Malcolm Rosholt Online Archives

Amherst's First High School

department was duly organized as a three years high school, under the state high school law, and below there was the grammar, intermediate and primary departments. The schools continued as thus organized until 1902. On August 10th, 1897, a special school meeting was held for the purpose of considering the propriety of adopting a four year course in the high school and a vote was taken on that question. The four-year course was defeated by a vote of 31 against, to 7 for that proposition. On July 3, 1902, the district board, however, again took up this question and by a resolution passed by the board, adopted a four-year course. At the annual school meeting held four days later, a resolution was adopted dividing the primary department and directing the district board to employ another teacher. This neces-sitated another schoolroom. The village hail stood a few rods south of the high school; the district board was authorized to exchange with the village and secure the village hall in exchange for the school house on Laconia street, which the school district still owned, but which had not been used as a school house for some years. The exchange was made and the first primary was established in what had previously been the village hail. An assistant was also engaged for the high school, the adoption of the four year course making this necessary, and therefore when the schools opened in September 1902, they were in charge of six teachers, as against four, the number that had been required for the eleven preceding years. During the four years that have passed since these last changes were made, no more departments have been added and the number of teachers required remained at six.

On January 1st, 1885, the school board consisted of P. N. Peterson, clerk; Chas. Couch, director and J.O. Foxen, treasurer. Mr. Peterson held the office of clerk until 1887, when he was suc-ceeded by F. E. Timian who held the position until 1893 and was in turn succeeded by A. J. Smith, who served three years. Mrs. Tillie A. Adams served as clerk from 1896 to 1899, and A. J. Smith has been clerk from 1899 to the present time. Chas. Couch was succeeded as director in ‘89 by C. N. Fenton, who served in this capacity until ‘97 when he resigned. At the annual school meeting held in July 1897, G. W. Smith was elected to succeed Mr. Fenton and Mr. Smith has held the position of director from that time up to the present time. J. O. Foxen continued to hold the position of treasurer until 1891, when at the annual school meeting he was rewarded by a vote of thanks for long and faithful service. He was followed in the office of treasurer by P. N. Peterson, who held the same until 1894, when Mr. Foxen was again installed in that office and held it for two more terms. In July 1900 he was succeeded by L. J. Carey as treasurer, who has continued to hold that office up to the present time.

Herman H. Suhs was principal in the village schools at the beginning of the period under discussion, namely on January 1st, 1885; Mr. D. W. Keith presided over the intermediate and Carrie Guernsey was teaching the primary department. Mr. Suhs was succeeded as principal the following summer by W. F. Owen, who remained here for two years and was followed by M. S. McKee, who was principal of the schools from 1887 until 1891. Spencer Haven was employed as principal from 1891 until 1894 and was in turn followed by O. H. Day, who held the position for two years. Mr. Day was succeeded by H. S. Perry, who was employed as principal from 1896 until 1899. Wm. L. Bullock followed Mr. Perry and held the position two years. David Newberry came next and held this position from 1901 until 1905. Thomas Berto was principal of the schools during the school year of 1905 and 1906.

Mrs. D. W. Keith taught the intermediate department until 1887 and was succeeded by Lottie Gasmann who taught the same until 1891. Grace Fryar next had charge of this department for four years, or until 1895, and was followed by Agnes L. Nelson who taught there until Dec. 1896, and was succeeded by Alice Boss who taught there until June 1897. Minnie Gasmann taught this department from 1897 until Jan. 1899, Myra Fryar and Sadie Eldredge each teaching a portion of the remaining months of this year In this department. Maude Hungerford taught in this department from September 1899 until the next spring, when she resigned about a month before the close of school and Edna Sweet finished the school. Isola Chapin taught this department the next year and Edna Allen had charge of it the following year. Marguerit E. Jones was in charge from 1902 until the fall of 1903, when she resigned and was followed by Alice Rusk who taught from October 1903 until June 1904. Zelle Fryar presided in that room from 1904 until 1906.

Carrie Guernsey, who was mentioned as being in charge of the primary department in January 1885, was succeeded In April 1886 by Jennie Anderson who taught during the remainder of that school year. She was followed by Tillie Czeskleba who taught there from 1886 until 1888 and was then succeeded by Grace Fryar who remained in charge until 1891, when as already mentioned, she took Charge of the Intermediate department. Minnie Gasmaun taught the the primary department from 1891 until 1892 and was followed by Jennie Anderson who filled this position for twelve years, or until 1904. She was succeeded by Louise Diver who taught that school the last two years.

Margaret Messer was the first teacher in the grammar room after that department was started and taught there from September 1891 until June 1893. Wm. L. Bullock taught this department from 1893 until 1895. G. H. Putnam presided in this room the next year and was succeeded by Wm. L. Bullock, who came back and taught in the same room again for another year. Walter Verity next taught there for two years and was followed by Thomes Berto who presided in that room from 1899 until 1901. W. E. Keen had charge of this room the next year, and Edna Allen was the next teacher there. She taught in this room from 1902 until 1904. Lena Powers has had charge of the grammar department the last two years.

