These stories can also be heard on Sunday mornings around 10 am on WILD 102’s “Look Back in Time” program. Each week’s radio story will be posted here on our website.
Weekly radio stories are researched, compiled, and read by Sheila Winstead, RCHS Board Member.
January 7, 2024
Eighty-five years ago, the first issue of the Roseau Times-Region in 1939 told of the fire that destroyed the Greenbush School. The fire had been discovered Monday evening at 9:15 by Peter Burkel, and the school was destroyed in 2 hours. I’ll read the article from the January 5, 1939 issue.
The Greenbush school building was destroyed by fire Monday night, and the only thing that was saved was the individual student records. The fire caused the destruction of a school plant which cost the Greenbush school district $125,000 to build, and all that is left of it are the skeleton walls of the front and back and crumbled walls of the two sides. Windows, roof and floors are gone, a few radiators were noticed here and there in the debris, the furnace still stands in the basement, but fixtures and furnishings were turned to ashes.
The loss is partly covered by insurance. The building was insured for $60,000.00 and the equipment for $10,000.00, stated W. O. Gordon, clerk of the district, Tuesday afternoon. The district had a bonded debt of $60,000.00.
Superintendent and Mrs. Marvin Lueck, who had a living apartment in the school building, lost all their furniture and household goods in the fire. That was a total loss as no insurance was carried on it.
Tuesday afternoon no plans had been definitely made to start classes. Superintendent C. D. Hollister of Roseau, upon consulting with the school board, called Mr. Gordon by telephone and offered facilities of the Roseau school building for the use of the high school department of the Greenbush district. It was not known Tuesday what steps would be taken. It is likely that the grade classes will be held in church buildings and church basements at Greenbush until such time as a new school building can be provided. An extra building back of the schoolhouse is being put in shape to be used as a class room.
The Greenbush school District Number 66 employs ten teachers. It is a consolidated district with busses transporting pupils from the surrounding territory. Six busses are transporting grade and high school pupils within the borders of the district and two busses are carrying pupils to the high school from the Strathcona and Haug communities. A total of two hundred and fifty-three pupils are enrolled in the school, of whom one hundred and seven are in the high school department.
Through a PWA project improvements were being made on the building, and the work was nearing completion. A new floor had been laid in the large gym-auditorium; alterations had been done to the stage, redecorating and varnishing of the woodwork over the building and other improvements were included. A sanding machine had been used in taking off the varnish on the floors in the upstairs rooms, and the likely theory has been advanced that the fire started in a collection of varnish and fine dust in the southwest rooms which were the apartments of Superintendent and Mrs. Lueck. These rooms were being gone over at this time. The household goods and furniture had been stacked away in one of the front upstairs class rooms awaiting the completion of the sanding and redecoration before being moved back. Mr. and Mrs. Lueck returned to Greenbush Tuesday afternoon and found the building wrecked.
The fire was discovered by Peter Burkel, who lives across the creek on the south side of the school house. About 9:15 it was noticed that a flickering as if something like fire was falling from the second floor to the first floor in that corner of the building. It was fire. The alarm was given and the department got on the job at once. A water hydrant is located in front of the school house, on the edge of the school property, and it took no time to connect the hose and start playing the hose on the fire. But the fire spread through ventilation chutes and readily gained headway in the tinder dry woodwork. In two hours the building was gutted, the brick walls crumbling, and nothing left standing but a very sparce skeletion of what had been a fine building.
The PWA project brought about a $2,000.00 outlay by the district to meet the federal money for it. Two years ago the district provided a new roof on the building.
The building was built twenty years ago and was 100 feet by 85 feet and two stories. The basement which contained the furnace room and fuel room was at the back of the building. The plan of the building provided a large gym-auditorium in the center of the building extending in height the full two stories. Class rooms were provided for on the left and right side of the auditorium on the two floors. The office was in the front part of the building. When completed, Greenbush had one of the most modern school buildings in this section. At the dedication of the building the address was delivered by President Burton of the University of Minnesota.
The present school board is made up of Dr. H. C. Stone, president; W. O. Gordon, clerk; O.K. Christianson, treasurer; Tom Hendrickson, Matt Kotchevar and A. W. Clay. The caretaker of the building is Ove Anderson.
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