ABBOTSFORD
PUBLIC SCHOOLS HISTORY
First
School |
1904
High School |
1939
High School |
1965
High School |
(Click to
enlarge) |
The beginning of the public school system in Abbotsford goes back to 1873 when
the Wis. Central Railroad Company extended its line into what is now Abbotsford,
and a few settlers formed a community. School was first held in a small room on
the main street in the year 1879 or 1880. Rapid growth of the community made it
essential that enlarged and more permanent facilities for conducting school be
provided.
In 1885, a two-story frame building was erected on the site of the new addition
to the present Elementary School. Apparently, the school at this time was not a
“graded school”, and children were promoted or retained by a system of
“readers”. The annual report of 1889 by the Clark County Superintendent of
Schools, R.J. Sawyer, states that “Abbotsford was preparing to form a graded
school.”
In 1889, a two room addition gave the village a four room school which was
considered to be adequate for many years. This was not the case however, and
more room was soon needed. Rental of a room in the Kalb Building, which was
situated on the site now occupied by the Hutt Electric Company, solved the
problem temporarily. The primary grades were housed in this room until 1900,
when a small building was excavated just to the northwest of the large
structure.
In 1901, the Wisconsin Central Railroad Company moved its division points here
from Chippewa Falls and Stevens Point, which caused a virtual doubling of the
population. Overcrowded conditions of school facilities made it necessary to
have a split-shift in school attendance in the primary grades, half of the
students attending in the morning and the other half in the afternoon.
When the State Education Inspector made his first visit after the school was
recognized as a “state graded school” in 1902, recommendations were made for
various improvements – heating, ventilating, and sanitation. Growing discontent
of the people, particularly the new residents from Chippewa Falls and Stevens
Point, regarding the school plant and quality of the offerings led the Board of
Education to call a special meeting of the voters in June 1904. The voters
authorized the Board, composed of M.W. Delap, L.J. Seegar, and A.E. Everts, to
proceed with plans to erect a new brick school at a total cost of $13,000. Work
on the new building began on Sept. 1, 1904 and the cornerstone was laid on Oct.
24, 1904. Henry E. Polley was the School Principal at the time. With the
occupancy of the new school in September 1905, the older buildings were moved
from the property. The one-room building which housed the primary grades was
made into a dwelling and is now occupied by Carl Erickson Jr. on Butternut
Street. The original two-room building was moved to a point almost directly
north of the present Joe Schilling home on Butternut Street and was converted
into a stanchion factory. The addition was moved to the center of the village
where it became the Village Hall and remained as such until its razing in the
summer of 1958.
At this point in the development of the school system, the graded school
arrangement was in operation for the first eight grades, but additional work on
the ninth and perhaps tenth grade level was offered. Students wishing to
complete high school did so, apparently, at Colby. Action was soon taken, after
the completion of the new school, to secure a charter for a high school in
Abbotsford. On June 4, 1906, Miss Anna E. Schaeffer of the State Department of
Education inspected the school and found 25 resident pupils qualified to do high
school work. The State Superintendent of Schools then issued a Certificate of
Organization. Twelve years later, in 1918, the school published its first year
book.
This building housed the entire grade school and high school enrollment from
1904 until 1939. Ever increasing enrollment again produced an overcrowded
condition beginning in about 1935. At the annual meeting in July 1938, the
voters empowered the Board of Education, consisting of Hans J. Amacher, Frank
Beil, and Dr. G. G. Schields, to borrow the necessary funds to proceed with the
construction of a new high school building. Total cost of the building was
$65,000, of which $30,000 was received as a grant from the federal government.
S.J. Paynter was the Supervising Principal at the time.
The new and enlarged facilities greatly improved the education offerings of the
district, and for the first time, elementary and high school students were housed
in separate buildings. While classrooms were adequate, progress in education
demanded that space be provided for physical education and a school lunch
program. The Armory had been used for athletic events up to this time.
In 1951, the voters approved an addition to the high school which included a
gymnasium, shower and dressing room, an athletic equipment room, an additional
classroom, a kitchen and a lunchroom. The Board of Education consisted of Hans
J. Amacher, V.B. Hemphill, and Walter Jackson, with Herbert Juneau as
Supervising Principal. Ground was broken for the $120,000 structure in April
1952.
A full-time kindergarten was added in 1958, which again brought about a need for
larger facilities. In 1959-60 a series of studies regarding the possible
consolidation of several schools in the area was begun. By July 1961 the
districts of Abbotsford, Dorchester, and outlying areas were dissolved and
joined into the common school district to be known as Dor-Abby. Abbotsford and
Dorchester each operated a high school and students were bussed to either
school, depending upon their choice of curriculum. Other school in operation in
the newly created Dor-Abby district included an elementary school in each
community, Curtiss, Brady, Pleasant Hill and Wright Schools.
With the school merger, the colors became red, black and white, with the student
body selecting a “Falcon” as their mascot. Before the merger, Dorchester mascot
was a “Red Devil” with their colors red and white, while Abbotsford’s colors
were orange and black and their mascot a “Panther.”
In July 1962 when J.C. LaPlant was hired to fulfill the position of
administrator, Dor-Abby was reorganized to operate the High School at Abbotsford
and the Junior High at Dorchester. Planning began on the new school expansion
program to bring in all students from outlying areas. Various proposals were
made concerning possible sites and buildings needed to facilitate the enlarge
district. Dor-Abby continued in operation until 1964 when the northern part of
the district was detached and became part of the Colby district.
