Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Rockland No. 3 - Collins ************************************************ 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, 12:09 pm ROCKLAND NO. 3 — COLLINS Lynabelle Brehmer Rockland District No. 3 is known as the Collins School as it is in the village of Collins. The district is made of Section 27, most of 28, a small portion of the NE 1/2 of NE 1/4 of section 33, most of the N 1/2 of section 34 and a small part of the S 1/2 of 34. The Collins School was organized as a separate district in 1912. Prior to that time it belonged to Rockland District No. 2 and the children from this village and the nearby farms attended the Poplar Grove School. In 1909 the enrollment in the old Poplar Grove District became too large for one teacher, so the voters at the annual school meeting in July, 1909, had to decide the issue of building a two-room school. The citizens of Collins favored the building of a separate one-room school in Collins to provide the children in the village with a local school. Thus the citizens of Collins proposed a single district with two separate school buildings, located about a mile apart. The voters of the Poplar Grove district opposed the proposition of the Collins voters. Since a majority of the voters of the undivided District No. 2 opposed the two building plan, it was voted down. The meeting then adjourned without solving the problem of what to do about the over-crowded conditions in the Poplar Grove district. On July 31, 1909, the citizens of Collins called a special meeting in the village. At this meeting the voters agreed to furnish District No. 2 with a site and a new schoolhouse in Collins. The building was to be complete with necessary fixtures and would be built without cost to District No. 2. This proposal was accepted by the district voters and the new building was begun immediately. The site was purchased from Ferdinand Matznick, Sr. for the sum of $50. It was first deeded to August Born and then to District No. 2. The building and site is located on the western edge of Collins along the Soo Line right-of-way. Citizens of Collins who were instrumental in securing a school for the were August Born, L. T. Voigt, John Mattes Sr., Louis Lemke, John Pollack, W. H. Damm, John Mahloch, Ferdinand Matznick, Sr., Wm. Schroeder, Herb. Halverson, Ed. Behnke, Gust Valleskey Sr., Herman Mattes, M. G. Valleskey, Adolph Lemke, C. J. Valleskey, John Schaefer, Fred Vergils, and Chas. J. Fritz. Village folks furnished all of the labor to build the new school. The biggest share of the building was done by Chas. Fritz, a carpenter, Herb. Halverson, John Mattes, Sr., and Adolph Lemke. Louis Schroeder donated basswood shade trees which were planted by Philip Mattes. The school cost $1,300 and was paid entirely by donations of the citizens of Collins. From 1909 to 1912 the school was the property of Rockland District No. 2 and was under the jurisdiction of the school board of that district. In 1909 August Born was appointed the director of the new Collins School. By common consent the district was divided into two separate municipalities in 1912. The southern part of the old district became District No. 3 while the northern part remained District No. 2. School began in the new building in October, 1909 since it was not completed in time for the September opening date. During the first term, 46 pupils were enrolled. Lenore Schilling was the first teacher and taught for a salary of $48 per month. The first graduates of the new school were Elmer Voigt and Elsie Valleskey, now Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Voigt. In 1919 the school was remodeled by adding a basement and installing a basement furnace and ventilating system. A library room was also added to the north-west corner of the school. In 1937 electric lights were installed. An addition was added in 1947 to house the lavatories, making this a modern rural school. From 1909 to 1932 the average. enrollment was about 40. From the latter, date on, the attendance gradually decreased until in 1942 when there were only 15 pupils. At present the enrollment averages 25 pupils per year. The school during its almost 40 years of existence has had many graduates. The Borns, Valleskeys, Voigts, Mattes, Schroeders, and other families have made names for themselves in business, teaching, and agriculture. Leslie Valleskey, a prominent county'lawyer, is a graduate of this school. The first school officers elected in 1912 were Clerk L. T. Voigt, Director August Born, and Treasurer Louis Schroeder. Their salaries were $15.00, $5.00 and $10.00 respectively. Other citizens have served on the Board since the district was organized. Those who served over twenty years were Wm. Reimer and August Born. The names of the teachers who taught in this school are listed in the county School Annuals. Former teachers who are still in the profession are Earl E. Tetzlaff who later taught at Brillion, in the County Rural Normal, and now in Manitowoc; and Eva Born Helgeson who teaches at present in the Poplar Grove District. Spelling matches were held in this village for the township of Rockland from 1909 to 1926. In the first township contest Mrs. Elsie Voigt was the representative of the Collins School. She was defeated for township spelling championship by the present Hattie Ebert of the Poplar Grove School. Collins is a center of trade for the inhabitants of the surrounding communities. It had a screen factory at one time but is now no longer in operation. Today, Collins is a quiet village whose citizens are proud of the school and of persons who organized it. Rockland District No. 3 has no place of historical interest. The Manitowoc River, the Mud Creek, the Collins Marshes; and Rockland Swamps provide residents and citizens of the county with excellent fishing and hunting grounds. A great deal of Indian lore is centered in these areas too. 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/rockland222gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 6.6 Kb