School: Granton, Wisconsin area, Wild Rose School
Contact: Michelle

----Source: Granton Community Memories 1856-1976

Granton area, Wild Rose School

Surnames: ACKERMAN BARTSCH BARTZ CHRISTIANSON DAHL DAVIS FOEMMEL FRIE GALLAGHER GARBISCH GLUCK HAINES HAPPY HELM HOFFMAN HOWARD HUCKSTEAD KELPIN KILGRAIN KORTH KRAUSE KRUTSH KUECHENMEISTER KUHL KURTH KRASSELT LOWERY MATAS NEVERMAN O'REILLY PANNIER PAULSON PAUN PISCHER REIDEL ROESSLER ROSS ROWE RUDEL SCHARF SCHEELER SCHOENGARTH SELVES SPAETE SPRY VINE WAGE WINKLER WINTER WORCHEL

The first Wild Rose School was a white frame building about 20 x 30 with three tall windows on each side. It had no basement and was heated with a stove. The children sat in double seats. Emma Reidel was the first 8th grade graduate and Anita Schoengarth was the second 8th grade graduate. They were a number of years apart as not all students finished 8 years, some of them went to parochial school the last few years.

During the 1920's enrollment was so large that the district decided to build a new school. The building committee for the new school consisted of Herman Scharf, George Vine and Arnold Worchel. In 1923, the old school was moved to the south and the new building was put on the same site. The new school house had white siding and wood shingles. It had 6 large windows on the east side and 3 basement windows. Three big windows were on the south, also two basement windows and a door. The building had two floors. The main floor consisted of a main room, library, washroom, bookroom and two halls. The rooms were painted white with green trim. In the front were the blackboards. The children sat in desks that are fastened to a long board. The other equipment in the rooms were piano, refrigerator, sink, chairs, tables, desks,, record player, teacher's desk and radio. In the basement there was a gym, rest rooms and a furnace room. The rooms were painted white with a yellow trim. The furnace burned wood and coal.

The school was titled Wild Rose because there are many wild roses growing along the roadside. If the grass wouldn't be cut each summer, roses would even be blooming on the school grounds. The trees on the school ground were planted by the PTA on he day of the school picnic in the 1930's. Oswald Pischer furnished five soft maples and Arnold Worchel brought the ash in the northeast corner. The well was drilled in 1924 by Albert Christainson, present school building built by Otto Roessler, piano bought in 1931 and sand table in 1938. The giant slide and merry-go-round were purchased in 1939. In 1942, the school was closed for six years because there weren't enough pupils in the district. During 1949, electricity was put into the school. Film strip projector, recitation chars, and three-speed record player were added during the next ten years.

In 1961, the district voted to consolidate the school with those of Neillsville and Granton. Some of the teachers were (old school) Alice Neverman, Gladys Wage, Dori Wage, Lucille Davis and Florence Huckstead. Some of the teachers in the new school were Edna Kurth, Ruth Krasselt, Cleo Rowe, Gertrude Bartz, Lucille Happy, Edna Selves, Eleanore Keuchenmeister, Louise Korth, Ethel Paulson, Betty Kuhl, Eileen Krutch, Ella Hoffman, Martha Paun, Belle Kilgrain, Greta Ross, Pauline Gallagher and Lavon Bartsch.

Most of the families that the school has served (several of these were board members through the years) Gluck, Pischer, Garbisch, O'Reilly, Dahl, Worchel, Rudel,Vine, Pannier, Haines, Krause, Helm, Scharf, King, Schoengarth, Matas, Scheeler, Kelpin,Spaete, Lowery, Howard, Winkler, Winter, Spry, Frie, Prange, Ackerman and Foemmel.