“Play Day” at the Cooksville School” by Larry Reed

Cooksville School children

In the 1940s—and earlier and for years afterward— the eight rural one-room school houses of the Town of Porter (the ninth schoolhouse, the Stebbinsville Schoolhouse, had burned down in 1942), celebrated the end of the school year in late spring with a special event. They joined together for a combined and competitive “Play Day” on the Public Square in the Village of Cooksville.

Greg Armstrong recently recalled his school-days in Cooksville, especially the excitement of “Play Day”:

 “I attended the Cooksville School for 8 years starting in the fall of 1949.  During the ensuing 8 years, there were several special events each year that were exceptional and outside of the ordinary three R’s, including the Lutefisk Dinner (we all walked up the street to the Lutheran Church at lunch time). And there was the Christmas Program held in the evening at the school several days before Christmas, and there were annual field trips, on a bus, usually to Chicago or Milwaukee.  (I could regale you with the experience of touring the Armour Star slaughter house in Chicago when I was maybe 7 or 8 years old sometime if you wish—memorable!)

Cooksville School Class of 1944-45

“But by far the most important of the annual special events was Play Day.  The kids at Cooksville School thought about and practiced for Play Day all year long, especially for the softball game. 

“Play Day was held late in the spring a week or so before school let out for the summer.  All of the one-room school houses in Porter Township came to the Public Square next to the Cooksville School for an annual set of competitions.  Softball was by far (at least in my mind) the most important of them, but there was also pitching horse shoes, running races, and bean bag toss for the younger kids. I’m sure I am not remembering all of the events.  Parents of the kids from the one-room schools organized and refereed these events.  It seemed to me they always knew what they were doing, probably because they went to one of the schools when they were a kid.  Cooksville School was always a bit of a power-house as I remember it.  This was probably because we had more students (therefore more athletic talent to choose from).  I also remember the Lienau School, Forest Academy and Wilder School were pretty stiff competition and beat us some times. It could well be that students from those other schools might have a different recollection of Cooksville School’s competitiveness.  The whole affair took most of a Saturday.

“One of the other things I remember vividly was that my father, Miles Armstrong, who operated the Cooksville Store, was asked to set up a concession stand under those huge bur oak trees on the Square. There were four big oaks that essentially made a square, and dad would rig up some long “deacon’s benches” so they enclosed the square amongst the trees at about 2 feet off the ground to make a counter over which to do business.  Inside the square of benches dad set up a couple card tables on which he had boxes of candy bars, gum, licorice sticks and other delights.  We had, I think, four big galvanized wash-tubs in which he put blocks of ice and lots of pop.  So from within the square dad and some helpers sold pop and candy all day long.  If my memory serves well here, I think a candy bar was a nickel and a bottle of pop a dime.  My sister Jean remembers crawling around on the ground, under where money had changed hands earlier in the day, looking for pennies, nickels and dimes that had been dropped.  No wonder she was richer than me.

“What an exciting day it was, every time.  After it was over, we were psychologically exhausted from the stresses of competition.  I don’t remember being physically tired at that age.  When school opened again the next fall, we immediately started practicing for the next play day.   

“The schools that attended the Porter Township play day in Cooksville were: Cooksville, Lienau, Forest Academy, Eagle, Miller, Stevens, White Star, and Wilder.”

An annual county-wide Rock County Play Day was held in Janesville in early summer at the fairgrounds, where the winners of competitions from all the townships’ one-room schools went to compete with each other.

Greg remembered that “one year LeRoy Furseth and I were the Rock County champions in horse shoes.”

Greg Armstrong, now living in Madison and the retired Director of the University of Wisconsin Arboretum, concluded his fond remembrance of his Play Day experiences: “As they used to say in that august newspaper, the Cooksville News: A good time was had by all.” 

Cooksville Schoolhouse circa 1920

The early 1960s school consolidation would, of course, eliminate one-room rural schoolhouses, thus ending that special and memorable event of “Play Day” in rural Porter Township.  Seven of  Porter’s nine schoolhouse buildings have found other uses and still stand.

