Back to Waldorf

Waldorf Days was more than just another festival in another small town. It was a chance for everyone in attendance to learn the rich history of the town and its school during the last weekend of August. 

To kick off the festivities, the Waldorf Fire Hall hosted a burger and sweet corn feed with ice cream provided by Waseca’s Mis Tres Flores the evening of Friday, August 26. The night ended with a Fireman’s Dance featuring the band Red Dirt Road.

Saturday was the busiest day of the weekend, with activities both for those who wanted to move and mingle, and those who wanted to be more relaxed. The city’s community center featured diverse offerings ranging from a silent auction, a church bake sale, bingo, and coffee and donuts.

Exhibits at the school were an important element of the celebration. Area resident Phil Marquardt had his train collection on display in the former computer classroom.

“I first played with trains back in 1953,” he recalled. “My father bought them; my siblings and I  were fascinated by them. I forgot all about them when I was in the service. But I found these sets and my love was rekindled.”

Another exhibit at the school was a miniature model of Dale Groskreutz’s barn. Interesting facts and history were also shared, including costs of materials back when the original structure was built.

Groskreutz, who crafted the model, stated that he was looking for a hobby after he retired. “I thought this would be a great project for me,” he observed. “I used wood from the barn itself to recreate it to scale.”

In the old cafeteria room of the school was a mini-museum dubbed “A Touch of Waldorf History.” The display featured documents ranging from newspaper clippings to pictures of former buildings. A dedicated part of the exhibit was for the Plum Valley Creamery, which was named for the original settlement that later became modern-day Waldorf.

“People don’t really understand how much history there actually is to uncover in Waldorf,” said Grand Marshal Judy Joecks. “It is baffling how much there is, especially in this small town.”

Information about area history and past Waldorf Days celebrations was shared in binders, some of them so full of pictures, briefs, and stories that they were difficult to close.

A major element of this year’s Waldorf Days was an all-school reunion held Saturday afternoon in the now-repurposed school building. The Waldorf-Pemberton Colts mascot was featured on commemorative t-shirts sold throughout the weekend.

The emcee of the all-school reunion was Waldorf Class of 1954 graduate Arlan Burmeister. He shared memories and bits of humor as he introduced various individuals who stepped forward to share their experiences.

The first speaker of the night was Fauniece Witt, an English teacher at Waldorf-Pemberton from 1963 to the school’s closure in 1991. Witt later taught at JWP until her retirement in 2003.

She spoke about the many changes which occurred in her 40 years of teaching. She remembered when the teachers received brochures in the mailbox about new technology in the 1980s called “computers.”

“We taught the students how to use computers without having any training with them,” she claimed.

As Witt repeated many times in her speech, “Times changed.” Even when it became clear that the Waldorf-Pemberton schools faced inevitable closure, she remembers that the communities held onto their school as long as possible, until 1991, when the district joined with Janesville.

One thing that didn’t change, however, was the coverage of the Waldorf-Pemberton school district by the New Richland Star. “Margaret Engesser was always around with her little notepad jotting things down,” Witt remembered. “She came every Tuesday to get the latest on what was going on at the school.”

The next speaker was former Waldorf mayor Bruce Urbatch, who was a junior and senior high biology teacher from 1979 until spring 1991. He shared fond memories of his time in the school and of the community itself.

“Since I’m from Iowa, people always joked I was an outsider. When I moved out, people reminded me of that. It was great that we could joke about stuff like that.”

Kim Huxford, a 1973 Waldorf-Pemberton graduate, was the last speaker of the night and shared memories of playing around in Waldorf. “This town had it all,” he reminisced. “Two cafes, a nice park, and every kid had a bike. You felt safe in this town. There was a nice community.”

Mayor Rob Wilkening offered closing remarks and stated that he wants to keep the school in Waldorf. “It’s been difficult to do so,” he admitted. “With Covid-19, it’s been a struggle keeping this building. But when I came to this town, I saw the potential in this building. We can use it and keep it up and running.”

Waldorf Days concluded with a Polka service at the school on Sunday followed by a pancake breakfast.

The celebration showed that there are many things for citizens of Waldorf to take pride in: things that should not be allowed to fade into the past.

“This town has potential,” Wilkening concluded. “I don’t want to see this city be forgotten.”