News: Neillsville, Wis. - Indian School (New Dorm 1928)

Contact: Dolores Mohr Kenyon

Email: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Bolliger, Schmid, Vornholdt, Balch, Lippert

----Source: Neillsville Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI.) 1928

Indian School (New Dorm - 1928)

Rev. T. B. Bolliger of Madison and Rev. Geo. Schmid of Hamburg, Minn., spent a couple days here last week in conference with Rev. Edwin H. Vornholdt, the three men constituting the committee in charge of the proposed addition to the Winnebago Indian School building here.

The money for this new unit - a Girls’ Dormitory, is all subscribed -- $50,000, and all that remains to be done before starting construction work is to perfect plans for the building.  Some of these are quite definitely settled, but many details as yet remain undecided and other committee meetings will be held from time to time to work these out.

It is pretty definitely decided to make this addition in effect a separate unit, but joined to the present building in such a way as to give the whole a harmonious effect.  The present building has a frontage of 72 feet; the new unit will add 96 feet to this, making a total frontage of 168 feet.  When completed it will be the most imposing public building in Neillsville, and will fully double the capacity of the building for students.  The tentative plans contemplate a twelve-foot hall way on each floor separating it from the rooms of the present building, but all so arranged that one furnace and boiler room will serve the entire structure.

The committee stated that Balch and Lippert, architects, of Madison would be asked to draw the plans and specifications for them when the committee had more fully developed their ideas.  Harold Balch and Grover Lippert, who constitute this firm, were both brought up in Neillsville and have many friends here.  They drew the plans for the present Indian School building and the committee states that their work was so satisfactory that they feel they could not do better than to employ them for the new building.

The committee feels that the new unit will provide for the school’s expansion for a time, at least; the one great need which will be still unmet will be a playroom and gymnasium in which the pupils can exercise in cold or stormy weather.  They hope that the citizens of Neillsville may be of assistance to them in securing the gymnasium at no distant day.  The erection of the building now planned will mean the expenditure of a good deal of money here next summer and the added attendance at the school will make the expenditure of a good (the balance of the article is missing).