Sunshine School
Contributed by Unity Township Historian, Al Gurtner.
(Click on the photo to enlarge it)
HISTORY OF THE SUNSHINE SCHOOL The granary which sets on the Leo and
Carl Domer farm today was the original "Sunshine School House" built about
100 years ago. The original site of the building was 1/2 mile east of the
Domer farm, or on the corner now owned by the Thomas Clugston family, which
is four miles West of Unity and 1/2 mile south. the new Sunshine School
built on the corner four miles west of Unity on Co. Trk. "K". was erected in
1896 by local farmers. Pictures found of the school in 1907 show Mable Cook,
teacher (supplied by Mrs. Bernard Newman and show below), one of the inside
of the school about 1912 (supplied by Carl Domer). The school was
consolidated into Riplinger Soo Grove school that fair Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence
C. Neuman purchased the building in 1955 and-remodeled, it into a home,
where Mr. Neuman lives today. Mrs. Antoinette Casey was one of two
teachers who last taught in the Sunshine School. After teaching for eight
years, she went to Colby where she taught eight more years. Mrs. Casey
remembers riding to school on horseback. Because there were no facilities
for the horse to stay, she would send it home and the family car would pick
her up in the evening. On one occasion, someone saw the riderless horse, and
thinking that the rider must have fallen, tried to take the horse back. The
horse, however, was very persistent and went his way, home.
*Identified by Unity, WI historian,
Al Gurtner Unknown Teacher (Click on the
photos to enlarge them)
Ivy Sorenson taught at Sunshine when my mother, June Arquette, was in
grade school. Mom was born in 1923, so possibly started school in either
1928 or 1929. Could the unnamed teacher (above) be Ivy? Ivy is still living
at the old high school in Marshfield. You could visit her to ask.
Maiden name Ivy Meyers.
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