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Davis School

School Name: Davis School

District Number: 3

Location: Romeo Plank Road between 27 & 28 Mile Roads

Year School Was Built: before 1859

Years of Operation: before 1859 to 1952

Grades: Kindergarten through 10th grades

Property History: According to plat maps, a school was located on the property of R. & J. McGregor on the south side of 27 Mile just east of Romeo Plank Road in 1859, then by 1875 the property is owned by Benjamin Payne. By 1895, the was moved to the J. G. Dicken property on the west side of Romeo Plank Road just north of 27 Mile Road school. By 1910, the school was located on property owned by A. E. Bliss and in 1916 by William Gamm.

After closing in 1952, the building was used for several purposes including a woodworking shop for the Romeo Community Schools. From 1967-1968, the students from Indian Hills Elementary School attended class here when Indian Hills became too small to house its enrollment at the time. In 1991, the Romeo Schools Board of Education voted to sell the property.

Note: The 1859 Plat map, shows two other schoolhouses in the area. Schoolhouse No. 11 is located on the northeast corner of 26 Mile Road and Romeo Plank on the property of J. B. Potts. Another schoolhouse is located on the south side of 28 Mile Road about a half mile east of Romeo Plank on the property of J. Gass.

Building Architecture: The school had two classrooms with the back room probable added on after the front room. One was used for grades kindergarten through 4th grade. The second room was for grades 5 through 10.

Current Status: The building itself has been totally renovated and serves as a private residence.

Former Teachers: 1900 Ransom Hazelton; 1914 Elma L Herth; 1914 Mystic McGregor; 1918 Luella Mann; 1919 Alice Statly; 1919 Ethel Lewis; 1919 and 1946-1952 Hazel Bentley; 1921 Hugh Whiting; 1921 Agnes Davidson; 1924 and 1927-1928 Jessie Brough Kreger; 1916 to 1918 and 1923 to 1942 Harold E. Chamberlain; 1934 Louise Geil or Giles; 1937 Miss Mueller; 1940 Theresa Rollins; 1942-45 Irma Stephen; Unknown dates - Elmer Smith; Eva Spencer; Ann Stanton; Elmer Keith; Alice Kitley; Mrs. George Mann; Ethel Dickens; Geraline Moeller; Mrs. Werderman, Mrs. McLeod

Former Students: 1900 Benjamin H. & Elizabeth Payne, Circa 1912 Baseball Team - Vera Briggs; Harold & Lowell Maxwell; Bruce Miller; Fred Milting; Albert Schwark; Russell Shattuck; John Weiss; Ray Woodman; Carol Wright; 1914-1924 Eva Apling; Eva, John & Marion Alster; Nina Bahrinau?, Phyllis & Virgina Black; Burgelfe, Clare, Howard & Linda Boldt; William Both; Bernice, Clifford, Kenneth, Nelson & Thelma Dickens; Esther, Eugene, Leo, & Sylvester Diegel; Helen Drain; Agnes, Estella, Ethel, Louise, & Mabel Ellis; Elsie, Norman & Ruth Englebrecht; Ruth Flessner; Edward, Marie, Margaret, Raymond & Sylvester Fay; Elinor Gac; Clare, Dale, Evelyn, James, Margaret, Mary, & William Gass; Eleanor, Kathleen, Lloyd, & Margaret Grader; Eda, Lottie, & Nelson Harrington; Russell W. Hawkins; Betty & Raymond Jadowski; Herbert Jurist; Edna & Ethel Kirkum; Edna Knight; Edna, Esther, Hilda Beme, & Marvin Kreger; Anthony & Case Kuntz; Elizabeth, Gertrude, Helen, Jessica, & Virginia Lapowski; Dorothy, Morris, & Raymond Lever; Alton Lyons; Arthur, Clifford, Delmar, Elsie, & Geraldine Manchester; Clayton, Earl, Ida, & Joy Masters; Dora, Harold, & Lowell Maxwell; Frank & Robert McInnis; Alla & Myrtle Meyers; Frank or Frederick Milting; Bruce Miller; Catherine, Edwin, & Pauline Morgan; Arthur, Clara, Ella, Ernest, & Henry Oatman; Eric Ornsby; Carl, Jenna, & Lavina Pallister; Byron, Edwin, Frank, Gertrude, & William Payne; Clyde, Howard, John & Karl Pillivant; Henry Plassey; Dorsis Powers; Clarence & Ellen Robinson; Alvin, Edith, Harold, Hattie, Hilda, Isabel, Joyce, & Wayne Rowley; Stanley Savales; Clarence, Edward, Marion, Otto, & Robert Schlief; Irving Schoof; Russell Shattuck; Ira Smith; Clara & Kenneth Stade; Ella, Lewis & Martha Steen; Esther, Marion, & Stanley Striber; Stanley Swales; Lloyd Van Horn; Sally Walker; Ernest Wangelin; Harvey & Mabel Welsch; Robert West; Harry & John Wiers; Arline Wilhous Shingleton; Arthue & Vida Wilson, Rosella Wolf; Carol or Carroll, Edward, & Lawrence Wright; Arthur, Dorothy, Eizabeth (Libby), Laura, & Ruth Yax; 1934 – Arlene & Vera Engelbrecht; Arthur Eschenberg; Ruth Ingall; Delphine Kopaz; Elmer Kreger; Evelyn Lipkowski; Harold (Pete) Masters; Pearl McLaughlin; Madelaine & Morris Mignot; Rachel Mills; Betty & Victor Milting; John, Julie, Virginia, & Walter Olszak; Donald & John Payne; Eleanor Peterson; Lorraine Schiebel; Norma Schroeder; Aldys Schwark; Lottie & Mary Sokolowski; Leroy Striber; Marian & Marvin Thiel; George Wiers; Arlene , Mr., Russell Williams; Bruce & Verla Yax; 1937 – Jean Bentley; Bobby Douglas; Vera Englebrecht; Louise Giles; Pearl McLaughlin; Victor Milting; Virginia Olszak; Eleanor Peterson; Helen Ridout; Harry & Thomas Seder; Carol Shattuck; Billy Silverman; Dick Smith; Donnie, Jean, & Vivian Tallman; Ronnie Van Place; Elaine Wangelin; Shirley, Stanley & Ward Wiers; Bruce Yax, Roland ?, Russell ? 1940 – Bill Albertsberg; Jean Bentley; Carol Broughton; Bobby & Shirley Douglas; Arlene & Virginia Goodhue; Bernice Erdman; Dorothy & Patricia Fletcher; Art Harp; Bill Kirsh; John & Virginia Olszak; Bobby Penzien; Helen Ridout; Melvin Schiebel; Harry, Moses, & Thomas Seder; Carol Shattuck; Billy Silverman; Dick & Marlene Smith; Fred & Larry Stade; Donnie, Jean, & Virigina Tallman; Beverly Temple; George, Shirley, Stanley & Ward Wiers; Bruce Yax, Roland ? 1953 – Ronnie Olszak; Dick Schoenherr; Bill Stade; Joan Lutchman; ???? Brodacki (Betty’s father)

Unknown years – Allen Stade; Irene Olszak; Nellie Powell; Mary Weirs

Memorable Moments: Every year the school was closed the first week of hunting season. The school had a winning baseball team and during World War II the students collected milkweed pods and scrap iron.

Compiled: May 2010
By: T. Goike, C. Firestine, D. & R. Heldt