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Webster School
Public School No. 4
511
School No. 4 (became Webster in 1909)
1883 FIRST
WATERTOWN HIGH SCHOOL
The 1883 construction of the building, later 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.
06 27 CONTRACT LET. Last week the board of
education entered into a contract with C. Schmutzler
for the erection of the First Ward School building at the sum of $14,500, this
being $100 lower than the bid of J. Trumbull of Whitewater. The bid of W. Quentmeyer,
although lower in price, was not satisfactory to the Board in certain
requirements such as binding the board to advance money for material on the
ground, etc. Mr. Schmutzler
binds himself to have the building under roof and windows in it by December 1,
and fully completed by July 1, next. WR
07 04 GROUND BROKEN
The ground is expected to be broken this week by Mr. Schmutzler for the erection of the new First Ward School
and the work proceeded with as rapidly as possible. WR
c.1890
WATERTOWN HIGH SCHOOL /Public School No. 4 / Became Webster School
S. Fifth St and Western Ave.
Constructed in
1883 as Watertown High School. Became Webster grade school in early 1910’s. Demolished in 1957. Today site of Trinity-St. Luke’s Lutheran
School.
1905
07 26 GROUNDS BEAUTIFIED
The grounds about the First ward school building are being finely
terraced, sodded and beautified. When
the work is completed, the grounds will be exceedingly fine—an inviting spot
for the pupils. WR
c.1905
1910
06 24 GRADUATION
Eighth
Grade Graduating Exercises
c.1911
INTERURBAN TRACKS TURNING OFF OF WESTERN AVE ONTO S. FIFTH
Trolley headed up S. Fifth to Main
Street, then west on Main.
02 02 NEW HEATING PLANT
At a meeting of the
Board of Education Wednesday evening, the committee on buildings and grounds
was instructed to have Downey & Kruse of Milwaukee draw plans and
specifications for installing a new heating and ventilating plant in the
Webster school building. WG
04 20 SCHOOL HEATING PLANS
READY
All interested in the
new heating and ventilating to be placed in the Webster School have now an
opportunity to examine plans at the city clerk's office and any suggestion in
relation thereto may be submitted to the Board of Education within one week from
date.
Dated April 19,
1911 /
Dr. C. R. Feld, Clerk Board of Education. WG
02 06 MOTHERS MEETING AT
WEBSTER SCHOOL
What was considered the
most profitable of all the mothers' meetings yet held at Webster School was
that of Friday night, when in spite of the coldest night of the season,
sixty-five mothers met the teachers to discuss home study. The excellent preparation presented many
phases of the subject, and the large number taking part in the informal
discussion were a delight to all and proved how beneficial and practical in
results these meetings can become. Each
and all carried home food for thought.
The eighth grade girls added to the program by furnishing vocal and
instrumental music and serving the refreshments. WG
1914
01 29 PARENTS MEETING AT
WEBSTER SCHOOL
About
150 parents attended the parents meeting at Webster School last Tuesday
evening, at which luncheon was served by the domestic science pupils of the 8th
grades, the luncheon being prepared by them.
Supt. T. J. Berto gave a short talk on the
purpose of these meetings, Miss Mabel Smith, public librarian, read a paper on
reading for children, Miss Kirchensteiner rendered a
vocal solo and several vocal selections were given by the girls of the 8th
grades. WG
1915
IDA KOOP, PRINCIPAL, WEBSTER SCHOOL
Home of, 709 N Second
1917-18
FOURTH GRADE CLASS
Bernice Krueger teacher
1919
-- -- FIRST GRADE
Florence
Lindemann Justman (1913-2000), 6 ½ years old. Teacher was Miss Elsie Krueger
SIXTH GRADE CLASS
1923-24
SCHOOL YEAR
FIFTH GRADE
c.1925
SCHOOL YEAR
1925-26
SCHOOL YEAR
1932
05 07 POEMS TO MOTHER
Webster
School Pupils Compose Poems To Mother.
Among 6th grade class was the following:
Mother
My
mother is so very dear,
She
gives me things each day and year,
Like
mother there will never be,
Anyone
so dear to me.
