This file portion of www.watertownhistory.org website

 

High Schools

 

  

1858

09 09       Rollin L. Reed, Principal; Miss L. A. Rockwell, Assistant   WD

12 23       High School is a miserable structure . . . No effort towards the erection of a better, more commodious building   WD

 

1864

08 11       Watertown Seminary   WD

 

1872-1876

The Upper High School Grade from 1872-1876. 

Two rooms on the upper floor of Union School, No. 1.   Theodore Bernhard.

 

1881

                    Charles F. Viebahn appointed superintendent of schools and principal of High School  WDT

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Watertown High School from 1881 to 1904

 

From 1913 High School Orbit

    (first Orbit published)

by Charles P. Viebahn

1866, First High School

Theodore Bernhard

 

In the summer of 1879, after the death of Theodore Bernhard, under whose principalship the Watertown High School had been established in 1866, and who had been its efficient head ever since, the board of education offered me the vacant position. Being at that time bound by contract to the position I then held at Manitowoc I had to decline the offer.

 

In the fall of 1880, the position having again become vacant the board of education, supported by the urgent invitation of many citizens, again offered it to me.  I agreed to accept the position on condition that the school superintendency be combined with the high school principalship. My condition was accepted.

 

The duties of city superintendent of schools had hitherto combined what are now the duties of the clerk of the board of education with most of the administrative duties of the superintendent.

 

Rohr, W. H.

 

W. H. Rohr, who had held the office of superintendent before the change was made, was now appointed to the new position of clerk of the board of education. He had formerly been a successful teacher, and during the thirteen years I was associated with him in the administration of school affairs, he did much to lighten my work. His excellent qualities as an official have always been recognized.

 

I entered upon the duties of my position as superintendent and principal April 19, 1881, and continued to perform them until July 1, 1904.  I am requested to give a brief account of our high school during these 23 years.

 

1881

High School part of

Union School No. 1 (Main St)

 

In 1881 the home of the high school was in what was then called Union School No. 1, now a part of the high school building. It occupied only two rooms on the upper floor of that building. As the attendance increased and more room was needed for the lower grades, the boards of education in 1883 determined to erect a new building.

 

1883

High School part of

Webster School (Western Ave)

 

The result of this was the building now known as the Webster School, the rooms on (the) upper floor of which were assigned to the high school, and those on the lower floor to grammar grades.

 

1893

High School part of

Union School No. 1 addition (Main St)

 

In 1898 additional room was provided by building an addition to Union School No. 1. The part added is the present assembly room of the high school, with its cloak rooms and the rooms on the first floor directly below. Alterations were also made in the basement and other parts of the building. A room for manual training was provided. 

 

The enrollment of pupils of the high school in 1881 was fifty-two. In 1878, under the principalship of Mr. Bernard, it had reached 145. In 1904 it was 215.

 

Increased attendance in the high school is due to several causes. Among these the following may be mentioned:

 

1. Increase in wealth. There are more people now in our city who can afford to give their children a secondary education than there were formerly.

 

2. Higher appreciation of the value of high school education. Formerly most of our citizens held the opinion that an elementary education is sufficient for all except the few that want to prepare for a learned profession. This notion is slowly changing.

 

3. The course of study has been extended and made to contain more subjects which most people regard as of more practical value than the usual staple subject of the ordinary high school course.

 

4. More teachers are employed. This permits the assignment of each to the branches which he can teach best.

 

5. Occasionally, the too rapid promotion of pupils and admitting them to the high school before they are properly prepared for it.

 

High School,

1881 definition of

 

In 1881 the term high school did not mean exactly what it meant in 1904.

 

Formerly the eighth grade was a grade of the high school. In 1884 it was made one of the grammar grades.

 

Formerly the school year was divided into three terms of instruction, beginning with the spring term at the end of the Easter vacation. Since 1888 the school term has been divided into semesters and the year of instruction was made to end in June. This was one of the most difficult chances to make, because it interfered with an old German custom. For some years the fourth year high school class existed during the spring term only, the regular annual promotions taking place at Easter and the commencement exercises in June.

 

It was our aim not to allow the high school to constitute an entirely separate institution. To indicate this it was determined not to use the college terms freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors, but in order to show their relation to the grades, to use the term ninth grade, tenth grade, eleventh grade and twelfth grade. But this effort proved an utter failure. The boys and girls persisted in using the college terms.

 

Only two courses of study were followed in the high school, the general science course and the modern classical course. There were some optional studies - bookkeeping, commercial arithmetic, drawing, and later, shorthand and typing.  But we could not teach all the subjects that should have been taught, nor divide up our classes to the best advantage because our teaching force was too small. The principal, who should have had the opportunity to give most of his time to supervision, generally had to teach five or six classes a day.

