Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Stanislaus, Raycher, Niehaus, Pachan, Sherman, Hogue, Ruether, Lindner, Hartung
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 4/28/2021
Greenwood-St. Mary’s Catholic School (To Close - 2021)
St. Mary’s Catholic School to Close
School has 100-plus year history
St. Mary’s Catholic School in Greenwood will close at the end of this school year.
Declining enrollment in recent years and having only a few students registered for
next year led to the decision. Valorie Brooke/Clark County Press
By Valorie Brecht
More than 1,480 students have attended St. Mary’s Catholic School in Greenwood in the 108 years since its inception. However, its chapter in the community’s history is drawing to a close.
St. Mary’s School will close at the end of this school year. Founded in 1913, the school’s attendance has dwindled in recent years. In 2017, when Father Leo Johnson Stanislaus first came to the area, there were 27 students. Fast forward to 2020, and there were only 12 students and three teachers. The pastoral and finance council met in June to discuss the situation.
“We still decided to go with one more year because we needed time,” said Johnson Stanislaus.
After the 2020-21 school year started, on family moved, which lowered the number of students even more. There ended up being seven students and two teachers. Four of those students are in sixth grade, so they will graduate out of St. Mary’s. That would leave only three students for next year.
Also, Jeannine Raycher, who taught at St. Mary’s for 35 years and served as the principal, passed away in November. Jane Niehaus agreed to teach in her place, but just for one year.
“With the three students and without a principal [for next year]… we had kind of a tough time. We started to announce in the church and started to put it in the bulletin from last November actually, that if somebody is going to register for next year, [to let us know]. We gave time for the Catholic people and everybody,” said Johnson Stanislaus.
However, there weren’t any takers. On Feb. 18, Johnson Stanislaus, parents, teachers and church members met with the superintendent of Wisconsin Catholic Schools, and officially made the decision to close the school. The church had to receive approval from the Diocese of La Crosse for the closure, which it did in the form of a letter the bishop sent to the church on March 31. Church members were notified in the bulletin April 11.
Johnson said that although it is hard to accept, the closure was inevitable because of the lack of students. Also, for the past two years the school hasn’t had any incoming first-graders.
“Everybody wanted to keep the school open, but where do we find the children?” said Johnson Stanislaus. “We can’t run a school with the three students [and] with the two teachers getting a salary; it’s very hard.”
He said that although the school will close, the church intends to maintain the school building and use it for Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) classes, fundraisers and other church activities. Church members plan to keep the kitchen in good condition to use for the annual turkey dinner, meals after funerals and other events. Johnson Stanislaus said the church is also open to allowing community groups to use the space for meetings or activities.
“It will not be given for rent or anything, but still we are open to help [the] community…, It’s our pleasure to help the community,” he said.
There has also been discussion on the city purchasing the lot behind the school where the yard and playground are now, and building a new public library there. But that idea is still in the preliminary discussion phase.
The books and materials from the school will likely be donated to the local library or area schools.
Johnson Stanislaus said the diocese would be willing to reopen the school in the future if there were at least 12 students and the parish could find teachers to teach.
The school’s closing comes with feelings of sadness for those who’ve been a part of the school, especially for many years..
“I will miss the kids,” said teacher Holly Pachan. “These kids are my kids and I tell them that. We are family and there’s just no other feeling like that.”
Pachan has taught at the school for about 21 years, and retire at the end of this year. In her time, the school averaged about 16 to 30 kids each year. She said the small numbers have allowed the school to be more family-oriented. Also, with having two or three grades taught by the same teacher, the students get to hear the lesson again, which reinforces concepts they might not have quite grasped the first time around.
“I get familiar with the kids and expect more from them,” said Pachan.
“I believe it’s a fantastic place to be—I still hear from former students,” she added.
History
St. Mary’ School opened in September 1913 with 46 students attending. The original school building was a former boarding house and was purchased from the Hendrickson family in 1912.
“The house was remodeled and made into two classrooms plus living quarters for the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration who came from La Crosse to start the school,” a brief history from the 1988 church directory states.
Sister Wilhelmina as the first supervisor and taught fifth through eighth grade. Sister Imeldas taught the first four grades and sister Cortelia was the housekeeper. The first graduating class included Mabel Sherman, Edna Hogue, Joseph Ruether and John and Casper Lindner.
Students were not bussed at that time, so students would either have to walk in from the country or stay in town with nearby families. Many students worked for room and board. Students often only attended a few years of school or just religion classes. Students were also expected to pile wood for the fire and clean the schoolrooms, often scrubbing the wooden floors on their hands and knees.
Due to increased enrollment, the school purchased Joseph Hecker’s old house and had it moved onto the school property in 1945. After extensive remodeling, the building was open to students and it housed the third, fourth and fifth grades from 1945 to 1951.
Pastor Edward Hartung was assigned to St. Mary’s in April 1951, he led the project of having a new facility constructed.
“The basement provided excellent kitchen and dining facilities and also served as our place of worship until the construction of the new church was completed in December 1957,” the history from the church directory read.
In February 1952, 103 students moved from the old school into the new one. Over the next two decades, the school’s enrollment was anywhere from 120 to 200 students. There were eight grades and four teaching nuns plus a housekeeper nun.
Around 1973, the Franciscan Sisters had to withdraw from the school due toa personnel shortage. The parish hired lay faculty members at that time and discontinued offering seventh and eighth-grade education. Since then, St. Mary’s suffered from declining enrollment.
“While many other rural parochial schools have closed, it has been because of the dedication and faith of the people of St. Mary’s Parish that our school continues to provide quality education and spiritual guidance for our young people,” the directory stated.
The directory article also acknowledged that many individuals who dedicated their time and finances to continuing to make the school a success, such as men of the parish who helped with building repairs, parents who supported the school through the Home and School Association, the Holy Name Society for raising funds through the annual turkey dinner, and the St. Ann’s Society, for hosting harvest sales, thrift shops and dinners to raise funds for the school. The article also extended appreciation to the pastors and teachers who faithfully served the school.
Plans are being made for an open house in June for people to look at old photos of the school and reminisce on their time there.