In the face of the consolidation, concerned citizens of the Village of Cooksville gathered together in 1962 to preserve the old Cooksville school building and the part it played in the community’s history. The local school district authorized the sale of the school property to the community on July 23, 1962, for the appraised price of $2,150. The group formed the Cooksville Community Center, Inc., which was incorporated on August 22, 1962, as an organization “without stock and not for profit” with one class of memberships titled “Voting Member.” 

Thus, the Cooksville Schoolhouse began its new life as a center for community activities, including various programs, presentations, meetings  and social events. The Cooksville Community Center also made the schoolhouse available for rent for private events.

And in 1980 the Cooksville Schoolhouse was included in the Village of Cooksville Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places as an important part of Cooksville’s heritage.

Cooksville school class in hats, circa 1900

To complete the histories of all the Town of Porter’s school houses, it would be helpful to have more complete information about all nine schools—dates of construction, special events, memorable teachers, interesting accomplishments, outstanding students, popular pranksters, as well as other fond memories.  Feel free to share them with Larry Reed in Cooksville at 12035 W. State Road 59, Evansville, WI 53536, telephone (608) 873-5066, hopefully in writing for deposit in his Cooksville Archives.

[Thanks to Greg Armstrong for sharing his Play Day memories.]

Jim Naysmith's 80th Birthday

James Standley Naysmith

Neighbors and relatives of Jim helped him celebrate the big 80 on Saturday, March 1 with a lovely lunch, a birthday concert given by Diane and Rebecca Mackie, and presents to open, as well as 2 kinds of birthday cake. 

Jim was born on March 3, 1934.  His father was Stanley Rayne Naysmith, and his mother was Helen Rose Hansen Naysmith. Jim graduated in architecture from University of Illinois in 1959. He was employed at architectural firms in Madison, WI and Chicago. Jim was married in December, 1961; one son was born Oct. 10, 1963.

Jim has lived in the Benjamin Hoxie House and then in the Thomas Morgan House in Cooksville, where he presently resides. He was a talented artist as well as an architect in his day.

 

His mother, Helen, was a popular teacher in Cooksville and in the Town of Porter, and was a Cooksville historian; his aunt Dorothy Kramer was a Cooksville pottery-maker, weaver and teacher.

 

Old School Houses of the Town of Porter by Larry Reed

The Town of Porter once had nine rural one-room schools in operation, full of kids. Now there are none.

These nine 19^th -century schoolhouses were scattered around the township on land usually donated by the farmer-owner—four in the north, two in the center, three in the south— all serving the growing population of this northwestern Rock County township for over a hundred years.

The nine schools included: Cooksville, Eagle, Forest Academy, Lineau, Miller, Stebbinsville, Stevens, White Star, and Wilder schools.  Of these, seven remain standing: Stebbinsville School burned down in 1942 and White Star School was demolished.

Several began life as log buildings in the 1840s-50s, later replaced by wooden frame structures or brick buildings. A few old photographs exist, but historical records of the schools, for the most part, seem to have disappeared.

Forest Academy Schoolhouse today

A few anecdotes survive. The Forest Academy School began life as the Ball Tavern School built c.1865 near the cemetery on Tolles Road and was moved to Wilder Road in 1879 and renamed Forest Academy because of the surrounding trees. This early structure was destroyed by fire in 1932, when the present school was built; electricity arrived in 1941.

Eagle Schoolhouse today

The present Eagle School was built in 1868 and got its name from the hand-carved eagle over the doorway.

 Wilder Schoolhouse, now Porter Town Hall

The Wilder School began life as a log structure; the present brick school was purchased by the Town of Porter to serve as its Town Hall in 1962.

The Cooksville School began early life as a log structure in the 1840s, replaced by a brick building on the Public Square about 1850. But because of structural problems and its small size, it was replaced in 1886 by the present wooden frame building, with two entry doors, one for boys and one for girls.