1950
Webster School
634 South Twelfth
Street
1950
05 25 SITE READIED FOR NEW WEBSTER SCHOOL (634 S. 12th)
Another
stop in the plans for the new Webster school is being taken at the site of the
new building. The house at S. Twelfth
Street, which the board of education purchased from George Bayer and which it
sold on bids to R. E. Bedford, is being moved from the lot to make room for the
school.
09 30 MAAS BROS. LOW BIDDER
ON NEW WEBSTER SCHOOL
The
new Webster school, on which work is slated to begin this autumn, will cost a
total of $530,857, according to the basic bids filed last night with the board
of education's building committee.
Bids
were opened at a public meeting in the high school library with members of the
board of education, members of the city council, the city manager, city
attorney, various contractors and interested spectators present.
The
low bid for the general contract was entered by Maas
Bros, Construction Co. of Watertown.
The concern's base bid was $416,352.
Maas Bros. also built the new Lincoln school which was dedicated on Jan.
30, 1949, at a total cost of $365,476.
Thus the Webster school will cost $165,381 more than did the Lincoln
school, reflecting the general price rise in materials and construction since
the other school was built.
Last
night’s meeting was opened by A. P. Hinkes, chairman
of the building committee, with Edward Berners, architect, representing the
firm of Foeller, Schober, Berners, Safford and Jahn, Green Bay, opening and
reading the bids. Tabulation sheets had
been distributed to board members before the meeting to keep track of the
figures as they were read.
Following
the reading of the bids the school board went into executive. session. It took no action on any contracts last night
but went into a general discussion and study of the various bids. Roger R. Holtz, superintendent of schools,
said today that the board plans to meet with the city council informally to go
over the bids and general plans
ln
addition to the low bid of the Maas. Bros. Construction there were three other
bidders for the general contract.
These
were three other bidders for the general contract. These were:
Ben Ganther, Oshkosh, $428,352; J. N. Foeller, Green Bay,
$434,060; and William E. Brinkmann, Elmhurst, IL, who recently completed the
new North Second Street bridge here, $446,818.75.
All of
the figures quoted are the base bids.
There were several alternate figures in each bid which would affect the
final price slightly one way or another, depending upon the type of
installation; etc.
The
Otto Biefeld Co., Watertown, entered the only bid for the plumbing, a base bid
of $35,800.
W. B. Njiehoff and Son, Watertown submitted the low bid for
heating and ventilating, $56,000. Other
bidders for this work were:
Otto
Biefeld Co., Watertown, $61,719; Roger B. Gung, Oshkosh, $63,742; Watertown
Machine Co., Watertown, $74,704. All of
the figures are the base bids.
The
Starkweather Co., Fond du Lac, entered the low bid for electrical wiring,
$13,445, plus $4,879 for fixtures. The
only other bidder for this work was the Bakke Electrical Co., Waterford,
wiring, $19,935; fixtures, $5,555, all figures being the base bids.
The
Nicholson Builders Hardware Co., Green Bay, entered a base bid of $4,320 for
finish hardware, while the other bidder, Philip Gross, Milwaukee, bid $4,455.
Additional
Sum Needed
The
total bids exceed the amount of money which has been set up for the new
school. Thus far there is available a
cash fund of $100,000, plus a $400,000 bond issue, making a half million
dollars in all. Based on the total bids
submitted last evening, the additional sum of $30,857 will be required to carry
out the project. In addition to this,
the board of education has invested something like $30,000 in the school site,
which is in the Washington park area.
School
authorities said that construction work and materials will go even higher and
that they consider the figures submitted last night as substantially in keeping
with other costs which have been rising and many of which will continue to
rise.
No
date for completing the school has been specified, but if work gets underway
this autumn, as planned, the building should be ready for occupancy some time
in 1952.
10 21 WHAT’S TO BECOME OF OLD
WEBSTER BLDG?
Sometime
in 1952 Watertown will have a new school — the one replacing the old Webster
school building in Western Avenue.
And
now the question is being asked: What is
to become of the old school?
Is it
to be torn down and the site sold for residential building lots?
Is it
to be maintained as a sort of civic center for local organizations to locate
their headquarters in and meet in?
