Chapter 10
-- Compiled by the Cumberland Women's Club
and Published by the Cumberland Advocate
1874-1974
(used by permission of the Cumberland Advocate)
Donated by Linda Mott
Please
Note: This page is information intense! Please be patient
while some portions are
loading -- it will be worth
your wait! Thank you.
PART TWO
A History of the Cumberland Schools
by Fred Moser
From the time of its earliest settlement, the people of the Cumberland Community showed their regard for education. At the first meeting of the Town of Lakeland in 1876 appropriations were made for carrying on the business of the town, and first on the list was voted $900 as a general school fund. The town board, which was elected at this 1876 meeting, met in April of that year, and its first act was to map out three school districts. School district number two held the territory and included the incorporated Cumberland, together with small adjacent portions of the Towns of Cumberland and Crystal Lake.
The
first annual meeting for this district must have been held later in 1876,
because a school house was built in the winter of 1876-77, and it was ready
for occupancy in the fall of 1877. However, Cumberland had a school of
sorts before this time. Almost from the time of her first arrival on the
island, Mrs. George Hodgkins had taught her
own children and those of
neighbors at regular school
hours in her own home, charging a tuition of one dollar per month.
We know little about the first official Cumberland school house except that it was located "just below the Bonett Bridge", and that it was built of logs, at the south end of the island. The building probably had four windows, and it must have been cold, for a later school meeting appropriated "twelve dollars to bank and mud up the school house."
The annual school meeting of
1878 voted to hold school for eight months-six months in winter and two
months in summer. It also appropriated $250 for the teacher's salary for
the year. Other appropriations were: $25 for maintenance of the school
house, $25 for fuel, $5 for a record book, and $10 for the clerk's services.
No appropriations were made for books or
teaching materials.
The enrollment in the log school house is not known, but it was soon too large for the building. In September, 1880, a special school meeting voted to build a new building "to cost not more than $2000." This building, completed in 1881, was of frame construction, painted white, and had "two departments." It stood at the southwest corner of Grove and Front (later First) Street, where the Stella Cheese plants stands in 1974. The school then had the status of State Graded School, with the pupils divided into eight grades, the lower four in the Primary Department, the upper four in the Upper Department. Enrollment increased so rapidly that a school report for the fall of 1883 shows three departments as follows: Grammar Department, grades 7-8, enrolled 43; Intermediate Department, grades 4-6, enrolled 62; Primary Department, grades 1-2-3, enrollment 130. The "White School House", as it was called, came to include, with later additions, six rooms and housed nearly 300 pupils.
In 1884 Principal Lee began to instruct a few pupils in high school work in addition to his upper grades, and by 1887, three were ready to graduate from a three year course. Mr. Lee was given an assistant for his high school work in 1888, and the next year Cumberland was granted a state charter for a "free high school." A full four year course of study was then adopted. In 1888 six people graduated, but there appears to have been no graduates in 1889 and 1890.
Because the White School House
had outgrown its six rooms by 1890, a new building was constructed just
to the south of the older one. This two-story frame structure is now, in
1974, the Masonic Hall. It then housed high school pupils on the second
floor and the primary department on the ground floor, with the White School
House remaining in use for the other
elementary grades.
At the opening of school in
1899, enrollment had reached 53 in the high school and 301 in the grades.
That year the students published a monthly newspaper, "The
Island City Student", which the Advocate editor complimented for
its "literary merit." In 1899, too, the school board gave Principal
Pease permission to organize a football team. Surprisingly, it won
three of its
four games, including a victory
over New Richmond, which had previously beaten Hudson, River Falls and
Stillwater.
The annual meeting in 1900 voted a budget of $6,730 with a tax levy of $5,250. The school board was authorized to hire a principal at an annual salary of $1000, two "assistants" (high school teachers) at $50 and $60 per month; and seven elementary teachers, two at $45 per month and five at $40 per month. If these salaries now seem low, they were generous by the standards of the time, for a report by the Barron County Superintendent of Schools for 1900 states that the average salary of female teachers was $28.50 per month and of males teachers $42 per month. The same report indicates that in Barron County at this time there were 119 school districts with 146 teachers.
