THE LITTLE SCHOOL ON THE PRAIRIE; Wakefield, Nebraska

Wall quilt based on photo of Little School building, appx 2 ft quare

In the spring of 1882 the Rev. W.G. Bullinger of Martinsburg, Nebraska, while on  his way to preach at a place now known as Altona, met a group of men at road work.  He noticed that they spoke German, so he engaged them in conversation and inquired as to their religious affiliation. They were Lutherans, as was he, and the conversation ended with arrangements for him to stop back there the following Sunday afternoon to conduct services.

Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Congregation was organized in November of 1882, and by 1884 was able to build their first church building.  The church originally had a steeple (photo below) but it was damaged by a lightning strike and removed.

In 1898 a larger church was built across the road, and the original building was converted into a parochial school. The church property is located well out in the country, between the towns of Wayne and Wakefield in northeastern Nebraska (about 35 miles southwest of Sioux City, Iowa).


This view of the church property is several years old, now. The current church building (with steeple), the schoolhouse (left edge of photo, with square-topped bell tower) and the house next to the church are all that remain standing. Church services and instruction in the school were originally in German. The congregation switched to English in the summer of 1927, and the school continued to operate until after World War II. When the building was reopened for the beginning of the restoration, a calendar was found, still at the page for the last month of classes in 1952.

The Students and Staff, 1924

The congregation decided in January of 2001 to restore the Immanuel Lutheran School building.

The first phase of the restoration was painting: off with the old and on with the new!  Power washing exposed cedar boards which had probably last seen daylight in 1884!

A small tin horseshoe was discovered under many layers of paint over the center of the door.

As you can see from these photos, the work crew brought a wide range of experience to the job.

The worst-condition boards were replaced with boards salvaged from a demolished barn .

Fresh oil primer and latex top coat were finished by the middle of November, 2001. Photo right shows the final coat of latex being applied to the bell tower.

Summer 2002's target was repairs to the foundation.

Ewwww! That doesn't NEED words to be discouraging!

Out with the old, though, using the Bobcat to do the heavy hauling.

AAAnd, in with the new!


Most of the school's accumulation of books (both texts and general reading) were also still in the building.  In February of 2002 Debra Nelson, president of the restoration committee, called the Book Guys NPR radio show to talk about some of them. Margaret Middleton is a devoted listener of the Book Guys, heard the show, and called Debra to find out more about the project. Photos below of Deb and Margaret, each with the Book Guys. Margaret is the one holding the quilt. The books have been stored until the restoration is further along. Some of them are damaged, and as the collection is inventoried, we want to post a list of titles that we could REALLY use replacement copies of.

 

 

The church celebrated its 125th anniversary in the fall of 2007; Deb Nelson produced an Anniversary Book for the occasion.

If you happen to know of anyone who attended this parochial school, please let us know.
We are collecting stories, photos, etc.
Donations of building materials or funds are also welcome and appreciated.

Debra Nelson can be contacted at 402-672-8998 or by email to find out
about the current phase of the restoration project.
She lives in Omaha, Nebraska, so if she is away working on the school when you call,
PLEASE leave a message.

This web site is maintained by Margaret Middleton; if you spot any typos or other outrageous errors, feel free to
point them out to me.

latest update 7/31/2011