Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1922-03-09
SCHOFIELD IS
WITHOUT SCHOOL
FIRE TOTALLY DESTROYS
COMPARATIVELY NEW
BUILDING


in the village of Schofield was COM
pletely demolished last Sunday morn
ing by fire, the origin of which is un-
known. A loss of considerable amount
is suffered by the village as a re-
suit. The original cost of the eight
room building, of brick construction,
was about $4,000, and insurance car
ried abounted to $4,000. About $4,000
worth of equipment had been installed
in the school. The structure was COM
paratively new having been built
about ten years ago.
1t was 1910 a. m. before the fire
was discovered by Leo Guenther and
VIM. Reindl who were returning from
a party. An alarm was sounded and
the Wausau department at station No.
was called Immediately.
Beyond Control
Although good time was made to
Schofield despite the condition of the
highway, the blaze had broken
through the roof which was COM
pletely on fire and beyond control.
Water was obtained only after con-
siderable difficulty, holes having to
be chopped through several feet of Ice
east of the Schofield bridge. Over
1900 feet of hose was laid by the de-
partment and 200 additional feet were
obtained from the Brooks and Ross
Lumber company.
A big force of men assembled quick
ly but ii was soon realized the blaze
was beyond control and all that could
be done was to prevent its spreading
to nearby residences, the home of W.
III. Prahl and Edward Rammel being
| IN, apts ,lor do
ignited but the fires spreading was ef-
fectively checked. 1t was not until
NEARLY four o'clock that all danger to
surrounding buildings was past.
One of the rooms of the school
building was kept warm by base
ment stove which was kept burning
but since Friday there had been no
fire in the furnace. No possible trace
of the origin of the fire could be
found, although it was believed that
a defective chimney might have been
the cause. Some wiring was done Sat-
urday in the school, but as it was
in another part of the school than
where the fire seemed to have started,
this is not held TO be the cause.
Find Quarters
Immediately following the fire the
district school board composed of Her
man G. Achterberg, chairman, w. II.
Prahl, clerk, and Henry Holt, Jr.,
treasurer, sought suitable housing
quarters for the $40 children enrolled
in the Schofield school. BY the mid
die of this week arrangements had
been made for the use of the Christian
Science church, the village hall, a
room at the home of Ernest Blunt,
Modern Woodmen's hall and the punch
card office of Brooks and Ross Lum-
Der company.
Besides the almost total loss OF the
school building, all of the teachers
lost many personal belongings" Prin-
; cipal Jos. Jantsch told the editor of
The Pilot. These losses total hun
dred dollars and the janitor also lost
about a 500 in belongings. Practical
ly all the books OF both the children
and the school teachers were burned.
The records of attendance and studies
were destroyed and we haven't any
thing but our memories to depend on"
Mr. Jantsch says that new study books
will be obtained from Rothschild and
Wausau and that alreadv new order
for books has been placed.
Three Months More
Only three months more remains OF
the school year for Schofield and dur
ing this period satisfactory progress,
il is believed, can be made in the tenn
polary quarters that have been so
quickly located By finding space at
Schofeld the board has eliminated the
necessity of transporting pupils to
Rothschild and Wausau.
There is considerable sentiment In
Schofeld now, IL Is understood, in
favor of erecting much larger school
building than the one just burned. 1t
is suggested that high school course
be included and that gymnasium
be built, the lack of this feature hav-
ing always been keenly felt. The sit
uation has been cared for promptly
and next week meeting OF the dis
trict will be held at Schofeld for
the purpose of determining just what
type of a school building shall be
erected. That there shall be no de-
lay in putting up new structure Is
the hope OF the board, 1t is reported,
During Supt. J. Il. Giessel's seven
years in office, there have only been
four school buildings, including the
Schofield school, that have burned. or
these four only the Schofield school