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 CHAPTER
X THE SCHOOLS The history of education in Winneshiek county, in most respects, is not unlike the history of every other county in Iowa or in the United States, for that matter. It may be claimed that it was dissimilar in the early days, prior to the coming of civilization, in that the first school was a mission school conducted by Rev. Daniel Lowry, a Presbyterian minister sent here by the Government to work among the Indians. As is related elsewhere in this volume, he built the schools at the mission five miles south of Fort Atkinson and conducted them for several years. There is no record to show that any other school existed in the county between the time of his coming in 1842 up to 1852, except as a school for the children of the post may have been maintained at Fort Atkinson. THE FIRST PUBLIC SCHOOL
Credit for the existence of this school is due to the sturdy Norwegian settlers who acquired homes in that section in 1850. This may be considered a private undertaking, for at that time the school system was not sufficiently organized to be on a substantial footing. Miss Hanson became the wife of Lieut. Ole A. Anderson, and today is living a serene old age at her home in Decorah, honored by all who know her for her devotion to her husband. When he enlisted in the War of the Rebellion he was considered one of the most promising young men in Winneshiek county. In an early engagement he received a wound that, though he lived until some four or five years ago, incapacitated him for the balance of his life. 127 PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 128 In the following year (1853) school matters began to take definite
shape. A schoolhouse was built in Decorah and Theodore W. Burdick,
who had just come from Pennsylvania with his parents, was engaged
to teach. The succeeding year he entered the office of the county
treasurer, leaving a vacancy in the school which was filled temporarily
by a man destined to be his lifelong friend. The story of how
this teacher was engaged and his subsequent resignation reads
now as an amusing incident and is thus told in Alexander's History: "The teacher employed was a young man in the greenness of his youth, fresh from Vermont, seeking a location for the practice of medicine. He had come in through Manana, and was greatly discouraged by the residents here, so far as the prospects of medical practice was concerned, but had the offer of the school at $30 per month, if he could pass examination. An examining committee was appointed and a day set for the ordeal. The day came, and with it one of the committee, who examined him, found him qualified, and gave him a certificate. He commenced school, taught a month, flogged a child of one of the directors, and raised quite an excitement in the district thereby. By this time his practice had commenced; he didn't care whether he taught or not. The result was, another man took the school off his hands and he devoted himself to his profession. His name was H. C. Bullis. The committee-man who examined him and gave him his certificate was Levi Bullis." Dr. Bullis was followed by Charley Allen, who was for many years familiar to the early-day residents and is still recalled by the pioneers remaining here. To follow on down the line and make a chronological record of the changes that inevitably followed in the ranks of teachers and the methods of teaching would be attempting the impossible. The record does not exist and even if it did it would be of little value and of less interest to the readers of this book. Suffice it to say that from those early days to the present time the cause of education has not lagged in Winneshiek county for the want of ready supporters. From the records available at this time we learn that schools
were being established quite generally throughout the county by
the year 1856. Pleasant township seems to have been somewhat ahead
of others in that a schoolhouse was built in Locust Lane in 1854.
