The History of Western Technical College

The 1920’s
In 1920, one floor of the Longfellow School at Sixth and Vine Streets collapsed, dropping several thousand feet of
lumber and a number of students to the second floor. During the remodeling, vocational classes were held in various
public buildings such as the Trades and Labor Hall (that was housed in the Tausche Hardware building at 415 Jay Street
in La Crosse.) At that time, business education, home making, woodworking, printing and machine shop were offered.
The first recorded graduate apprentices were: Edward Bock, a baker apprentice employed by the Jackson Street Bakery
(at 1415 Jackson Street) who graduated on May 19, 1920, and Clifford Hawkins, a bread baker employed by the Rupplin
Baking Company (at 412 South Fourth Street) who graduated September 2, 1920. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
Railroad Company in La Crosse employed three machine apprentices. They were Earl J. Keizer, who graduated February
28, 1921; William Coughlin, who graduated March 19, 1921; and Harry T. Hammersberg, who graduated August 1,
1921.
On February 17, 1922, a fire alarm in the Vocational School building sounded at 7:55 p.m. followed by a 3-11 alarm at
7:59 p.m. The fire originated in the basement and spread to two floors and into the attic of the building. The fire
department indicated that the fire originated in the boiler room. Both floors in the east section of the building caved in
as a result of the fire and the heavy equipment placed upon them. The flames charred considerable woodwork
throughout the entire building, as was the attic and the west roof. After viewing the damage, the Board of Education
declared that the Longfellow School would be repaired and continued to be used for school purposes.
The La Crosse Tribune coverage on the fire printed, "Oh Skinnay! - The cherished desire of kids for many generations,
the rosy dream that someday the school house would burn down and school would be out indefinitely, is to be realized
for at least a little while .. . there are 575 pupils in the day classes . . . and 1,293 in various evening classes which will
continue to meet at the High School (16 th and Cass Streets)." A temporary office was established in a residence at 610
Pine Street, and it was anticipated that the Hogan (18 th and Winnebago Streets), Lincoln (at 8 th and Division Streets),
Washington (then located at 16 th and Vine Streets) and other schools would accommodate vocational classes. Subjects
taught at that time included business education, homemaking, woodworking, printing and machine shop.
In a communique from Director John B. Coleman, "Beginning Monday, October 9, 1922, the boys were segregated from
the girls in all phases of our day work ... we have at present 161 girls and 122 boys enrolled in our day school, and
through the excellent cooperation of the public school principals, we are enabled to add a few to our list each day . . .
We have at the present time 25 instructors employed and are offering 25 subjects. We are requiring our Evening School
pupils to make a deposit of one dollar, which we call an enrollment fee, and which is returned at the end of the year,
providing the person has been present three-fourths of the time . . . This scheme has not been used before in La
Crosse, and thus far, it has met with no opposition . . .it is going to help us overcome the difficulty that they have had
here in the past of holding their Evening School pupils throughout the entire session."
Following the destruction of the Longfellow School by fire in 1922, plans were laid before the La Crosse Common
Council for the construction of a city vocational education building on the same site. Work was begun on the new
institution late in 1923 following an appropriation of over $200,000 from the La Crosse Common Council and was ready
for occupancy on Tuesday, September 2, 1924. During construction, regular school classes were held in the Central
High School (16* and Cass Streets) and in the barracks on the Washburn school campus (8 th and State Streets) and that
arrangement lasted until September 1924 when construction was completed.
Interest in the La Crosse Vocational School was gaining statewide attention. Vocational directors from Fond du Lac and
Green Bay met with Director Coleman to gain insight about the system and its ways of conducting classes. Nowhere
else in the state was a school being conducted so successfully and at no other place were the directors working under
the disadvantages of the La Crosse Vocational School with its barrack rooms and its work divided into three centers
awaiting the completion of the new building.
The new Vocational School covered one-half square block with a second story portion along Vine Street. A distinct
feature of the new vocational school was the segregation of boys and girls in classrooms and shops arranged in "L"
shape. The girls followed the front of the building on Sixth Street extending to the east doorway on Vine Street. The
boys "L" was on the east and north sides of the building. Boys and girls had separate entrances—the girls' door being
near the corner of Vine Street and the boys' entrance near the alley on Vine Street. The new school opened for the
1924 term with 10 day school teachers and 51 evening school teachers.