Preserving the Past:
Stories from the Archives Blog

Manitowoc County Historical Society Manitowoc County Historical Society

The Osman Community

In 1877, the Total Abstinence Society voted to build a hall. A site was donated, located just east of the school, by James Peppard. The hall, measuring 30 by 50 feet, was known as Temperance Hall. The hall was home to many meetings, family gatherings, and an annual St. Patrick Day celebration – when there was a dispensation from the abstinence pledge. The hall was in operation until a larger dance hall was built in Osman.

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Manitowoc County Historical Society Manitowoc County Historical Society

Viebahn and Richter's First Kindergarten

In 1930, a young kindergarten teacher at the First Ward school (later Roosevelt School) was preparing her classroom. As she decorated her walls to make it cheery and educational for her incoming students, she took down an old, deteriorated portrait of a serious looking bearded gentleman. She stored the old portrait away in a closet until seasoned educators and older residents learned of her ‘rearranging.’ A educators and residents asked that she put the portrait back up on the wall quickly, as the portrait was of C.F. Viebahn.

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