1926 and a stoker in 1935. Water was gotten from the C. Franzmeier store property until 1936 when a well was drilled on the school grounds. In 1941 a water system, a sink, two bubblers, and indoor lavatories were installed. Two electric clocks were purchased in 1944, and at the last annual meeting, 1945, it was decided to install an electric bell system, making White Trail a well equipped state graded school. The present enrollment is 41. The highest enrollment of 98 children was recorded in 1862 when H. E. Watermeyer taught two months at $22 a month. Due to a reformed parochial school in the early years, one mile from the public school, the enrollment dropped. After the parochial school closed there seems to have been a prevalence of White Trail graduates who became ministers. The following graduates, chose theology as their profession: Prof. William Grosshuesch, former president of Mission House, whose son is now president of that institution; Rev. Henry Treick, Rev. Otto Stockmeier, Rev. Herbert Wernecke, Rev. Gilbert Wernecke, Rev. Paul Franzmeier, Rev. Ernest Klaudt, and two theology students, Winston Wernecke and Leonard Stockmeyer. One graduate chose medicine, Dr. Herman Barnstein, and one the bar, Attorney Paul Rodewald of Pittsburgh. Eight local feminine graduates became teachers in this and other counties. The longest term as a local board member is claimed by Henry Rodewald, "Mayor" of Newton and member of the World War II Draft Board, who served 19 years. Teachers' contracts specified clearly whether the teacher was to do the janitor work, and how many days were to be made up in case of illness. Only in very recent years has the specification "In case of marriage, contract is void" been omitted from women teachers' contracts. The following is a list of teachers, all of note, as well as could be determined from the records of Newton No. 9: 1859 H. Ch. Schiller; 1861 H. E. Watermeyer; 1862 A. Hecker; 1863-4 J. Blaetgen; 1865 John Stephenson; 1866 J. Finch; 1867-8 Ch. Schmitz; 1869 Mr. Faust; 1870 G. Seyler; 1871-3 Peter Brady; 1874 Johanna Lueps (first lady teacher); 1875 H. Reineking (later became a doctor); 1876-7 Johanna Lueps; 1878 Mr. Jones; 1879 Mr. Lohman; 1881 Mr. Damler; 1882. W. Schmitz; 1883 John Dunbar; 1884-6 Thomas Morris; 1887 Herman Schmitz; 1888 Oscar Stockmeier; 1889-90 H. Schmitz; 1891 John Dunbar; 1892 L. A. Schmitz; 1893-4 Charles Brady; 1895 John Ruckhoeft; 1896 Albert Kielsmeier; 1897-9 Joe Brady; 1899 Mary Conway; 1900 Katy McNulty; 1901 Cornelia Stephenson; 1902 John Finch; 1903-6 Guy Thompson. 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/newtonno217gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 11.3 Kb