In addition to the tax levy, the school district, in 1900, received state aids of nearly $1000 and county aid of nearly $500. The valuation of the City of Cumberland for tax purposes was $483,000 of which $241,000 was upon real estate, and $242,000 upon personal property. Of the latter, $105,000 was upon logs and lumber.
Also by 1900, discussion was
taking place about the need for a new school building. It had been necessary
to rent space outside of the two existing buildings, and everything was
crowded. The editor of the Advocate called the frame high school building,
only ten years old, "that old rookery." Dispute over the location and size
of the building, however, held up its
construction for another three
years.
In 1901 the high school had two teachers in addition to the principal, and an enrollment of 24 boys and 34 girls. There were 7 teachers and 382 pupils in the elementary grades.
The "Catalogue" of 1901 noted extra curricular activities in one spare sentence: "The students of the high school support a literary society, a school paper, and athletics."
Some of the school rules of this time, which now, in 1974, seem odd were: "Substitute teachers shall be paid $1.50 per day to be deducted from the wages of the regular teacher." "Teachers shall not attend dances during the period of their contract." "Any pupil who is absent three consecutive days without satisfactory excuse shall forfeit his seat in school." A significant rule of the elementary grades: "Discourage the use of slates."
Cumberland people had been
discussing a new building to house all the grades by the time of the annual
meeting in July, 1900, because enrollment had filled the two frame buildings
and spilled over into the Odd Fellow's Hall and a store building. At that
meeting there was general agreement that a new building was needed, and
the school board had in mind a ten room
structure to cost about $15,000.
It was decided to move to a new site, partly because of the lack of ground
space, but more especially because the livery stable which adjoined school
property emitted smells, flies, and a low moral tone. Interestingly enough,
one motion, narrowly defeated, proposed that the new building be built
upon grounds thus proposed and rejected in 1900 were not over 200 years
from those selected for the high school in 1958.
By the time of the 1903 annual
meeting, opinion had settled upon the north Second Street site for the
new building, but by then the enrollment was 531 and it was necessary to
build a larger structure than originally planned. This was to contain 17
rooms and cost $35,000. It was so voted, and building was started at once.
Completed in January, 1904, it was described by the Advocate of that time
as "handsome and commodious"; indeed, "the most elegant
and costly building in this part of the state." This is probably
a fair evaluation. The building was 110 feet by 85 feet, with four usable
stories, exterior of dressed brick with red sandstone trim. It had red
oak interior finish and hard maple floors. It housed all the of the high
school and
elementary grades until 1920.
Best of all, from the students' point of view, it had a gymnasium-auditorium.
Basket ball teams for boys and girls were promptly organized, and each
was able to schedule two games for what remained of the 1903-1904 season.
The boys won both of their games; the girls lost both. So began Cumberland's
proud basketball tradition!
Some comment may be made on the qualifications and the training of teachers at this time. A few high school teachers were college graduates, but more were graduates of the two year state normal schools, such as those at River Falls and Superior. Elementary teachers may have acquired one or two years of training at these normals, or one year at a county normal; but often they had completed only a teacher training course given in high school.
In 1906 the students of the high school published an annual, called "The Islander". It mentions a previous issue of 1905. Also mentioned is the first inter-school debate in 1897. It was with Shell Lake on the question of the popular election of U.S. Senators. It notes also the first league declamatory contest, held at Rice Lake in 1901, in which Ernest Wright won third place with the selection, "Sparticus to the Gladiators."
The Commercial Course was added
to the curriculum in 1911. It at once became popular with the girls, and
it has continued so up to 1974. A four year course in Agriculture was added
in 1912. The annual meeting of 1915 added Manual Training, but rejected
Domestic Science. Both Agriculture and Manual Training became casualties
of the man power shortage during
World War I. Manual Arts was
restored briefly after the war, but was crowded out of the curriculum before
1920, and did not appear again until the new high school building was built
in 1958. Agriculture was restored in 1934 and has remained.
