The Herbster School records differ from most local school records held by the Archives in that they do not include the attendance records, minutes, and financial records typical of such collections. Instead, the Herbster School records are comprised primarily of the school clerks' correspondence. As a result, the files humanize the history of the school and its relationship with the surrounding area in a manner that is very unusual. Although the correspondence essentially documents only two decades, the inclusion of the Great Depression, an era that witnessed financial stress and declining population, makes the records particularly useful. There are minutes in the records only for the years 1940 to 1942 and annual statistical reports only for 1943, 1945, and 1949. The records are Correspondence and General Records, which are arranged alphabetically by record type or subject, and Teacher Files.
The CORRESPONDENCE AND GENERAL RECORDS primarily consist of the correspondence of George Mathews, clerk from 1923 to 1935, and Anthony Janoch, who then assumed the position, together with a few financial and administrative items. The correspondence incorporates the full range of the clerk's activities ranging from exchanges with the Department of Public Instruction and the Bayfield County Superintendent of Schools about curriculum matters and with faculty at Superior State Normal School about the hiring of teachers to correspondence with drivers of the school “rig” about missed stops and other complaints. Narrative evaluations of the school from officials of the two aforementioned regulatory agencies are particularly useful, as is Mathews' correspondence with Beatrice MacLean, director of the local school board. A large part of the correspondence concerns financial matters such as acquisition of state aid for the construction of the new building, arrangements for the actual construction of the building itself, and relief funding from various New Deal agencies. Also included are payrolls, sample contracts, school publications, applications for transportation aid, and some information about curriculum, test scores, and tuition paid for students who attended school out of the district. An unusual item is a file of sugar rationing records, presumably dating from the World War II era, detailing the height, weight, and age of every resident of the community.
The TEACHER FILES consist of alphabetical files for individuals employed by the district and chronological files of letters from applicants dating from the 1920s and 1930s. The individual files include letters of application and recommendations, and occasional references. The files of Stanley Koenig, a teacher and assistant principal, and Raymond Gotham, a principal, are most extensive, with Gotham's file containing information on employee discipline. The application files contain correspondence inquiring about employment. Taken together, the two sections provide a personal view of the employment and experiences of rural teachers during the Depression.