 

Most of the teachers employed during these years were interested in their work and did good service. When it was found to be desirable that shorthand be taught, one of the teachers devoted his summer vacation to the study of this art, and in the fall he was prepared to teach a large class in shorthand. 

 

In 1881 and during a few years that followed, the high school had no supplementary or extra literary reading matter. The school library contained a few good books for references, but no books to speak of that boys and girls would care to take home to read.

 

All this has since changed for the better; classical reading matter has been supplied, the school library has been supplied with many good books, and the pupils have been given the advantage of using the public library.

 

The natural sciences had been given a prominent place on the course of study, but the apparatus provided was insufficient for the proper teaching of physics and chemistry. As it is easier to supply the most necessary apparatus and material for the teaching of chemistry than for the teaching of physics, the former was for a time made the more prominent study.

·         

The number of assistant teachers required for the high school during these years, was as follows: 1881, one assistant; 1882, two; I884, three; 1893, four; 1902, five; 1903, an additional teacher to teach drawing two weeks each month.

_________________________________________________

 

1885      The earliest use of the word “gosling” when referring to Watertown high school students.

 

1887

--------       The average salary paid in 1887, including high school teachers, was $45 per month; in 1908 it was $60.50

--------       1887 high school had four teachers, including the superintendent; in 1908 it had nine, including the superintendent

 

1898      Click upon to enlarge

Union School No. 1

 

1906 Night School

11 17 1906

 

The night school opened at the high school building last evening under quite favorable circumstances. The attendance, however, was not as large as was expected, at least by some of the members of the board of education which authorized the opening of the school at its last meeting.

 

One of the members of the board last evening when informed by a Leader representative that the enrollment was twenty-nine, expressed surprise and said he thought it would be at least fifty.

 

. . . Superintendent Roseman also thought there would be a larger enrollment ... He is of the opinion that the attendance will increase, especially when it becomes known and the fact of the benefits becomes appreciated. It should not, however take coaxing or persuasion to increase the number of students. There are many young men seen nightly loafing on the street corners and young ladies gadding the streets who would do well to take advantage of this opportunity . . .

 

1908

--------         The average salary paid in 1887, including high school teachers, was $45 per month’ in 1908 it was $60.50

--------       1887 high school had four teachers, including the superintendent; in 1908 it had nine, including the superintendent

06 18       Commencement   WL

06 25       Senior Class play   WL

09 11          Re-shingling portion of the High School; L. Wright manual training teacher; Eighth grade transferred to School No. 4.

11 13          Playgrounds proposed for vacant lots; later site for High School   WG

 

1909

01 22       Webster Debating Society officers elected    WG

01 22       Manual training and drawing, new dept    WG

07 02       Commencement exercises, 42 grads    WG

08 20       Ratio maintained pupils and assistants    WG

08 27       Mechanical drawing sets    WG

 

1910

01 21       Mrs. Gordon E. Bacon entertained teachers and her Latin class    WG

01 22       Manual training and drawing, new dept    WG

01 29       Junior Prom for Seniors    WG

___________________________________________________________________

 

1913 Letter from Jack to Jill

 

1913, New High School note

1913, Spring weather note

    From 1913 High School Orbit  (first Orbit published)

·         

WEATHER LETTER.

Watertown, Wis., April 7, 1913

Dear Jill:

 

Your good letter found me in a most receptive mood when it came yesterday. I am glad that you are so much enjoying the apparently perpetual sunshine of California.

 

I cannot help contrasting the beautiful weather you describe with that which we are now experiencing. We have our rubbers on our feet, are holding our skirts in one hand, and our umbrellas in the other, after the fashion appropriate to Wisconsin people at this season of the year. The backbone of old Winter has passed, but we are not yet out of range of the last expiring whisks of his long caudal appendage. An operation upon him similar to the one you and I performed on our old cat would do him good, don't you think so?

 

Do you remember how people used to tease us when we went up the hill to get a pail of water? Well that kind of an excursion would not be necessary now, for we could use rain water, or melted sleet, or extract of hail stones, just as we chose to select, for we are having all of these in monotonous rotation.

 

You will wonder with me whether the people who named this good old place Watertown were trying to be truthful, or just sarcastic. Our old high school has not yet been washed away. If you were here today we would jump over the puddles together and visit the dear old place. They are going to have a new high school as soon as the weather clears up so that the carpenters can get to work at it.

 

The seniors are going to get out an annual this year unless the weatherman frustrates their plan. I shall not fail to send you one.

