MEEME


    The township of Meeme was one of the four original townships organized
from
the Manitowoc county area of 1848. It. then consisted of the present townships
of
Schleswig, Meeme, Centerville, and the south one-third of Eaton, Liberty,
and New-
ton. It was not until 1850 that Centerville was detached and Meeme limited
to the
present townships of Meeme and Schleswig. The township of Abel (Schleswig)
was
detached from Meeme in 1855. The first school districts in the original areas
includ-
ed in Meeme township were organized around the settlements along the old
Green
Bay military road, now highway-42. The first districts were set up in the
Osman and
Meeme villages. The numbering of the district' is explained in the individual
dis-
trict school articles.
                       MEEME JT. 1- PIGEON RIVER
                                Marion Wesener


    Meeme Joint district No. 1
was given the name of Pigeon
River school because it is lo-
cated near a branch of that riv-
er. It is usually called the Olin
school because it is near the
Olm homestead.
    Meeme s c h o o 1 districts
numbers 1 and 5 were one dis-
trict in the 1850's. The school-
house for this combined district
stood on the county line oppo-
site the present Schwinn home.
The school was then a log struc-
ture and was used for school
purposes for about ten years.
It was then abandoned and


soon became udeapiude    un
a Mr. Muetzleburg bought the property and turned it into a residence.
    The town assessment rolls indicate that the two districts were divided
by the year
1856, and this area became school district No. 1. By 1856, this district
was made up
of sections 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 and the south half of sections 19 and 28.
It was not
until 1918 that the Herman Koeser property in the town of Schleswig was attached
to
this district and it became a joint district and designated Meeme Jt. No.
1. Since
its organization many parcels of land have been attached and detached.
    The log schoolhouse for this district was built about the year 1862,
and was
located a few rods north of the present building. The site was purchased
from Maurer
who then owned the present Win. Olin farm. No record is given as to size
and cost
of the school. The hand-made seats and desks were large enough to accommodate
six to eight pupils. These seats were not adjustable so they were made of
varying
heights. Wooden blackboards were used. Sander's first to the fifth readers
were
used. The other subjects taught in this pioneer school were arithmetic, geography,
and spelling. No report was made of the disposition of this log building
when it was
abandoned.
    The next schoolhouse, the northern half of the present structure, was
built in
1883 at a cost of about $600. That school then had windows on the north and
south
side with the entrance and windows on the east side. The building was then
about
24 x 30 feet and without a basement. The main floor had a combination entry
and
cloakroom which was shared by the boys and girls. Two doors lead into a classroom
which was scantily furnished according to the present day standards. The
pupils
used slates and slate pencils. The long homemade seats were replaced with
double
desks and the room was heated. by an old-fashioned stove in the center of
the room.
Drinking water was obtained from the neighbor's well and was delivered to
the school
by the larger boys or by the teacher. The water was used from the pail by
a dipper
which everyone used. In 1909, a school well was dug by Andrew Philips. School
was
called by means of hand bell. A new woodshed was built in 1901. As time went
on,
a large Webster dictionary and real blackboards and other equipment were
purchased.
    By 1910, the enrollment being 70 and therefore above the number set by
law
for one teacher, the district voted a two room school. The voters decided
to put an
zddition on the old school instead of constructing a new building. Accordingly,
the


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