The direction of the school's
growth is shown by the 1915 reports. There had been no increase in enrollment
in the elementary grades, but high school enrollment had grown to 123,
53 of whom were non-residents. The tuition of these pupils was paid by
their town residence at the rate of four dollars per month. Total enrollment
in all grades was 428. The budget for the school year was $15,700 with
a tax levy of $11,300. Principal Schneller now had six "assistants", but
it was noted that he still taught six classes. The principal's salary was
$1600 per year. His six assistants were paid a total of $4,250, the highest
salary of $900 going to the Manual Training Teacher-Coach. Nine elementary
teachers from kindergarten to eighth grade
were paid from $50 to $70
for a total of $4,820. Teaching loads ran from 29 to 42 pupils per teacher
in the grades. Valuation of property in the City of Cumberland was $890,000.
The required subjects in the curriculum in 1915 had not changed greatly since 1900: Four years of English, two years of Mathematics and two years of science. But more History is now required; Ancient History in the tenth grade, Medieval in the eleventh, and United States in the twelfth. Pupils could choose three years of Manual Training (Elementary Woodwork, Cabinet Making, Wood Turning, Advanced Theory and Shop); four years of Agriculture; or three years of Commercial work (Bookkeeping, Typing, Shorthand, Commercial Law.) Latin had been dropped, but two years of German remained an elective.
The war years brought an actual
loss in enrollment, particularly in the high school which declined from
157 in 1916 to 122 in 1917. Need for workers on farms and attractive wages
elsewhere were blamed for the loss, but the high cost of living was thought
to have something to do with it also. The course in Agriculture was dropped
for lack of enrollment. German
disappeared, presumably for
lack of enrollment also, but more likely a victim of the anti-German feeling
aroused by the war.
An appraisal of all school property made in 1918 showed the insurable value of buildings and equipment to be $85,000. The war time man power shortage had raised teachers' salaries considerably. The range of high school teachers' salaries was $770 to $1060; elementary teachers' was $580 to $675; but the principal was still paid $1600 per year.
The sharp rise in costs was noted in the following year. In 1919 elementary teachers were paid $810, and the high school teachers ranged from $990 to $1200. Even the principal had an increase to $1800. The Advocate noted editorially that it cost $1600 per month to run the school, and suggested that "this town is too small to keep up with Lizzie in everything."
During the 1920-21 school year
there was considerable discussion about the need for a new school building.
But there was also need for a sewer system, and, in the spring election,
the voters went for the sewers two to one. That year enrollment passed
500, and pressure on the 1903 building became too great. A frame building
was built across Second Street to house
grades 1, 2, and 3. This later
became the American Legion barracks. The move allowed space for three more
high school classrooms. The school newspaper announced that now "every
student had a whole seat to himself."
In the school year 1923-24 enrollments approached 600 pupils of which nearly 200 were in high school, and the need for a new building could no longer be denied. The vote for the $100,000 structure was overwhelming, and work on it was begun early in 1924. It was ready for use in February 1925.
The remainder of the 1920s were good years for the school. The new building gave adequate space for the high school as well as for the primary grades which returned from the barracks. The teaching staff was a good one, with improved qualifications. It was young: In 1926 the nine high school teachers had an average total experience of four years and a local experience of less than two years, while the eleven elementary teachers had an average of six years of experience, four years of it local.
The curriculum of the 20s was less rigid than that of earlier years. There was a greater variety of student activities. A school annual called Tamakwa (Chippewa for beaver) lasted two years. It was superceded by the school paper, the Beaver Booster which has been published continuously from 1920 to 1974. In 1926, Cumberland won the state championship in debate. Also in 1926, special music instruction was offered in the elementary grades, and vocal music was established permanently in the high school. Entering its first music contest at River Falls in 1926, the girls' glee club was judged best in a field of ten. A home room system, with guidance functions, was organized. In 1928 the seventh and eighth grades were departmentalized with three teachers to form the basis for a junior high school. In that year Cumberland won the state championship in dramatics with a one act play, The Undercurrent. In 1930 the school band was organized and proceeded to win first place in Class B at the River Falls contest. By the end of the decade, high school enrollment had reached 250.