Up to the later seventies all of the schools of the county were
known as public or graded schools. It was due to the initiative
of the late H. L. Coffeen, then principal of the Decorah school
(in the early eighties), that the high school system was introduced
into the county. The first class was graduated in 1881, and the
success that was attained in Decorah has been influential in broadening
the work of the schools throughout the county generally. "Where
there were then meagre equipments of apparatus, reference books,
maps, etc., today the best schools of the county have fine structures
with modern appointments, equipments adequate to carry on experiments
in the sciences where they are taught, libraries of the best reference
and literary works, and corps of teachers competent to guide the
scholars through both common and higher branches as well as music,
manual training, drawing, painting, etc. In the case of Decorah
high school a department of domestic science is included in the
course for the coming year, and the school PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 129 building is undergoing rearrangement to provide space for it, the building of a new heating plant and the removal of the boilers from the basement making it possible. PRIVATE SCHOOLS Another most helpful influence in local educational fields has been the private school. In the very early days Sherman Page, a prominent educator, conducted the Winneshiek Normal Institute. It was suspended during the war and afterward revived for a short time. DECORAH INSTITUTE About this time John Breckenridge came to Decorah as principal of the public school and was in all ways successful. While he was busy in this work there revolved in his mind thoughts of the country boy and girl who, for one cause or another, had failed to grasp or been deprived of the opportunities that were available in the country district, had grown almost to manhood and womanhood, were too diffident or bashful to take their places in the classes of scholars much younger than they, and who would undoubtedly ridicule them for their ignorance and mistakes. These thoughts crystallized in the founding of Decorah Institute, which opened in September, 1874. Here the young man and young woman could come, confident that they would be met by others that had fared no better than they. Mr. Breckenridge was quick to see that, in a community where foreign languages were so commonly spoken, success could be courted by acquiring at least a fair understanding of them. He had a ready command of German, and it was not a difficult matter for him to add to that a knowledge of Norwegian that enabled him to converse fluently with all who could not understand or speak English. Fortified in this manner, it was not long before his school acquired a splendid reputation for the excellence of instruction given and for the high moral and intellectual training that was given its pupils. The ranks of teachers throughout the middle west muster scores of men and women whose foundation in education was acquired in Decorah Institute--men and women who have honored the cause of education in their attainment as citizens, in business, professional and social spheres. Mr. Breckenridge died on April 21, 1899, during the height of his activities as an instructor. While the school that he founded has ceased to exist, its influence is still manifest wherever its graduates may be found. VALDER COLLEGE Another private school--one that is still in existence and whose
vigor increases each year--is Valder College, established in 1888
by Prof. Charles H. Valder. When in his early manhood Mr. Valder
determined to make education his life's work, he chose first to
perfect himself as a penman. His success brought him to Decorah
where, for a number of years, be was in charge of the depart PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 130 ment of penmanship in the Decorah public schools. He, too, had a vision, but it was along the lines of business education, and he first established a school of shorthand, typewriting, and penmanship. While the attendance was small during the first three or four years, it was a notable fact that Valder graduates were in demand on account of their thorough preparation. As the success of his business school became more assured Mr. Valder ventured into realms of normal work, aiming particularly at the preparation of teachers, and broadening the commercial school work. Himself an excellent teacher, he was not satisfied to employ as his faculty any who could not measure up to a high standard, and thus he has built up a school that enrolls from four hundred to five hundred students annually, and whose graduates are scattered all over the Northwest, occupying positions of great responsibility in every walk, but more particularly as bankers, accountants, stenographers and teachers. During the past year Valder College has been incorporated and Prof. Charles A. Whalen, who has been a member of the faculty for several years, has become associated financially in the institution. DECORAH BUSINESS COLLEGE To many who may read this book the mention of John R. Slack will probably mean nothing, but to pass on to other topics without at least briefly reviewing the work of this man as a business educator would be to ignore one who in his day was accounted one of the foremost exponents of the best methods on bookkeeping, Mr. Slack was a native of Ohio and acquired his education in Jefferson College at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He came to Decorah in 1856 and for some years thereafter was a bookkeeper in the Winneshiek County Bank In 1874 he established the Decorah Business College, which he continued for a score or more of years. While at no time did his school attain to large proportions, those who came under his instruction were given a grounding in the fundamental principles of accounting that could be acquired in but few schools of that day. He was the author of "Rationale and Practice of Bookkeeping," a book which was not only the standard in his own school but was recognized generally by accountants as a very reliable treatise. LUTHER COLLEGE
PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 133 "Most of these immigrants--practically all, in fact,--have been very poor and have sought this land of opportunity to improve their economic condition. As they have come largely from the rural districts in Norway and have left their native land at a time when the spirit of liberty has been strong among her people, their great desire has been to gain possession of a small portion of America's fertile soil and live the independent life of a farmer under her free institutions. For these reasons they have been attracted to the homestead lands and the cheap farming lands of the newer settlements, and have gladly assumed the burdens of pioneer life with its proverbial privations and hardships. "But, though economically poor, they have not come to America to partake of her blessings without possessing anything to offer in return. They have brought with them a heritage, the best that their adopted country could desire, uprightness of character, habits of industry, a law-abiding and God-fearing spirit, a patriotism that impelled thousands of them to take up arms in behalf of the Union during the Civil war, and the desire to give their children the best education that their scanty means afforded. That their children might enjoy proper educational advantages has been to them a matter of great concern, for they have all tasted, at least, of the 'Pierean Spring'--have received some schooling in their native land-and they have been eager that opportunities for improvement and advancement that circumstances rendered impossible for them should not be denied their children; and the satisfaction that many of these immigrants have had in seeing their children enjoy the abundant educational advantages of this favored land has been far greater than the possession of broad acres and fertile fields. "The chid characteristic, however, of Norwegian immigrants
has been their deeply religious nature, which systematic instruction
in the truths of the Christian religion and the example and precepts
of pious parents early implanted in their youthful souls. This
characteristic has been the fundamental factor of their existence,
determining their view of life, their sense of duty and respon- PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY
sibility as Christians, parents, citizens, and members of society in general. In this characteristic more than in any other is to be sought the explanation of the hospitality and other qualities that travelers in Norway are wont to praise and the qualities that render the great majority of those of them who have come to this country the desirable citizens that" they are usually said to be. With zeal they have entered into the political and industrial life of the nation. With equal zeal, they have endeavored to supply the means of nourishing their spiritual life and transmitting it to their posterity unimpaired. They are as a whole Lutherans, and have organized church-bodies to promote religious activity and have established institutions of learning for the purpose of insuring a well-equipped ministry and an enlightened body of laymen to continue the work. "Pre-eminent, by virtue of its age and influence, among institutions of learning founded by Norwegian Lutherans in this country is Luther College, of Decorah, Iowa. In fact, so distinct and far-reaching has been its influence that it has been beyond comparison the greatest spiritual and educational factor in the life of Norwegians in America and has rendered a service to church and state that has amply rewarded every sacrifice made in its behalf. "Luther College was founded in 1861. A beautiful tract of land had been secured for the college by Dr. V. Koren in the northwestern part of the city; but, as no arrangements had been made for suitable quarters at Decorah, school was commenced during the first year in a large vacant parsonage, which had been placed at the disposal of the Synod for this purpose, at Half Way Creek, Wis., about thirteen miles, from La Crosse. School opened Sept. 4, 1861, with a faculty of two teachers, Pres. Laur Larsen and an assistant, and an enrollment of five students. Later in the year the number of students increased to eleven and then decreased to nine. "In 1862 the college was transferred to Decorah, and for three years occupied what is now the St. Cloud Hotel, which the Synod had purchased. Later an adjoining building was erected to meet the increasing requirements for more room. "Oct. 14, 1865, the new building which the Synod had erected on its 32-acre tract was dedicated and henceforth used by the college. The south wing, which was not built at this time and the erection of which remained to complete the structure according to the original plan, was, in the course of time, added, and the college grew and prospered. "May 19, 1889, however, the stately edifice was destroyed by fire. The loss was keenly felt, but it was decided to rebuild without delay. In the meantime classrooms were fitted up in the basement of the First N. E. L. Church and in other buildings in the vicinity, where temporary quarters had been secured, and the work of the college was resumed the following school year under many disadvantages. The new building, reared on the foundation of the old, and of the same dimensions, was completed with all possible speed, and was dedicated and ready for occupancy Oct 14, 1890. Since then the equipment, faculty, and number of buildings have steadily been augmented. "In 1902, after 41 years of faithful service, President
