Manitowoc County WI Archives History - Schools .....Two Rivers 6 - Rangeline ************************************************ 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 January 15, 2008, 2:49 pm TWO RIVERS 6 — RANGELINE Mrs. Walter Guetschow Two Rivers school district No. 6 was officially named the Rangeline district in 1918 because it is located on both sides of the range line between townships 24 and 25 East. Old timers sometimes refer to this as the Moshkosh school because it is located near the present Moshkosh home and former business place. This district was officially organized in 1862. Before that, according to the 1856 and 1861 township assessment rolls on file in the county treasurer's office, this area was a part of the old Two Rivers No. 6 made up of sections 23, 24, 25, 26, 35, and 36 in-the present town of Two Creeks and sections 4, 5, 8, and 9 in northeastern Two Rivers township. After Two Creeks became a township by itself, this area remained a part of Two Creeks No. 2 school district until 1862. Today the district consists of sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 16, 17, and 18 in R. 25 E. and the east one-half of sections 1, 12, and 13 in R. 24 E., T. 20 N. The first school meeting for this district was held June 11, 1862 at 8 o'clock P. M. at the home of Fredrick Saubert. It was convened on order of Conrad Bates, the town clerk, who also acted as chairman of the meeting. Nicolaus Horner was elected secretary. The first school board consisted of Fredrick Saubert, director ,and Franz Hayne, clerk. One acre of land was offered for a school site. The site was described as follows: From the N 1/2 of the N 1/4 of Sec. 13, T. 20 N., R. 24E., approximately along the range line near Land Creek (now Molarsh Creek), 16 rods from north to south, and 10 rods from east to west. The owner was to receive the sum of $2. Should the land be found not suitable, it was to be returned to the owner, and the $2 paid back without interest. The first schoolhouse was to be constructed of round "land wood" (logs) and was to be 20 x 26 feet. All voters agreed to this and the meeting was adjourned. On June 21, 1862, a special meeting was held at the home of Fredrick Saubert (the present Moskosh home). The following resolutions were acted upon: 1. To pay for having the deed properly transferred and recorded for the school site. 2. To accept the school site first chosen. 3. To clear the school site on July 5 by the land owners in a friendly spirit. 4. To deliver building materials such as logs, timber, rafters, etc. in a friendly spirit on July 7th. 5. To accept an offering and a donation of 3,000 feet of lumber and 7,000 shingles. 6. To select a committee of three to enforce the necessary preparations for the building of the school. 7. To pay for all materials from the school treasury. Frederick Saubert, John and Jacob Land, Henry Zermuehlen, Sr., Dreier, Eberhardt, Neuser, Horner, and Heyne agreed to make one trip with their team to haul the necessary lumber, shingles, etc., without charge. The remaining land owners agreed to do other necessary work towards building the school. The voters also voted that the first teacher be a female who was to be hired for $75 for the three month term of 22 days per month. They also agreed to raise $150 for the erection costs of the log school. The first annual meeting for this district was held Sept. 29, 1862, at the Saubert home with Nick Horner as chairman. Since the schoolhouse could not be completed for the winter term, it was decided to utilize a room in a home for the time being. A Mr. Franznag offered a part of his home for three months as a schoolroom. Upon investigation his offer was declined because the room was not suitable. Further search brought an offer from Franz Heyne in section 13 for a room in his home. This offer was accepted and school held from October to January with Caroline Volk as the teacher. The first annual meeting in the new school was held on September 25, 1865. At this meeting John Meinecke was re-elected clerk and Franz Heyne the treasurer for a term of three years. The sum of $500 was voted for the following year. Of that amount $125 was set aside to pay Susanna Meyer for six months of teaching. It was voted to have Franz Heyne clear the school yard of building debris in preparation for the opening of school and to build steps at the entrance for $10. The schoolhouse erected in 1863 to 1865 was destroyed by fire in 1878. The second and present brick school was erected that same year with Herman Witte hired to do the carpenter work. The total cost of this structure was $373.68. The building as constructed then was about 20 x 24 feet with three windows for each long side An entrance door led directly into the .schoolroom in which the wraps and dinner pails were stored and in which the children recited. The room was heated by a box stove and the furniture consisted of crude home-made desks and seats at which four to six children could sit and work. By 1898, the enrollment had increased so much that an addition, 20 x 30 feet, was added to the west end of the school. The construction was of brick and followed the pattern of the old school. That same year the double desks in use until 1947 were purchased for $130. The school is now heated by a floor furnace located in the northwest corner of the schoolroom. The old open pail and dipper were replaced by a water jar with a bubbler attached. That in turn was replaced by a pressure water system in 1940 when water was piped from the Wm. Monk home next to the school on the north. Since the addition was made in 1898, the district has added a frame storm shed to the front of the school in which the pupils can store their overshoes. In the 1930's, the northeast corner of the room was partitioned off from the rest of the schoolroom for a cloak and storage room. The west wall of this partition facing the schoolroom was built up with open shelves to store library and text books. Electric lights were installed in the later 1930's. At present the building lacks indoor lavatories, proper window lighting, and a basement for play, fuel, and furnace rooms. The schoolyard now is large and well laid out. The limited yard at first resulted in many broken windows during the baseball season. The district required that such breakages be paid for by those who broke the windows. Then, too, in batting away from the school, the ball would land in a neighbor's field causing damage when the boys retrieved the ball. Finally the district decided to buy an additional one-half acre of land to the south from Mr. Vogeltanz for $100. The first well was drilled in 1892 and was only 15 feet deep. In 1903, the well went dry and a second one was drilled which lasted until 1913 when a third well was drilled. Two Rivers No. 6 has had a growing school population as indicated by the need for larger schools as the decades past. The county records reveal that during the later 1800's about 50% of the children of school age attended school. Even as late as 1905 only 68 out of 115 school age pupils attended. Today the enrollment averages between 20 and 30 out of a school population of about 50 because of parochial and high school attendance. The Rangeline district has had its share of graduates who became successful in business, agriculture, and the professions. Two of the more well-known graduates were Carl and Herman Schlundt. Many former pupils have remained in the district with some serving long and faithfully on the local sehoolboard. Among those who served more than 20 years were August Schultz, Fred Schultz, Fred Saubert, Fred Kemp, Henry Zermuehlen, Chas. Zermuehlen and John Bugler who has now served continuously for 38 years. The list of teachers is complete from the time that the school began. Those who taught this school before 1906 were: Caroline Volk 1862-5, Susanna Meyer 1865-8, Christian Trautman 1868-71, Mary Walsh 1872-4, Charlotte Flynn .1874-8, Fred Damler 1878-80, Otto Wiegand 1880-1, Wilhelmina Berger 1881-2, Cora Buhm 1882-4, Hattie Seims, 1884-8, Tina Arnemann 1889-90, Felix Walsh 1890-1, Martha Sechrist 1892-5, Sophia Jens 1895-9, Ernest Ferman 1899-1900, Aug. Nimmer 1900-1, Otto Engel 1901-2, Louis Levenhagen 1902-3, H. C. Wilke 1903-6. The district has two places of interest. Point Beach state forest is located at the eastern extremity of the district along the lake shore. The government lighthouse at the point is also located in this park. Both places promise to become recreational and tourist areas for eastern Wisconsin. A souvenir pamphlet "History of Rangeline "School" issued in 1945 by Mrs. Josephine Guetschow was distributed to each district resident. It gives a more detailed history of the district than this article does and is a credit to the writer. 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/tworiver248gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wifiles/ File size: 9.4 Kb