In the early 1930s the depression descended upon the land, and the call for reduction of public expenditures came to the school. In 1932 the budget was reduced, cutting all expenditures, including salaries, about 10%. In March 1933, the "bank holiday" tied up the school funds, taxes were delinquent, and towns could not pay the tuition on their high school students. For more than three months the teachers received no pay at all. Expenditures took a further slash in 1933. Teachers' salaries were cut an average of 25% in addition to the reduction the previous year. This meant that a teacher receiving a top salary of $1600 in 1931, would be paid $1080 in 1933. Beginning teachers were contracted for $80 a month, about the same level as was prevalent before 1920. Low as these seem, salaries in many schools were much lower. General unemployment made teaching attractive at any price; there was a large surplus of teachers, and some schools went right to the state minimum salary of $65 per month.
Nor was the depression an easy time for pupils. School activities were difficult to finance. For two years, 1932-1934, the Beaver Booster was run off on the school mimeograph to save money. Its subscription price was twenty-five cents for the year, but many could not subscribe. The Junior Class had a series of candy sales to finance its activities. At one it made a profit of 88 cents; at another $1.24. The band, which had been clothed in home made uniforms, managed to get together $650 for its first uniform jackets in 1937. Band trousers did not come until 1941.
Even in the depression the schools made progress, especially in areas where federal financial aids were available. High school enrollment increased all through the 30s, exceeding 300 for the first time in 1933, and reaching 380 in 1940. The Agriculture course was reinstated in 1934, and the following year Home Economics made its first appearance. Music became a part of the regular school curriculum with school credit for participation. The new athletic field adjoining the school grounds was made filling in a large swampy area. Begun as a Works Progress Administration project in 1933 to provide work for the unemployed, it progressed slowly, but by 1937 a football field had been completed, and even equipped with lights for night games. This first lighting system consisted of eight wooden poles with three 1500 watt bulbs on each pole. Twilight though it was, this lighted field increased attendance at games and saved considerable school time. The better lighting system with the steel towers came in 1950.
In 1938 the basket ball team
won the Heart O The North championship, district and regional titles, and
went to the state tournament where it won one game and lost two. By that
year, Cumberland had won the Namekagon League speech contests eight years
in succession. The school anthem, "Hail to thee, oh Cumberland", appeared
in the Booster of February, 1933. (Its
companion, the pep song, "Oh
Cumberland", forms the theme of the 1948 school annual. The annual
itself first appeared in 1945. Called the Beofor
(Anglo-Saxon for beaver) it has been published each year since.)
School transportation had begun
for non-resident high school pupils by 1937. Since there was no legal provision
for a school district to pay for transportation of non-residents, busing
started as a private enterprise with pupils paying their own bus fares.
In 1939, the annual meeting voted to subsidize bus owners for part of the
costs, and by 1951 a major portion of this
expense had been shifted to
the counties, along with the non-resident high school tuition. Schools
were now permitted to charge to tuition the full cost of educating, including
a building cost, and by 1950 this item of school revenue had reached $40,000
per year.
In 1940 the shop at the rear of the 1903 building was built through the National Youth Administration as a project to give employment to unemployed youth. This building became an elementary classroom in 1973. Its original cost was about $10,000.
Teachers' salaries continued low throughout the 30s, but improvement in teachers' qualifications continued. By 1940 half of the elementary teachers, and all of the high school teachers had bachelor's degrees, and two of the latter had master's degrees.
World War II problems succeeded those of the depression in the years 1941-45 and for some years to follow. Teachers were scarce because of enlistment in the armed forces and also because of greater opportunities in business and industry. The same factors caused a reduction in high school enrollment, which went from 380 in 1940 to 277 in 1945. Elementary enrollment remained stable, but was later increased by the influx of pupils from rural schools which were closing.
The school budget in 1947-48 passed $100,000 for the first time; but it did not take long to reach $200,000, which it did in 1954-55. At that time the Cumberland teachers averaged 12 years of experience, 7 of it in the local school. Seven of the 15 high school teachers now had master's degrees.