Larsen requested the Synod to relieve him of the duties of the
presidency. The Synod granted his request and elected President
Christian K. Preus as his successor. PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 135 EQUIPMENT COLLEGE CAMPUS "The campus is a fine natural park on the left bank of Upper Iowa river, about one mile from the center of the city. It is a 32-acre tract of comparatively level ground adorned by many shade trees, chiefly oaks. It has ample space for buildings, driveways, athletic fields, and pleasant retreats. The adjoining river, bluffs, and valley afford scenery of unusual beauty and interest. MAIN BUILDING "Main Building (170x52, four stories and basement) is a noble and imposing structure, beautifully situated on an eminence overlooking the city to the east and the river valley to the west. Its well lighted interior is very attractive and affords room for offices, classrooms, the library, reading rooms, chapels, and students' rooms. The students' boarding club has the use of a large part of the basement, while the rest is used for various other purposes. The building is provided with steam heat, electric light, arrangements for artificial ventilation, stand-pipes with hose on each floor ready for instant use at all times in case of fire, lavatories, and other modern improvements. The upper floors afford accommodations for 110 students, who are thus enabled to pursue their studies under the most favorable conditions. LAUR LARSEN HALL "A commodious new dormitory (center 50x40; two wings, each 90x40; all three stories and basement) accommodating upwards of 200 students has recently been erected on the campus to the southeast of the Main Building. It was dedicated Oct. 13, 1907, in the presence of a great number of visitors and given the name of Laur Larsen Hall, in honor of Dr. Laur Larsen, the former president of the College. It is a handsome brick structure, and is provided with excellent fire protection (the same system as the Main Building) steam heat, electric light, and modern conveniences throughout. Besides the excellent accommodations that it furnishes a large number of students, it has dwelling apartments for a professor and family, class-rooms, a large room for the use of the Lands and other musical organizations, a chemical and physical laboratory, and a workshop for the manufacture and repair of scientific apparatus. LIBRARY AND READING ROOM "The Library and Reading Room occupy quarters on the first
floor of the Main Building. They contain 16,441 volumes, besides
pamphlets, papers, and other printed matter. Additions of the
best works in the various departments of study are made as rapidly
as the available resources permit. The Library receives an annuity
of $200 from Synod, besides the annual fees paid by the students.
The Library is furnished with a card catalogue according to the
Dewey decimal classification system. PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 136 "The Reading Room contains the encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other works of reference, also such books as are temporarily assigned to it by the teachers. The Reading Room and the Students' Reading Society, 'Muspelheim,' receive together more than 50 foreign and American periodicals, besides daily and weekly newspapers. MUSEUM "The Museum occupies the building (60x30, two stories) to the northwest of the Main Building. The scientific section comprises collections of minerals, mounted animals, plants, birds' eggs and nests. The ethnological section is particularly strong in Norwegian specimens; there are also many specimens illustrative of Eskimo and Indian life. There are many photographs of churches, schools, and other public buildings erected by Scandinavians in this country, and of ministers, journalists, and other prominent men. The library section contains more than 4,000 numbers, to a great extent Scandinavian-American publications. Of Norwegian-American papers and periodicals there are over 500 complete, and a very large number of incomplete, volumes. There is also a collection of coins and stamps. Special attention is paid to the development of the Norwegian section of the ethnological department. LIBRARY AND MUSEUM BUILDING "It has been quite generally recognized for some time that the quarters occupied by the library and museum are insufficient and do not afford the valuable collections that they contain adequate protection against fire. The students themselves have become so thoroughly alive to this fact that in the spring of 1909 they voluntarily undertook to make 27,000 cement blocks (the number required for such a building according to the statement of the architect), of which 17,000 are already done.* SCIENCE LABORATORY "The Chemical and Physical Laboratory is located in the west wing of Laur Larsen Hall. The Laboratory is a well-lighted room, and will accommodate 30 students at one time. The tables are designed for laboratory work in Chemistry and Physics, and are supplied with gas and water. "The lockers containing the individual apparatus for students' use are well supplied. A lecture room adjoins the Laboratory, and contains most of the chemical and physical library. "There are two rooms for the storage of apparatus and chemicals, and a well equipped shop for the manufacture and repair of apparatus. HOSPITAL "The Hospital is a small building to the south of the Main
Building and was erected to furnish proper accommodations in case
of illness among the stu- *Since this statement was compiled (in 1911) the number has increased to 20,000.
PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 137 dents. It is divided into two entirely separate wards, one for contagious and one for non-contagious diseases. GYMNASIUM AND AUDITORIUM "This structure is a substantial frame building (124x75) pleasantly located to the north of the Main Building, among the shade trees of the Campus. It was originally built in 1885-6, and was paid for with money raised chiefly through the efforts of the students. In the spring of 1903 it was enlarged to nearly three times its former dimensions, and in addition to increased space for gymnastic apparatus and drills, basketball and kindred sports, it also furnishes a large and commodious auditorium for concerts and other occasions. It has a seating capacity of more than 2,000. COLLEGE LIGHTING AND HEATING PLANT "The College has its own electric light plant, which was installed by the Alumni Association some years ago at an expenditure of about $2,500, and a central steam heating plant. Besides adding materially to the comfort and convenience of the students, this method of lighting and heating the buildings obviates a frequent source of fires, which are often caused by the use of lamps and stoves. "The College is also supplied with city water. VALUE OF COLLEGE PROPERTY AND FUNDS "The value of the college plant (campus, buildings, and equipment) is now $236,968.00. Its income bringing property and funds, received mostly as legacies in slims varying from $300 to $7,343.23, amounts to $16,688.95, of which the income of $800 is applied to professors' salaries, the income of $10,493.23 is applied to student aid, the income of $4,000 is applied in the interest of natural sciences." In 1911 the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the college was celebrated. The celebration began on October 13th, with a banquet in which several hundred members of the Alumni, and friends of the college participated. On the day following the real celebration occurred. It included the unveiling of a bronze statue of Martin Luther, the gift of the women of the Synod churches, and the reading of many congratulatory telegrams, cablegrams and letters. Among the cablegrams was one from King Haakon of Norway. The student singers of Norway cabled an invitation to Luther College Concert Band to visit Norway in 1914 and participate in the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of Norwegian independence. The invitation was accepted and the band leaves next April to be in Christiania on May 17th. A feature of the evening was the presentation of an $250,000
endowment fund. James J. Hill, the St. Paul railroad builder and
financier, had promised $50,000 on condition that $200,000 more
be raised by the college. For good measure they raised $235,000,
and. J. Pierpont Morgan, the New York banker, topped it off with
an unsolicited check for $1,000, but the surplus $36,000 was used
in liquidating an indebtedness. PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 138 To close this sketch here would be to leave unsung a just meed of praise to one who deserves all the good things that have been said of him. We refer to Luther's "grand old man," Dr. Laur Larsen, who for forty-one years ruled as its president and who today, having just celebrated his eightieth birthday, enjoys good health and the reverence and esteem of friends and acquaintances whose numbers are legion. Coming to the college as a comparatively young man, he has devoted his life to the training of boys and young men in the Christian virtues that have made their mature years a monument to his untiring labors, his faith, and his every-day example of clean living and love for his fellowmen. In paying this tribute to Dr. Larsen we are not forgetting those who have worked by his side. They too have done their part, but always with the knowledge that Luther College would not have attained to its present high standing had his ability and influence been lacking. As previously stated, when Dr. Larsen retired from the presidency
of the college his duties were placed upon the shoulders of Rev.
C. K. Preus, who was one of Dr. Larsen's "boys" back
in 1873. Under his administration the college has continued to
prosper in all its departments. While the spiritual development
has not been permitted to lag, the demands of business management
have compelled Professor Preus to give much time and attention
to this feature of the work, and he has been eminently successful. During the past eight years the college faculty has been greatly strengthened. ' The best evidence of this lies in the fact that other and larger schools have made overtures to some of its members. As constituted at the present time the faculty is as follows: A. M. Rovelstad, A. M., Latin language and literature. PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS In addition to the public schools of the county, the Norwegian
Lutheran congregations maintain parochial schools. In some of
these the pupils are given PAST AND PRESENT OF WINNESHIEK COUNTY 139 instruction in the common school branches up to the sixth grade, in addition to instruction in religion. Most of the Catholic congregations also maintain schools of a similar nature. Their schools in Decorah, Spillville, Ossian, Calmar and Fort Atkinson are well attended, and the school properties are a credit to their supporters. |
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