Mae Weller was placed in charge of the first primary when that department was organized in 1902 and remained in charge of the same until 1905. Amy Peterson taught this department during the past year.

Miss Bertha Tilotson was employed as assistant in the high school in 1902, when the four year course was adopted and continued as assistant there during the last four years.

Sixty-eight students hare graduated from the high school since its organization. Their names are as follows:

Class of 1892, three year course - Edna Smith, Grace Van-Skiver, Mary Bakke, Nellie Nelson, Hattie Moberg.

Class of 1893 - Edith Rollefson, Louise Nelson, Edna Grover, Myra Fryar, Lloyd Smith, George Nelson, Mae Weller.

Class of 1894 - Ella Bakke, Willie Berg, Gertie Lewis, Maude Lombard.

Class of 1895 - Thomas Berto, Lucy Moberg, George Guernsey, Gustave Nelson.

Class of 1896 - Zelle Fryar, Caroline Boss, Myrtle Timian, Joseph Berg, Edna Morehouse, Bernice Jaquith, Lucy Bishop, Esther Peterson, George Salscheider.

Class of 1897 - Emma Nelson, Stella Starks.

Class of 1898 - Maude Hathaway, Thomas Sands, Nella Rollefson, Clifford Smith, Antone Anderson, Carl Hall, Garth Cate.

Class of 1899 - Frank Hjertberg, Inga Severtson.

Class of 1900 - Effie Anderson, Ella Anderson, Beulah Hall, Alice Hart, William Holly, Josie Moyle, Hula Jacquith.

Class of 1901 - Emelie Ellandson, Mattie Jeffers, George Smith, James Berto, Clara Olson.

Class of 1902 - Nora Starks, Amy Peterson, Carrie Starks, John Lewis.

Class of 1903 - Four year Course, Raymond Peterson, Carrie Starks. (Miss Starks had graduated from the three year course the year before.)

Class of 1904 - Perry Boynton, Louise Diver, Robert Fowler, Verne Harvey, Flossie Jacquith, Maurice Wilson.

Class of 1905 - Margaret Jaquith, Inez Johnson, John Wenthworth, Anna Een.

Class of 1906 - Selma Ellingson.

During the last twenty-one years Amherst has experienced no boom, neither has it had any decline, and while its progress has not been rapid nor great, yet it has been steady and substantial as has already been evidenced by the development of its schools. During this period two fires have occurred that might be worthy of mention. In the spring of 1887, the principal hotel, which had been built by the Eens twenty years before, but which was now owned by John A. Salseheider and which stood on the site of the present hotel was burned and also another large building just north of it which was owned by Mrs. Gawthrop and conducted by her as a hotel. The next year Mr. Salseheider rebuilt the hotel, erecting the present brick structure. In April 1900 the White School House, which, after the new high school had been erected, had been moved down on Mill Street and was owned by the Temple of Honor, this society occupying the upper story while the lower story was used as an opera house, caught fire during the progress of a theatrical performance and was burned down together with several adjacent buildings.

In 1893 the Amherst Advocate was established by Hattie Moberg and has continued to prosper ever since. In September 1893, the International Bank was opened and has enjoyed a prosperous career having had deposits reaching as high at one time as $143,000. On March 9th, 1899, it however experienced ill luck in being entered by burglars who blew open the safe and took from the same bonds and money to the amount of $5520. The burglars, four in number, were soon caught, tried and sent to prison, and the bank finally recovered $4700 of the stolen bonds and money.

Milwaukee, Chicago and other cities have had much discussion over the problem of track elevation in order to avoid dangerous railroad crossings. In the summer of 1900 the railroad track through Amherst was elevated without any trouble or discussion, though perhaps done not so much to give our village safe crossings as it was to make more moderate the steep incline of the railway grade between Amherst and Amherst Junction.

In the spring of 1900 Amherst was duly incorporated as a village and the next year a system of waterworks for fire protection was built at a cost of about $3000 and, a fire company was organized and equipped with hose carts and other apparatus for fighting fires. Directly after all this was accomplished, a fire broke out in the high school building; the new fire company was quickly on hand and soon had the fire extinguished. The remark was made by many at this time that the cost of the waterworks had perhaps been saved to the village in this one case.

In 1905 Dwinell & Shidel instituted a system of electric lights for the village, bringing the electricity over wires from their mill property two miles away where the electricity is generated by water power. In the fall of this same year the Amherst Opera House Company, a corporation, was formed and the opera house was built at a cost of about $5000. Since the time last mentioned nearly a mile of cement sidewalk has been laid in the village and quite a number of fine new residences of modern design have been built.

Amherst now has a population of about 600 or more people, and, taking all things Into consideration It is believed that it is in all respects as progressive and up-to-date a village as any town of its size anywhere; and its residents have good reason to feel a just pride in their pretty village, resting pleasantly in the beautiful valley of the Waupaca river.