Salaries for school teachers at most schools began at $2.00 per week for a school term of five months and increased in the 1860s to about $30 a month with board for the “one who wields the ruler.”  In the 1860s and 1870s wages varied from about $30 a month for the four-month summer term to about $50 a month for the four-month winter term.  Teachers came and went, moved on, got married—or maybe found better-paying jobs. In Cooksville, records indicate a different teacher was hired for almost every term from the 1850s to the 1890s.

The population of Porter Township had grown to 1165 by 1855. (It is presently about 925.) School enrollments varied from about 30 to 60 or more students. Cooksville’s school had 65 pupils in 1870, 68 in 1871, and 46 in 1882. A photograph of the old brick Cooksville Schoolhouse ca.1880 shows about 55 pupils posed in front; a ca.1890 photo has 34 students all dressed up and all wearing hats posed in front of the new1886 Cooksville Schoolhouse; a 1901 photograph has 28 students; and a ca.1924 photo shows 32 in attendance at Cooksville.  A 1905 photograph of the Wilder School depicts 28 students with their teacher. By the 1950s, records indicate school enrollments varied from 19 to 28 students in each of the eight existing schools.

One student, Gordon Stearns, who attended Lineau School beginning in 1947, and became a teacher himself, wrote: “I’m still amazed at how they (teachers) could plan for 8 grades of reading, arithmetic, social studies, grammar, penmanship, art, music, history, etc., each day while making room for a Xmas program, a Mother’s Day program, a Turkey Day program, a yard “clean-up” day in the fall, and the ongoing quest to win a trophy for “play day” each spring against the other Porter schools…oh, and prepare, each month, for a mother’s club meeting.”

But in 1961, the one-room rural schools ceased their existence. The school districts were consolidated into fewer, larger districts that contained higher-level high schools. The Town of Porter students went to grade schools in Stoughton, Edgerton and Evansville, ending the 120-year history of Porter’s rural one-room schools.  

Cooksville Schoolhouse with Wisconsin Historical Marker

Most of the old schools were converted to residences at the time. But the Cooksville School became the Cooksville Community Center in 1962, preserved and owned by community members and used for social and entertainment purposes, and the Wilder School became the Porter Town Hall on Wilder Road.

The history of Cooksville’s school has been well-documented, and the schoolhouse has always served an important community function, including its first role in children’s education.  But it also housed church services before a church was built in the village, with Thomas Morgan bringing his little melodeon across the street from his house for the musical portions of Sunday services. The school also was the scene of many social functions and the venue for many types of entertainments, theatricals, debates and other public gatherings in the village in the 19^th and 20^th and on into the 21^st centuries

Mostly, the old Cooksville School served as a schoolhouse, of course. One very special event at the school— fondly remembered— was “Play Day.”

(To be continued: “Play Day at the Cooksville School”)

[Thanks to Gordon Stearns for sharing his school-days memory.]

Winter Olympics for Cooksville

The kids in the village would like to have an Olympic day so we decided that Feb. 16 (Sunday) at 2:00 p.m.  in the park we would give it a try weather permitting.  The events will be as follows:

1.  Dog sled race (people taking the place of the dogs) bring your own sled.

2.  Kick Sled Time Races (Norwegian Kick Sled will be provided)

3.  Tug of War (rope will be provided)

4.  Fort Building Contest

Dress warm - all area kids and families are invited

Call Jeanne for information (882-0505)

"Cooksville’s Historic Waucoma Cemetery," by Larry Reed

Cooksville Cemetery Gravestone

The Village of Cooksville’s cemetery, historically and officially named “Waucoma Cemetery,” is known as the Cooksville Cemetery these days. This cemetery replaced the village’s earliest 1840s burying ground that was located somewhere behind the Cooksville General Store on the village’s western edge. The first burial there was about 1848, according to information in the Cooksville Archives. By then, Cooksville—first settled in 1840 and “expanded” in 1846 by its next-door neighbor, the Village of Waucoma— had apparently experienced its first deaths after being established by the Cook and Porter families.

