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Westfield Town School Westfield, Iowa Newspaper Articles
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LeMars Sentinel, May 27, 1895 WESTFIELD TOWNSHIP SCHOOL PICNIC. LeMars Semi-Weekly Sentinel, March 22, 1910 WESTFIELD: (Special Correspondence) The mumps are very plentiful in Westfield. School was closed Monday evening on account of Miss Chapman, the primary teacher, and many of her pupils having them. Akron Register, Akron, (Plymouth), Iowa, September 16, 1915: Westfield Write-Ups: On account of the school house not being completed, school will not LeMars Sentinel, May 22, 1917 WESTFIELD: (Special Correspondence) The school board has decided not to build the addition to the schoolhouse Akron Register-Tribune, April 23, 1936 PUPILS RETURN TO CLASSES LeMars Globe-Post WESTFIELD: All families of the Westfield Community school district are invited to bring a basket dinner, with dishes, and join their neighbors at noon at the school grounds on Thursday, May 16, for the annual end of the year picnic. LeMars Globe-Post GRADUATION AT WESTFIELD Seniors to receive diplomas are: Charlotte Barger, Mercedes Bauerly, Grant Beaulieu, Mary Lou Boyle, Harlyn Dewey, Glenda Gries Easton, James Kindig, Kenneth Larson, Carolyn Lilly, Ross Lilly, Shirley Malcom, John Paetz, Terry Porsch, Carol Toben, Dennis Welch, and Lawrence Welch. Graduating form the eighth grade were: Pauline Boyle, Paul Bringman, Betty Frisch, James Gries, Roger Knapp, Ethel Leckley, William Luenhagen, Allen Malcom, Lyle Moffatt, Judy Moore, Margaret Ream, Thomas Ross, Donna Terrill, John Terrill, Donald Touney and Louis Welch. A novel part of the program was the ceremony of graduation for the kindergarten class as each was presented with a small diploma by their teacher, Mrs. Carol Bradburn. WESTFIELD TWP. By 1900, Westfield township had seven ungraded schools. The total enrollment was 206 pupils and the term was 8 months. The 1903 record lists a new school in Westfield in addition to the seven district schools. The new school, during 1904, had one ungraded room and two graded rooms. It employed one male at $45 per month and two females at $37 per month. 1907: WESTFIELD GETS 12th GRADE 1907 marked the beginning of the twelfth grade in the Westfield town school. The records show a high school enrollment of 32 pupils, with a total enrollment of 92 pupils. Miss Nina McFarlan served as the principal of the Westfield school from 1907-1913. She was succeeded by Elizabeth Glass, C. J. Odegard, Carl LaGrace and others. In 1915 the Westfield Consolidated school was organized. It included twelve sections in Westfield township and eight sections in Sioux township. The school had an enrollment of 93 pupils. Twenty years later, the enrollment had increased to 157 pupils, 24 of whom were non-resident. BURNED IN 1938 In 1938, the Westfield Consolidated school building was destroyed by fire. A new brick building was erected at a cost of $144,028 and later a stucco shop building was erected at a cost of $1440. The area of Westfield Consolidated School district remained the same until July 1, 1956. However, the enrollment had increased to 185 elementary pupils and 61 high school pupils. Of this number, 153 were non-resident, or tuition pupils. Among the names listed for school board members in Westfield are William Chapman, J. J. Martin, A. L. Mills, Thomas Hanes, M. P., E.H. and D.W. Spaulding, George Main, and D. Cassel. Grace Gosting, Clara Chapman, and Gertrude Tracy taught for many years in the Westfield area. On January 1, 1956, the Westfield Community School District was organized under the provisions of the reorganization law enacted by the 1953 Iowa General Assembly. On July 1, 1956, the district became effective. It consisted of 88.8 sections. This area is comprised of 20 sections formerly in the Westfield Consolidated School District and 68.8 of contiguous territory formerly a part of Hancock, Johnson, Liberty, Perry, Sioux and Westfield townships. The total assessed valuation, including monies and credits, for the Westfield Community School District was $2,585,7838. During the 1957-58 school year there were 299 pupils enrolled in the Westfield Community School. As we now meet together on the evening of May 2, 1958, to dedicate this new $180,000 addition to your school building, I congratulate you and pay tribute to every individual who has helped attain this achievement. Much credit goes to that group of men who have given many hours of time and leadership in promoting a bond issue, planning a new building, and guiding the building program with its related problems. I refer to the member of the Westfield Community School Board, who are Mr. Roland Swanson, Mr. Wallace Lilly, Mrs. George Easton, Mr. Cyrus A. Knapp, Mr. Roy Postlewait, Mr. Dike W. Spaulding, Treasurer, and the Secretary, Mrs. Arlene Morehead. I also commend Supt. Carl Luse and his faculty of 14 teachers, the school custodians, bus drivers, and school lunch cooks. Deserving, too, a word of approbation are the taxpayers who have, and will continue to have an important part in the Westfield Community School district. The dedication of this new building—another step forward. It must come to life through a functional education program, with the realization that the strength of America lies in its human resources. Source: Speech presented by Keynote Speaker, Miss Christine Petersen, Westfield Community School Dedication, May 2, 1958~~as reprinted in the LeMars Sentinel, May 15, 1988.
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