Is it
to be utilized for vocational school purposes, or what?
All
these questions, and many more, present various possibilities. But at the moment, of course, no one knows
the answers, or if they do, they haven’t spoken up. Anyway, it is something to
think about.
The
present school occupies a good portion of an entire block in what is a
residential section of the city on one of the finest and widest streets, or
avenues, in the community. What is to become of the building and the site? If the building is to be used for various
civic groups and organizations will the city have to add it to its maintenance
costs by providing janitor service, light, heat, etc.? If so, the taxpayers will certainly be
interested. Anyway, the new school will
be a monument to present building standards and give the city one of the finest
grade schools in the state. And it will
be located on a five-acre plot, which gives sufficient grounding area for a
modern school plant.
But
sooner or later the questions concerning the use of the old school will have to
be met and answered. WDTimes, Item in Times Square column
1952
NEW WEBSTER SCHOOL CONSTRUCTED
06 14 All material and physical properties in
the old Webster School building are ready to be moved out, it has been
announced by Roger B. Holtz, superintendent of schools. He informed the Board of Education at its
meeting this week that all such materials have been collected and packed, ready
for moving. He said that St. Henry’s
School, which will occupy the building starting July 1, has already made
arrangements for moving in some of its equipment which it will use while its
new school building program is underway.
Demolishing its old school building will be started by the parish next
week.
1956
OLD
WEBSTER SCHOOL USED BY PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS
Since the
school was replaced by a new Webster School building, the old structure has
been occupied by two of the city's parochial schools while their own new
schools were under construction. Both
St. Henry's Catholic and St. John's Lutheran parishes used it.
No
immediate future use for such purposes is now seen, since St. Mark's Lutheran
congregation now in the process of constructing a new school unit is using its
present school building. And when the
new Douglas School is built by the city there will be no need to use the old
Webster School building. So, for
temporary school purposes, the old building is “out.”
1957
08 24 BIDS
FOR DEMOLISHION WEBSTER SCHOOL
A call
for contractors to bid on the demolition of the old Webster School building in
Western Avenue is expected to be issued in an official city advertisement
shortly, in compliance with a resolution to that effect which the City Council
adopted at its meeting last week.
City
officials hope to get the work underway before winter if possible. The city is retaining ownership of the site
and will probably use it for playground or park purposes, with the eventual use
to be left to the Board of Education should the time ever come when the site
can be utilized for some minor school use.
1957
09 27 DEMOLITION
OF WEBSTER SCHOOL APPROVED
The
"go-ahead" signal from the City Council on the demolition of the old
Webster School building in Western Avenue, and a report from City Manager C. C.
Congdon relative to a survey on bus line operations in state communities are
included in the agenda which the City Council will take up at its meeting next
Tuesday evening. The agenda was being prepared today at the office of the
manager. WDT
10 23 DEMOLISHION
OF OLD WEBSTER SCHOOL BLDG
The
Kreitzer Construction Co. of Watertown is in charge of demolishing the old
Webster School building in Western Avenue which is due to begin shortly. The school was
abandoned in 1952 when a new Webster School was opened in South Twelfth Street. Constructed
in 1883 at a cost of $12,500, the old Webster School served for many years
as a high school and later became an elementary school after the present
Recreation Building was built in Main Street and served as the city's high
school. Since 1952 the old Webster
School was used on a temporary basis by both St. Henry's and St. John's Schools
while individual new schools were being constructed by the respective
congregations. It has also been used in
the summer as a vacation Bible school by the First Baptist Church. WDT
Cross reference note:
In the
1960s/70s location became fenced-in neighborhood park in the 60s/70s . . . .
swings, merry-go-round, slide, basketball court and baseball/kicker diamond.
1958
01 16 NEW CITY HALL PROPOSED for old Webster School site
The site of the old Armory Building, now the Recreation Building, in
Main Street between North Seventh and North Eighth Street, has been proposed as
the most logical location for a new City Hall for Watertown. The recommendation has been proposed by the
architects, Durrant and Bergquist of Boscobel, Wis., and Dubuque, Ia., who some
months ago were delegated by the City Council to study the matter of a solution
to the present overcrowded and largely outmoded City Hall WDT
1959
09 02 MORE ON PROPOSED NEW CITY
HALL
Two sites are under consideration
and available for the construction of Watertown's long-discussed and proposed new city hall—when and if the city
council at last goes ahead and decides to build. That was announced last night following the
regular meeting of the council when City Manager C. C. Congdon presented to the
councilmen the first “layout” for the building.