 

Happiness here is at present confined to the Watertown geese, and their aquatic associates, the ducks and frogs.

 

This tirade against the weather is not intended to discourage you from coming back home next year. I much hope you will do so.

 

Sincerely yours, Jack.

 

P. S. The paleness of this ink is due to the fact that it rained in the ink bottle.

 

1915

03 17          Death of Charles F. Viebahn   WDT

 

1917      Watertown High School images

Assembly room

1917 Orbit, WHS_005_420

Assembly room

1917 Orbit, WHS_005_421

Chemistry lab

1917 Orbit, WHS_005_422

Domestic science kitchen

1917 Orbit, WHS_005_419

Gymnasium

1917 Orbit, WHS_005_418

Lower corridor

1917 Orbit, WHS_005_418

Main entrance

1917 Orbit, WHS_005_417

Manual training work shop

1917 Orbit, WHS_005_419

Physics lab

1917 Orbit, WHS_005_422

Reference library

1917 Orbit, WHS_005_420

 

1923

01 18       Death of Joseph Brandenberg, senior class   WDT

 

1939

               1939 graduating class pictured in novel arrangement    WDT

 

1954

               First steps taken to secure properties which would make up the new High School addition.

 

1956

   Watertown Daily Times, 03 07 1956

 

The City Council decided not to sell the old Home Management House in Dodge Street which is to be cleared away to provide part of the site for the new high school addition.  A bid had been entered by Clarence Wesemann for it, but the council decided the condition of the building is such that it should not be moved and that it would be to the city's advantage to demolish the house and dispose of the salvaged materials.

 

1957

   Watertown Daily Times, 10 19 1957

 

Sometime in the next couple of weeks, members of the Board of Education are going to determine if they want to include a laundry in the high school building project.  At present the subject is under study, with the provision that a decision be made later.  If a laundry is installed it will make possible the washing of towels used by students, such as athletes and others who make use of the showers.  It will also enable washing athletic suits and sports equipment.  If the school does go in for such laundry service it will merely be following what some other schools are now doing.

 

1958

01 05       Edward Hinterberg, principal of the Watertown Senior High School, retires   WDT

04 18       Eugene Tornow replaces Hinterberg   WDT

05 03       New gymnasium-auditorium used first time for graduation.  Hinterberg presenter for last time.   WDT

06 16       Council approves contracts for remodeling of high school   WDT

07 01       Eugene Tornow, new principal, began his duties   WDT

07 21          Science instructor Frank James attends GE Fellowship program   WDT

08 22          Remodeling programs delays start of school.   WDT

09 04          New high school addition due to open with the first full day of classes on Monday, Sept. 15.  WDT

10 11          Special scholarship committee; five faculty members named to   WDT

10 27          1958 Watertown High School football squad    WDT

11 17          Stage equipment for High School approved   WDT

12 15          New addition dedication plans    WDT

 

1959

03 18          Senior Class trip to Washington, D.C., and New York City   WDT

03 26          Eugene Tornow, WHS principal, selected as new superintendent of schools   WDT

04 10       Junior Prom, “Bali Ha'i.”   WDT

05 09          Arnold Landsverk, physical education instructor and athletic director and former coach, resigns    WTD

05 21          Russell Twesme new principal, replaced Tornow   WTD

07 18          New daily seven day class period   WDT

07 24          High School Football Team   WTD

09 02          New City Hall proposed for old High School/Armory site on E Main   WDT

10 14          Open House, High School addition   WDT

10 15          New theatre, Dedication, open house   WDT

12 04          Christmas pageant cast   WDT

12 09          Wrestling squad   WDT

 

1960

               Windows Door Ad, new High School, Marmet Corp

 

1983

05 09       Principal Hugh Burkett , resignation accepted   WDT

12 17          Specifications for a New High School   WDT

 

1984

03 17       Asbestos in ceilings at Watertown High School and Schurz Elementary may be removed   WDT

04 29       Child care center at Watertown High School investigated; a School Age Mother (SAM) program   WDT

09 26       Child care lab; school age mothers program   WDT

10 01       Homecoming activities   WDT

11 17       Improved high school facilities, study of   WDT

 

1996

08 28          The Watertown Planning Commission Monday night approved the second step in a plan to renovate the old Watertown High School into a health club, child care center and elderly apartment building. The plan commission paved the way for developers Peter M. Hanson and the Watertown Athletic Club to continue toward a general development plan, which, when approved, is equivalent to achieving zoning. In approving the developers’ concept Monday, the commission brought up several areas which need more detailed information. Under the concept plan, the athletic club would use the gymnasium area and Mary Linsmeir School would use classroom space in the newer portion of the former high school. Watertown Community Church, a 30-member congregation, would use the auditorium area on Sunday mornings and occasionally on a week night.  WDT