Enrollments were again increasing due to the "baby boom" following the high birthrate of the post-war years; and, combined with the modernization of the curriculum, this created building needs which had been dammed up for fifteen years by depression and shortages. A district valuation of less than $6,000,000 with its consequent low limitations on borrowing, prevented a full scale building program in the early 50s. However, in 1953 a six room addition was built, at a cost of $110,000, connecting the three older buildings. This made it possible to move all of the elementary grades out of the 1924 building and to make less use of the 1903 building, allowing more space for high school classrooms. It also made space available for a school lunch program, which had been a long felt need.
The period since 1953 has been
a period of consolidation and growth, accompanied by broadening and enrichment
of the curriculum. The school district of 1974 was formed, in a period
of about ten years, from all, or parts, of 24 former school districts in
addition to the original Cumberland district. The district is now 187 square
miles in area and in 1973 had an
equalized valuation of nearly
$48 million. It extends into Polk and Burnett Counties and covers all or
parts of ten townships.
Several factors brought about this consolidation: The decline in rural population and high costs of school operation during the 40s and 50s made the cost per pupil in rural schools very high. Better roads and better transportation made it easier to bus children to town. There was also the general realization, that, in the modern complex world, children needed more than the rural school could offer. Reluctant though many rural people were to give up the traditional schools, which were also community centers, the transition was orderly and achieved in Cumberland area with a minimum of quarreling.
Legislature required that all territory be included in some high school district and this district reorganization was completed by 1964. At that time the enrollment of the school was 1543; of which 449 was in high school and 1094 in the elementary grades. At first it was necessary to operate several of the rural schools under the general administration of the new large district. These schools were gradually phased out as it became possible to handle the children in town. The last school to close was the Section Ten School in 1973.
In 1958, the voters, almost without opposition, approved a new high school building to cost $850,000. It was on a new 52 acre site not far from that proposed in 1900. This building, occupied in 1959, had a planned student capacity of 475, a total floor area of 63,000 square feet, a 100 x 100 gymnasium and 22 teaching stations.
In 1965 a junior high school wing was added to the new high school building, and an addition was made to the 1924 building which had now been remodeled for use by elementary grades. It was now possible to abandon the 1903 building, and it was torn down in 1965. Cost of the two additions and of razing the old building was something over a half million dollars.
The school has become a big business. In 1973 it had 123 employees. Of these, 77 were teachers and administrators, the remainder included bus drivers, cooks, maintenance men, and secretaries. Transportation and food service are large enterprises in themselves. For example, during the 1972-73 school year, 1124 pupils were transported to school for a total mileage of 218,500 and at a cost of $120,000.
There exists today a complete
list of the graduates of the Cumberland High School from 1887 to 1973.
It numbers just over 4000. In 1948, when the list of graduates had passed
the 2000 mark, the Beofor of that year made the following statement: Its
rhetoric may seem somewhat overblown for the cynical 1970s, and some of
the statements may no longer be true, but with
only the numbers altered,
it reflects the philosophy which has guided the Cumberland Schools for
nearly a century: "Looking over the list of graduates
for all of these years, one is impressed by the quality of the people represented
there. To be sure, one sees the names of no millionaires, no congressmen,
no great military leaders, no great names in the arts, letters, or
sciences.
On the other hand, one finds no criminals, no paupers, no degenerates.
What one does find is a cross section of the best quarter of American citizenship.
Most of these people have made use of the great opportunities which our
country offers to earn a good livelihood in useful, constructive work.
They are interested in maintaining good homes, good schools, and
good
communities. Many have offered their services to our country in one or
more of our wars-- over 300 in World War II. Most of them have developed
individual talents in pursuing worthwhile leisure time activities. Most
are able to think for themselves, to exercise initiative, to accept responsibility,
and to choose competent leaders. They have shown their good will in substantial
ways to less fortunate people at home and abroad. Nearly all have accepted
the responsibilities as well as the privileges of citizenship and have
been loyal to the basic values of democracy and Americanism. The extent
to which these four thousand have accepted these responsibilities is the
measure of the success of the Cumberland Community Schools."
Thanks for stopping by!
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
to