As yet the council has not authorized a new city hall and it is still in
the planning stage. The information
presented by the manager merely reflects the various department spaces and
facilities that have thus far been proposed for the new building. The two sites which have been made available
are the old armory location in Main Street, now
utilized as the city recreational building, and the old
Webster School site in Western Avenue.
Plans for a new city hall, which have been discussed for years, reached
a point more than a year ago when two miniature models of such a structure were
prepared and studied by the council. WDT
1960
12 22 MORE ON PROPOSED NEW CITY
HALL
Miss Alice Krueger,
Webster School teacher, is the author and director of a skit on the first
kindergarten in America established in Watertown in 1856, which is scheduled to
be presented on WISN-TV, channel 12, Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve, at 6 p.m. Mrs. Robert Liners will portray the role of
Mrs. Carl Schurz in the sketch. Six
Watertown children will also appear in the cast. They are:
Ann Bruce, Storey Hibbard, Kate Bloor, Susan Hines, Melanie Shepard and
Jimmy Schwoch. All are pupils at Webster School. WDT
06 21 NEW FIRE STATION PROPOSED for old Webster School site
The
common council last night set the wheels in motion for
a new fire station, possibly on the old Webster School property in Western
Avenue. At the suggestion of Alderman Herman
Gerth the mayor named a committee to study the issue and report back. The alderman said he was bringing up the
matter to get the issue started in the present council, that it was an old
issue which had been thoroughly explored by the previous administration but
that it never reached a definite conclusion.
He said he thought it was time for the present council to turn its
attention to the problem and that the logical first step would be for a special
committee to “start the ball rolling.”
08 05 OPPOSITION
TO FIRE STATION
A
petition signed by 26 residents of the area opposing plans for the location of
the city’s new fire station on the site of the old Webster School in Western
Avenue was filed with the common council at its meeting last night. WDT
1969
11 22 EXCAVATING FOR ADDITION TO WEBSTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
< scroll through portfolio
1978
12 20 CUB SCOUTS PACK 111 RECEIVED AWARDS
Jim Ostron, Rory Oxford, David Lauer, Paul Roder,
Matt Brummund and Tim Dantuma,
Kurt Wesemann, Cam Quanbeck,
Lohny Seeber, Daniel
Schmidt, Tim Braatz and Robbie Adler, Cubmaster Bill
Conover.
2004
11 05 WEBSTER
STUDENTS AT CAMP MATZ
A
group of students at Webster Elementary School learned more than academics
during a recent overnight camping trip at Watertown's Camp Matz. The camp, located on the grounds of Bethesda Lutheran Homes, was an opportunity for teacher
Pam Vonderohe's fifth-grade students to learn about cooperation and
teamwork. Vonderohe and her 12 pupils
took part in outdoor projects, many including aspects of their American Indian
social studies curriculum. “Part of it
is to do something out of the ordinary with them,” said Vonderohe, who has
taken three classes on the outdoor adventure.
“We get away from the daily grind and enjoy each other’s company away from
school.” WDT
2005
05 08 BRAD
CLARK, RIVERSIDE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Watertown
Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Douglas Keiser is recommending Brad
Clark, Riverside Middle School assistant principal, as the Webster Elementary
School principal. He will succeed Diane
Benner who is retiring. Clark was chosen
out of 45 applicants from throughout the state and country for the position,
according to Keiser. Keiser said only
candidates with administrative experience were looked at because Webster is the
district’s largest elementary school. He
said Clark’s personality and experience working in the district for over 10
years attributed to his recommendation. WDT
Cross
References:
Webster
School, old (Western Ave) Constructed by Christian Schmutzler
Webster
School, old (
Webster
School, old (
Webster
School, old (
History of Watertown,
Wisconsin