The History of Western Technical College

In the spring of 1928, an apprenticeship banquet was held at the Vocational School. This first apprenticeship banquet was
an outgrowth of an awakening to apprenticeship possibilities for the community of La Crosse, its industries, and for the
public at large, and was intended to become an annual event. The event was a "stag" affair at which local apprentices,
their fathers and employers together with a few special friends of apprenticeship sat down to dine together. Walter F.
Simon, supervisor of apprenticeship with the Industrial Commission was the principal speaker. He spoke about the
"present day lack of skill and craftsmanship in the trades . . . that no civilized people anywhere will tolerate the inefficient
workmanship that is permitted by the American people . . . that expert European tradesmen reached a high degree of
skill through serving a carefully planned and supervised apprenticeship . . . and since Wisconsin has by statute made
possible a similar method, a number of Wisconsin concerns have supplied themselves with skilled tradesmen."
Members of the Vocational Commercial Club enjoyed a treat when Mrs. Watkins, a guest speaker, gave an interesting
talk on her experiences about living in China for seven years. "We always think of China as a blot upon the map. One has
to really visit the country and mix with its natives to appreciate China at all." Mrs. Watkins described the land, and
provided information about the people and their customs.
Thirteen classes were in session in April, 1928 as visitors viewed the annual Vocational School evening school exhibit. It
was reported that from the time the doors opened in the evening, there was a continual stream of people viewing the
work done by the evening school students and watching them at work in the thirteen classes that were in session. The
most popular of the classes were the cabinetmaking, printing, and reed fibre furniture making class, the applied arts
class, the beauty culture class, and the class in machine shop. In addition, rooms were set aside to display items made by
the students.
In May, 1928 in observance of "Music Week", students of the Vocational School presented Humperdinck's famous opera,
"Hansel and Gretel" in the school's auditorium.
1928 was the most successful year since the start of the school . . . with 50 instructors teaching 33 subjects to 2,712
pupils in the evening school classes, and 17 teachers instructing 32 subjects to 171 students in the day school classes.
A survey conducted in November, 1928 indicated that vocational students were employed in sixty-two factories and
trades in La Crosse compared to 52 that offered employment in the spring; 54.1 percent of the boys were over 17 years
of age; 57.5 percent of the girls were over 17 years of age, and 55.9 percent of the part-time pupils were 17 years of age.
"One of the most outstanding pieces of work of the school during 1928," according to Director Coleman, "was the
inauguration of the Foremen's Safety school. The employers of the city, cooperating with the superintendents, foremen
and supervisors, have made possible the giving of safety instruction to 432 men and women. This instruction ought to do
much to reduce the number of accidents in our local industries." The Foremen's Safety School brought its eight-week
course to a successful close with a banquet in the Vocational School auditorium on Saturday evening, December 29, 1928.
Keynote speaker for the evening was Judge John C. "Ikey" Karel of Milwaukee, a former Wisconsin football star, who paid
tribute to the foremen for their work that made it possible for La Crosse to have the lowest percentage of accidents for a
city of its size in the country.
The Vocational School Blue and Gold Basketball team rose from a position of insignificance to a place that commanded
recognition. The quintet included Earl Dansbury, Ervin Limpert, Oswald Wuest, Paul Hefti, and Maurice Shaller. Manager
of the team was W. F. Oppermann, a faculty member of the school. Lester Wilke and George Gordon, of the La Crosse
Normal School (then located between 17 th and 18 th on State Street) volunteered to coach the Vocational Five. The team
had five victories and three losses.
In 1929, Evening School enrollment was up to 4,169 and until that year most of the students attended school only once a
week.
On January 25, 1929, the Vocational Regulars fought a losing battle in basketball with the La Crosse Tribunes at the
Vocational Gym. The Regulars put up a good fight, but in the end it was 15 to 8 for the Tribunes. The Alumni played the
Blackhawks, winning 21 to 19.
In 1929, the boys Printing class completed an evening school bulletin giving detailed information about every evening
school class and the locations in which the evening school classes were conducted. The school received requests for the
booklet from industrial education heads in Texas, Alabama, Nova Scotia and other distant points.