River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1914-06-11

able for school purposes. Glasses
were in session again the next
week. in churches and halls about
the city, and the school work con-
tinued on throughout the year
without interruption.
After the fire there was much
strenuous angling by other local
tiles to have the school rebuilt IN
their cities, and for a time it SEEM
ed that River Falls was in danger
of losing out. There was a big
celebration therefore when Regent
p. H. Lord and President Parker
returned home on Thursday, De-
cember %, 1897, from the Board
meeting at Madison with the glad
tidings that the Board had decid-
ed to rebuild the school here, and
that the new building was to be
completed by October /. 1898.
REBUILT AND DEDICATED
The new school building was
dedicated September 20, 1898. The
dedication exercises were held in
the assembly room of the school
and Were we'll attended. The pro-
gram was opened with a song by
Miss Thatcher, then head OF the
Music Department. president
Thompson of the Board of Regents,
after recounting the history OF the
new school, turned over the keys
to President w. j. Brier. Others
who spoke were State Superinten-
dent Emory, Professor Salisbury
and Hon. E. d. Coe of Whitewater,
Ex-President Parker, Hon. A. z.
Weld, Hon. n. P. Haugen, Rev.
Balch, Regent Ross of Superior
and Regent Fruit of Lacrosse.
GROWTH OF THE SCHOOL
The school has shown it's worth
in many ways. It's alumni is COM
posed of a class of men and women
of whom any institution or COM
munity may be justly proud. The
school is growing, not only in at
tendance, but in it's scope OF useful
endeavor. The attendance in 1884
was 243; in 1894, 286 in 1907, 1886 /;
in 1914, 400. The teaching force
has increased from nine teachers,
in 1877 to II this year.
NEW AGRICULTURAL BUILDING
Next Wednesday, June n, is a
very important date in the his
portant date, not only because it
IS the anniversary OF the battle
of Bunker Hill but because it marks
- cLnn - 01Nnn0n for tho RINnTs
Falls Normal School.
This new agricultural building
which costs above 1924, 100000 pro-
misses to be n of the best build
ings of state normal schools of
Wisconsin. So long as there was
an attendance of two hundred and
fifty to three hundred students,
the old building, which is a beau
tiful structure, answered every
very nicely, but now that
the attendance has increased to
almost five hundred, the old build
ing is entirely inadequate.
While the new building doubles
the class room accommodations
the growth of the school has been
so great that there will be little
if any spare room when the school
occupies the new building next
September. All the class rooms in
the basement will be occupied by
the Agricultural Department. The
class rooms in the third story will
be occupied by the Science Depart
ments and Agriculture. The model
school will be cared for temper
arily in this new building.
The new building also contains
one of the finest gymnasiums in
the state and a very fine assembly
room which will seal sever hun
dred or more on occasions.
A feature of the exercises of lay
ing the corner stone will be the
address by President Kronshage
of the Board of Regents, who was
among the first to espouse the
cause of the School of Agriculture
at River Falls. He is one of the
most able men in Wisconsin and
will deliver an address fitting to
the occasion. The exercises will
take place at the new Normal
building near the south west cor
ner at two o'clock on Wednesday
afternoon.
The Agricultural School of this
institution is receiving the at
tention of the whole country and
is lookedsupon as the beginning of
a movement, which, within the
next ten years, will assume pro-
portions in every state.