On November 11, 1861, Cooksville’s new official cemetery—Waucoma Cemetery— was established when 2.5 acres of land were purchased from the neighboring Village of Waucoma’s founder Dr. John Porter for $25. The location was directly south of old Wisconsin and South streets (now Church Street), at the southeastern corner of Waucoma. The new Waucoma Cemetery Association was soon formally established, and this first formal cemetery began serving the greater Cooksville area.

Cooksville Cemetery Gravestone

Apparently, some memorial grave markers and perhaps burial remains may have been moved from the first burying ground to the new Waucoma Cemetery. An early death date on a stone in the new 1861 cemetery is listed as 1846. However, Cora Atwood, a Cooksville historian in the mid-twentieth century, relates that a village resident’s grandmother told her that there were only a few burials in that first burying ground with no stones on its graves and with no remains moved to the new cemetery.

Within a year or so, a board fence was erected around the new Waucoma Cemetery and trees were planted, with money from “cemetery subscriptions.”

After the Civil War, about 1865, an earthen memorial mound was constructed in the southern area of the cemetery to commemorate those men from the community who had died in the war and were buried in the south. A wooden marker with their names painted on was erected on the mound. Apparently, about 12 names were on the marker, but the marker was lost over time. Only four names of those men have been discovered: Perry Brooks, John Shurrum, Ira Sturtevant, and James Melvin Van Vleck. Later, a modern flag pole was erected on the grassy mound.

Between 1868 and 1881, cemetery records indicate a total twenty additional burial lots (each lot contained five burial plots) were purchased for $7, some for $10.

Improvements were made to Waucoma Cemetery over the years. Steps were added to climb over the protective fence, and in the 1870s, a small gate was added, with corner stones placed to delineate the cemetery blocks and more trees planted. About 1882-83, at least portions of the “old dilapidated board” fence were replaced with a wire fence. Later, larger gates were installed.  In addition, the Association decided to restrict the haphazard planting of trees and shrubs.

 In 1897, the Norwegian Lutheran Church was built to the west of the cemetery, to replace the 1892 church destroyed by fire when struck by lightning. Now named the Cooksville Lutheran Church, it never had any official relationship to the nearby cemetery.

In 1945-1946, an effort was begun by the Waucoma Cemetery Association to create a record of all the old burials and the inscriptions on the markers, with an alphabetical listing of all those buried there.  Burials in the southern part of the cemetery were found to have been irregularly placed and unlisted in any records; some graves there had markers, some did not, and some were only marked by “Mother” or “Grandmother.” And there were a number of fallen and broken stones in that area.  The research work was carried out by Cora Atwood and Fritz Hanson, and a new cemetery record book was donated by Frank Viney, Secretary and Treasurer of the Association, in memory of his son, Lieutenant Earl Viney. (The original book from 1861-1868 was lost and the existing book was reported “in poor condition.”) Officers and board members at that time were: Hans Haakenson, Edson Brown, Ole Haakeson, John Furseth, Jo Porter, Frank Viney, and Cora Atwood.

The cemetery was expanded to the west in 1947 with about 1.4 acres of land acquired south of the Lutheran Church. A new plat map of the cemetery was completed in 1952, with the old 1868 map redrawn. The new map included the original land purchased in 1861 (blocks 1 to 26) and the land purchased in 1947 (blocks 27 to 32). This map also indicated the haphazard burials in the southern-most block 26, which contained 56 burials that could be identified by name.

The Cooksville Cemetery Sign

 In 1999, the cemetery was expanded again with the purchase of two acres of farmland to the east.  In 2000, a metal “Cooksville Cemetery” sign was erected at the front of the cemetery, designed by Larry Reed, funded by Reed, James Danky and Christine Schelshorn, and fabricated by Bill Howard of Stoughton. (The old fence and other identifying signage, if any, were long gone.)

In the 21^st century, Waucoma Cemetery became more generally known as the “Cooksville Cemetery.”  The name “Waucoma” had began to fade from community usage. However, the original name of “Waucoma” remains the legal name for the cemetery, as well as for Porter’s village established to the east of the Cook brothers’ smaller village.

