George was the successful bidder on a bid of $665. The building is 34 r 24
x 10 feet.
It has no basement so the classroom, about 24 x 26, has a large floor furnace
in addi-
tion to such equipment as single seats, teacher's desk, library shelving
in the south-
east corner, a piano, chairs, and a table. In addition to a classroom, the
main floor
has two cloakrooms which the pupils enter by first walking into the classroom
through
the entry door and then entering the cloakrooms by doors from the main room.
The
cloakrooms are to the front of the building and are lighted by one window.
At present
one of the cloakrooms is used as a storage place while the other one serves
as a place
to store wraps and dinner pails and is also used as a washroom. The crowded
con-
ditions, the cross-lighting, and the lack of a playroom, indoor toilets,
and a basement
are a few of the undesirable conditions existing. The schoolyard has some
play-
ground equipment. Other buildings on the yard are a fuel shed and two outdoor
toilets - one built of fieldstones and one of lumber.
    During the first years of the brick school, the pupils sat in hand carved
double
seats. The aisles were .narrow except for a wide middle aisle. Since the
children
could not eat at their desks, benches for this purpose were placed along
the walls
in the two cloakrooms. There was only one "black" board, a map
of Europe, and
one dictionary. The children were called to their classes by ringing a cowbell.
Ger-
man'was taught for one or two classes daily until 1919. The first toilet
built was one
of three compartments - one for the boys, one for the girls, and one for
the teacher.
At first there was no school well, so the water was carried from the Goeter's
place
across the road. No playground equipment was purchased until 1930 when a
merry-
go-round Was obtained. Electric lights were installed in 1929 after the voters
at a
special meeting on November 4, 1929 voted for such services.

    Manitowoc district No. 6 never had a large enrollment. The greatest number
at-
tending was in 1875 when about 70 pupils attended In 1867, a total of 57
children
were enrolled and they were taught spelling, reading, arithmetic, U. S. history,
geography, grammar. The teacher received 40 dollars monthly for a 22 day
school
month. In 1863, the term consisted of five winter and three summer months.
Chil-
dren living outside the district and attending Silver Creek school were charged
the
sum of 38 cents tuition per month. The texts used in the 1870's were Sander's
Prim-
er, Speller, and Union Series Readers; Robinson's Series Arithmetic; Swinton's
His-
tory of the United States; Mitchell's Geography; and Kerl's Community School
Short
Course Grammar. In 1905, after a lengthy discussion, the question of a nine
month
term was voted down by a 17 to 16 vote. It wasn't until 1920 that a nine
month term
was common. In 1926, free text books were adopted, but that provision was
rescind-
ed in 1927, and again adopted in the 1930's.

    During the last half of the 19th century, the avetge yearly attendance
was be-
tween 30,and 60 pupils. The lowest enrollment occurred in 1938 when only
17 pupils
attended. At present the yearly attendance averages between 20 and 30, although
the 1946 census report listed 110 children of school age residing in the
district. Many
of the children now attend the Catholic and Lutheran parochial schools in
Manitowoc.
    Early settlers, as noted in school records because they were schoolboard
mem-
bers, were as follows: Henry Wilhelmy who served as clerk for many years
and kept
neat, legible minutes of meetings, Herman Goeters, Paul Ackermann, Nic Trossen,
Henry Pautz, B. Stieden, John Braun, and Frank Schmelzle.
    The list of teachers for this school is quite complete due to the fine
records kept
by the school clerks. Those on record up to 1906 were: John O'Hara 1872,
Chas.
Boehmer 1873, Hattie Richter 1874-5, Ferd Lonsdorf 1876, Jos. Koelzer 1877-8,
C. A.
Gielow 1879-84, Thos. Windiate 1884-5, Victor Roeck 1885 and 1887, William
Guetz-
loe 1886, John Goldie 1888, Fred Sachse 1889-90, Walter Stocker 1892-3, Ferdinand
Fish 1894, Henry Detjen 1895-99, Henry Ewald 1899, Walter Teitgen 1900, John
Arends 1901, Kurt Voelker 1902-3, Edgar Jonas 1903-06. Three former teachers
who
became well-known were Henry Detjen, now Vice-president of the Manitowoc
Sav-
ings Bank; Edgar Jonas, who became a judge in Chicago, and John Arends, who
be-
came a prominent teacher in Illinois. Clara Lallensack, a teacher in the
1930's, be-
came Manitowoc County supervising teacher.
    Today the Silver Creek district is slowly becoming an urban community
as the
 city residents of Manitowoc are seeking new homesites. The meandering Silver
 Creek offers favorable locations for those interested in developing, such
an area into
 a fine suburban community. With the coming of more home owners, the little
brick'
 school erected in 1876 -will soon be modernized or abandoned in favor of
a new and
 modem   structure which will give the children the same educational and
physical
 advantages as are enjoyed by the neighboring children who live in the city.


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