 

1998

08 27          Rest room plans at High School Stadium.  WDT

08 30          Peace Garden transforms bus turn around area    WDT

10 18          Federally Subsidized School Breakfast Program, Watertown High School will join the initiative.  WDT

12 19          A new Watertown Police Department proposed for near high school   WDT

 

1999

03 06       End of Latin program   WDT

04 01       Proposal to introduce girls bowling as a letter sport   WDT

04 03       Police facility on High School land; option allowed construction of    WDT

05 01       Junior prom court    WDT

05 04       Graduation moved to High School gym from Riverside Park    WDT

05 13       Two graduation ceremonies planned, Riverside Park and school gymnasium   WDT

07 29       Health and Wellness Center to be located at the former high school, 415 S. Eighth St    WDT

07 22       Budget for school food service introduced   WDT

09 19       Athletics program will continue to be run by interim director   WDT

10 13       Orange Bowl parade; band trip to Miami; to perform in   WDT

 

2001

05 26          Dr. Frederick Lemke scholarship program, WACF   WDT

 

2008

11 05          $22,385,000 referendum approved for additions and renovations; second referendum to exceed revenue limits defeated   WDT

 

2009

02 10          Frank James, 1913-2009, High School chemistry teacher, 1944-1975

02 10          Doug Keiser's Education Blog:  Douglas W. Keiser, Ph.D., Superintendent of schools, Watertown Unified School District

07 09          Three wall murals, painted by Brianna Baurichter   WDT, no link

 

Cross-References:

No 1:  Theodore Bernhard, first High School founder, was one of the Forty-Eighters.

 

Image Portfolio

Click to enlarge

         

   1982                1989

 

1917, Main entrance  

1917, Lower corridor and gymnasium  

1917, Domestic science kitchen and manual training work shop  

1917, Assembly room and reference library  

1917, Assembly room  

1917, Physics and chemistry labs  

 

Peace Garden

Watertown Daily Times, 11 25 1996

 

“He has forever changed the opportunities available to the students, staff and community of Watertown.” Dr. Suzanne Hotter, superintendent of the Watertown Unified School District, let the words hang in the auditorium of the high school this morning.

 

After a pause, a standing ovation recognized the man who helped create a technology center at the school and who, most recently, presented the district with a $35,000 gift for a more artistic endeavor. Tom Jeffris of the Jeffris Family Foundation of Janesville attended the ceremony to dedicate Meridian, the steel sculpture now located in front of the school. It was a celebration of sculptor Ed McCullough's work and also of efforts to move education beyond the walls of the classrooms. Fittingly, it occurred during American Education Week.

 

Watertown High School Orbit, 1998

 

The Peace Garden has come a long way in the past two years. The two-acre plot in front of the school is filled with plants and trees from over 30 countries around the world. In addition to the greenery, benches provide a place to relax, and the Meridian decorates the south end of the Garden.

 

The idea of the Peace Garden started with Mr. Jacobson. Two Peace Gardens have already been established in the world. One is in Hiroshima, where the atomic bomb hit, and the other is on the Canadian-States border. With these as an inspiration, the project was started. We live in a world of hate and where peace is not taught. Mr. Jacobson wanted to teach it. He wanted a place where people would walk by this garden every day and say to themselves, "Peace." The more they would hear it, the more they would question and think about it, and they would learn.

 

Watertown High School was chosen as the place to put the garden. Could there be a more appropriate spot to put an International Peace Garden than the community's educational center? The garden would be a place for students to reflect not only on their day-to-day problems but also to remind them of the friends they have across the globe. It would be a beautiful and living memorial to everlasting peace between all individuals and all nations.

 

Many have contributed their time and money in order to see the garden grow. Donations have come from the students and individuals throughout the community. Many students and faculty have also contributed their time to work in the garden.

 

Much has been done with the Peace Garden, but there is still a lot to do. This summer an amphitheater made with natural stones will be put in at the north end of the Garden. This will provide a place for class instruction, concerts, and such. They are also planning on putting in a Community Garden at the north end, which will consist of plants given from gardens throughout the community. An integrated watering system is also going to be installed. With all of this being done, there is still a need for continuing maintenance. The garden, like peace, must not only be planted, but nurtured so it will grow into something so wonderful that it will consume all people. - Suzie Zobrist

 

The Meridian represents the circle of life. Life doesn't flow in a circle, though. It has its bumps and bruises, but it is still continuous. It is a symbol of hope and life.