The cemetery is now part of the Cooksville Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, which includes most of the two mid-19^th century villages.

St. Michael's Cemetery, Caledonia Road

Other cemeteries located in Porter Township include Ball Tavern Cemetery, Fulton Cemetery, St. Michael's Cemetery, Wheeler Cemetery, and several family grave sites: Gibbs Burials, Richardson Burials, and Bragg Burials.

Many of Cooksville’s early settlers and Porter pioneers, some born in the 18^th century, lie at rest in the old Waucoma Cemetery beneath their weathered marble headstones and granite memorials. They remain a part of the community’s history and have been joined in the shade of old pine trees by their many descendents, as well as by new residents of the community, and by others who wanted a quiet resting place. They represent several centuries of birth—the 18^th, 19^th, and 20^th centuries—and, soon, the 21^st century. About a thousand are at rest there now.

Of course, there is always room for more. Contact John Julseth (608) 698-6916 or Larry McDonnell (608) 873-5483 or (608) 302-8766 for information about the Cooksville Cemetery.

"The Historic Stebbins House: R.I.P.", by Larry Reed

Stebbins House “Windermere” circa 1890

 

The historic Stebbins House, a mile east of Cooksville, was demolished by the owner on November 27, 2013.  The1850 limestone Federal-Greek Revival style farmhouse was an important part of the “Historic Resources of the Cooksville Area” listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

The elegant and impressive farmhouse was significant both for its architectural value and for its role in the history of the Town of Porter with its association with Harrison Stebbins, a prominent early settler in the 1840s.

Stebbins House, 1850-2013

For a number of months, the Historic Cooksville Trust had been working with the owner who wanted to remove the house from his property. The Trust undertook an effort to find a new owner and a new location for the historic house. Several potential new owners and new locations were identified.

In early November 2013 a very interested person agreed to accept the house and move it to a new location. The new site required the house to be moved across either one of two bridges over the Badfish Creek enroute to its new location, and, unfortunately, it was determined by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation that neither of the bridges could support the weight of the heavy stone house. That meant a new prospective owner and a new site were needed.

Another plan was then quickly developed by the Historic Cooksville Trust to save the house by moving it to a different location, without any bridges to cross, under new ownership. But the owner decided he could not wait another week or two and was determined to demolish the house immediately, before winter, so that “the hole could be filled in and grass planted before winter.”

The plan—and hope— to relocate the house and preserve it for future generations as part of Wisconsin’s and the Town of Porter’s heritage was not to be realized. The house was demolished.

The lesson is—and it is a not a new one— that it takes patience, perseverance and persistence, as well as a sense of the importance of our heritage and a commitment to preserving it, when historic buildings are threatened with destruction.

Once gone, they are gone forever.

The Stebbins House: R.I.P. And, as some say, “Rest In Pieces.”

 

            [For more information on historic preservation and the Historic Cooksville Trust, contact Larry Reed (608) 873-5066.)

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Stoughton Chamber Singers Concert, Sunday, December 8, 2013

 

The Stoughton Chamber Singers and the Bel Canto Strings under the direction of John Beutel will present their annual Victorian Holiday Concert titled "Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind" on Sunday, December 8, at 2:00 PM in the Stoughton Opera House.

 

The varied program will open with "Psallite" a lively motet by the German composer, Praetorius. and will be followed by the beautiful contemporary motet, "O Nata Lux" by Morton Lauridsen.  Edward Elgar's beautiful composition, "Snow" along with two choruses by John Rutter, the concert title song, "Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind," and "Good Ale". The Bel Canto String Ensemble will perform the beautiful "Intermezzo" from Cavaleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni and a lively Concerto by the Italian composer, Albinoni. The Singers will close the program with such familiar carols, as "In The Bleak Midwinter", "Mary Had A Baby",  "Still, Still, Still" and "Good King Wenceslas".

 

Tickets are $5.00 and are available at McGlynn Pharmacy, from Choir Members, and at the door.  Children under 12 are admitted free.