.Tgnatz Grall, an old-timer in the district. He attended the public school
in the 1870's
and 1880's. He also served as school clerk at the turn of the century. Mr.
Grall was
unable to remember the first building used for school purposes from 1854
to 1872. It
is supposed that a log building, rudely furnished for school purposes, was
used. The
first books were those brought to thte district by the pioneer settlers.
    The second schoolhouse was a private house purchased from the father
of Ignatz
Grall for about $200. It was a log structure about 20 x 26 feet. It was moved
to the
present school site on the northwest corner of the southwest quarter of section
7,
town of Cato, on a site purchased from Martin Wollenberg. Ignatz Grall remembers
the school as being furnished with homemade seats and desks, each large enough
to
accommodate six pupils. The room was heated with a box stove. The woodbox
was
kept well filled with chunks of wood two" and three feet long. The usual
dipper and
pail supplied the water which was carried to school from a nearby farm. County
records show that Sander's readers and spellers and Ray's arithmetics were
in use
fr6m 1870 to 1900. Those were truly the days of readin', 'ritin', and 'rithmetic.
    After the old log school had served its purpose, it was sold to the father
of Vitus
Wiegext for about $50. He dismantled the building and hauled it to his home,
con-
structing a log barn or shed for his cattle from the timber. The third and
present
frame school building was erected in 1894 at a cost of about $415. It is
about 24 x.28
feet with three windows on each long side. Two windows at the front light
the one
cloakroom which extends across the entire entrance way. A lean-to woodshed
was
later built on to the rear of the schoolhouse. The school was equipped with
a heating-
ventilating system, plenty of blackboards, a weil-stocked library, and other
necessary
teaching-learning aids, required of schools in operation in the early' 1900's.
    The Whitelaw district has always been affected by the parochial school
in the
village. It is said that the first private parochial school was held in the
large front
Foom of the present George Fischer home north of the village. About 1879,
a log
school was built at the site of the present parochial school next to St.
Michael's
church. The log building had only one schoolroom with small living quarters
for the
nuns above the schoolroom. The present four-room parochial school was built
about
1906. The public school attendance had always been limited to pupils of non-Catholic
families and to the younger and the more mature youngsters living nearby.
The aver-
age attendance during the early 1900's was about 15 pupils yearly. By 1931,
only four
children were enrolled so the voters at the annual meeting voted to suspend
further
operation of the district school and to transport the few pupils to nearby
public schools.
    This community was settled by a mixture of nationalities. For that reason,
evi-
dently, no school terms to teach a certain language other than English were
held.
Early land owners, according to the 1860 assessment roll, were Martin Friedenberger,
Win. Baker, L. W. Dunham, John and Wolfgang Brandl, John Grall, Jos. Fischer,
An-
drew and Jos. Pankratz, Maurice Lawler, and M. Fenton. Two well-known residents
of the early 1900's were Simon Wehrwein and Geo. Schadeberg, Sr. Other district
residents became prominent farmers and businessmen in this and other communities.
Some of the known school board members were Martin Wollenberg and Wolfgang
Seidl in the 1870's and 80's, and William Kiel, Ignatz Grall, Frank Zipperer,
Anton
Vogel, John Drews, Anton and F. A. Kohlbeck, and Vitus Wiegert from 1890
to 1906.
    Cato No. 11 was among the early schools maintaining a single term yearly.
As
early as 1872, the records show that six month terms beginning in November
and end-
ing in May were held. There were short vacation periods between three-month
ses-
sions but no such system as winter and summer terms. The list of the names
of
teachers is incomplete. Frequent changes in teachers were made because of
the fact
that average or below average wages were paid. Teachers in the 1870's, as
recorded
in the Teachers' Book in the county superintendent's office, were Josie Howarth,
Celia Fitzmaurice, Ella Ross, Chas. J. Hutchinson, and Adolph Jones. Those
serving
in the 1880's are unknown. Ella Jaeckel, Louise Pitz, Chas. Vogel, Nell Laughlin,
Lil-
lian Savage, Elma Ilanson, Nell Sadlier, Thos. Reddin, Mollie Sheahan, and
Theodora
Johnson were known to have taught this school sometime between 1894 to 1908.
Others remembered as former teachers were Albert Guttmann, Jos. Seidl, and
Win.
Dunbar.
     During the days of town and county contests in spelling, adding, language,
and
 other subjects, this district actively participated, but because of the
low enrollment
 the pupils were handicapped when competing with larger schools. "Spelling
bees"
 were held in the school as were seasonal programs put on by the children
for their
 parents and friends. Baseball games were popular in due season, for Geo.
Schade-
 berg remembers playing ball among the pine stumps on the schoolground.
     The Whitelaw district was at first a pure farming community. The early
settlers
 cleared the land of stands of pine which they hauled to Manitowoc or floated
down

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