Herbert Scidmore became administrator of the remaining portion of the Abbotsford
School District and plans continued for a building program. In August 1964 the
electors approved a loan to build a new Junior-Senior High School on the present
site, just north of the athletic field near the northwestern edge of the city.
Construction began on the new building in May 1965, and was completed and ready
for occupancy by the spring of 1966. The old high school was remodeled into an
elementary school. In June, when the old grade school was razed, an addition
consisting of six classrooms was extended to the south over the site of the old
grade building. Total cost of the building program was $900,000. The Board of
Education at this time consisted of Ray Holtz, Marvin Busse, L.F. Loucks, Vear
Dean Laabs, Art Weideman, Dan Decker and Richard Polnaszek.
When the 1966-67 school year began, facilities in the new addition of the
Elementary School were not yet completed. Class for kindergarten, first, and
second grades were conducted in the basement of the Christ Lutheran Church and
in the City Hall. Occupancy of the new building took place in early November.
These facilities have served the community to the present time. On Feb. 26,
1973, the electors of the district approved a shop and swimming pool addition to
the Junior-Senior High School. The present Board of Education is composed of
Marvin Busse, John J. Nikolay, Eugene Blair, Vear Dean Laabs, L. F. Loucks,
Arthur Weideman and Andrew Ruszek. Harold Mills is the present School
Administrator. There are 802 students enrolled in Kindergarten through Grade 12,
served by 39 teachers, 2 part-time teachers, 2 teacher’s aides, two building
principals and one administrator.
Dor-Abby High
School Choir
One of the highlights while Dor-Abby
was in existence was a concert tour which Included the U.S. Capitol at
Washington, D.C., several east coast cities and the New York World’s Fair. It
all began when Dor-Abby received a letter from the New York World’s Fair
Corporation, inviting the 74 voice ACapella choir to sing at the fair. The
invitation came as a result of a recommendation by the judge of the 1963
district music contest in which the choir took top honors. It was necessary for
the community to raise $15,000 to make the 2,500 mile tour a reality. Once this
was accomplished, the departure date was set for May 9.
The group traveled to Toledo, Ohio and on to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where they
visited the Farm of former President Eisenhower and the Civil War battlefield.
From there they proceeded to Washington, D.C., had breakfast with Representative
Melvin Laird and performed a concert at the Capitol Building. After visiting the
White House, the memorials, Mt. Vernon and Arlington National Cemetery, they
traveled to Philadelphia to Independence Square. Their performance at the
World’s Fair was held at Flushing Meadow Park in the Tipparrillo Pavilion, an
acoustically designed ball, specially built for concerts. While in New York City
they viewed points of interest such as the Statue of Liberty, the United Nations
Building and the Empire State Building. They also attended a concert by the New
York Philharmonic Orchestra and the fair’s stage production “Wonder World”.
Upon their return on May 16, about 20 cars of parents and friends met the
choir’s chartered buses at Spencer and led them home in procession, complete with
police escort. A brief welcoming ceremony followed at the big school.
Credit for this great accomplishment must go to the director, Robert Lee Benson,
who came to the Dor-Abby district in 1962, to build a choir which proved a source
of great pride to the community as well as the entire state. This choir was the
only high school musical group from Wisconsin to perform at the New York World’s
Fair. To help preserve the memory of this event a record of the talented group was
made during its performance.
Dor-Abby High School Choir |
John A. Olson
One of the first custodians of the Abbotsford Schools |
Grade school addition constructed in 1965. |
Girls basketball team: Raphael McCabe, Gretchen
Meyers, Grace Schilling. Lillian Ouimette. Ethel Gaven,
Pearl Taylor, Sadie Corliss, Buela Kellinger, Professor
unidentified. |
1907 boys basketball team. |
1916 basketball team. Boys include Ralph Strebe,
Robert Lott, Miles Jacson, Bill Prentice and Ollin Thompson. |
1910 high school assembly |
Graduating class of 1910. Names not available. |
Class of 1916 Shown, back row, from left, Elizabeth
Mateofsky, Mable Cendt, Erline Parkell. Edna Grambort, Viola
Babler. Front row, Bessie Nemesch, Chrisie Clavert, Ralph
Strebe, Winefred Howell and Zula Baulhaulm. |
Early School board members including from left, Vern
Hemphill, Walter Jackson and Hans Amacher. |
Assembly Class 1913. Row Standing: Roswell
Harington; William Fisher; Minnie Thompson; Elizabeth Hanna;
Ester
Mordt; Luella Nelson; Cellia Lindberg; Miss Cattenaugh; Mr. Hughes;
Mrs. H. Maule; Mr. H. Maule; Percy Wilson; First Row: Viola Babler;
Evamae Evans; Lucy Gree; Arvin Nemesch; Ralph Strebe. Second
Row: Mable Cendt; Marie Ballou; Ben Graff; Agnes Larson; Otto Hackel;
Mable Neitzel; Harrold Harrington; Jane Ouimette; Elsie Patlitz;
Thea Thompson; Milton Olson. Third Row: Anna Koerner; Ray
Clements; Lillian Ellerman; Alfred Horn; Emma Hanson; Hattie House;
Alfred Fiebig; Edith Olson; Robert McCabe. |
Source: Abbotsford Centennial
Book – 1973, pg. 24-28
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