"A History of the Sheboygan Public Schools," a book that has been planned for more than 10 years, is finally finished and is currently at the printers.

The long-awaited book contains 512 pages and sells for $25 plus tax. It will be available for sale after Thanksgiving and is sure to be a best seller, especially at Christmas time. It may be purchased at the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center in Sheboygan Falls, but please telephone first (after Thanksgiving) to make sure the book has arrived. The number is (920) 467-4667.

A goal was set in 1998 by the center to publish all of the school histories of the county. With the publication of the Sheboygan school history, only the Town of Sherman remains to be researched and printed.

No one realized the scope of the task we had set for this project, and now 11 years later, we are nearing the accomplishment of that goal. The Sheboygan City book was a real challenge and was aptly done by Donald Lau, a retired schoolteacher and resident of Sheboygan Falls. Lau has spent hundreds of hours in research and contacted every possible source for the book and the result is well worth the effort he put forth.

Dorothy Schriver had begun this book in 1998, but soon after moved out of state. Her notes were a welcome addition to the book when the project was taken up again.

The book is filled with historical photographs and little-known facts about Sheboygan schools. There are also maps of the city from 1836 to 1933 that help pinpoint the locations of former schools.

The 512 pages show the scope of Lau's research, by far the largest of the school books published. He begins with the first schools in the village, the first teachers, students and studies. That information is scarce and there remains little in the form of records.

The first school was reported to have been established in 1836, but the financial panic of 1837 cleared Sheboygan of its residents and the city was abandoned until the 1840s. Again, few records remain and one can only find scant records beginning in 1853, when Sheboygan became a city.

Lau has arranged the schools in alphabetical order after the first chapter of school beginnings. The schools begin with the Alternative Schools and goes on to include Central High, Charter Schools, Cleveland Elementary, Cooper Elementary, Day School for the Deaf, Early Learning Center, Farnsworth Middle, Franklin Elementary, Fresh Air School, Grant Elementary, Heritage, Horace Mann Elementary, Horace Mann Kindergarten and Horace Mann Junior High.

Readers are in for a few surprises. How many people know about the Fresh Air School, the Orthopedic School or the Day School for the Deaf? Or that the Union School was constructed in 1856 and was in continuous use until 1968, despite the fact that in 1887 it was considered unsafe? It was the oldest school in continuous use in the state when it was finally razed.

Lau's book covers the public schools in the city. Parochial have been covered in three different books: "History of the Reformed, Christian Reformed and Dutch Reformed Schools in Sheboygan County" by Nancy Vanderpuy, "History of Lutheran Schools" by Marian Lehmann and "History of Catholic Schools" by Clement Rammer.

Jan Hildebrand is a member of the Sheboygan County Historical Research Center. She can be reached at 467-4667.