- Narrator: New institutions of higher education
played a huge part in the reinvention of La Crosse,
as the city became a college town.
The La Crosse Continuation and Adult School began in 1912,
part of Wisconsin's pioneering system
of technical and vocational schools,
the first in the nation.
With free tuition for city residents,
the school met the needs of new businesses and industries,
providing workers with the skills needed
to adapt to the post-lumber economy.
The director, John B. Coleman,
packed the school with students of all ages
by responding quickly to requests,
organizing a class, or finding tutors
for anyone who needed them.
- Susan T. Hessel: In the '40s there was a national magazine,
"The Commonweal," that did a story about La Crosse
as the "city that went to school."
There were so many adults going to school at night
to improve their skills,
improve their knowledge.
- Narrator: The article reported that 9,000 students of all ages,
one out of five city residents,
attended the school
that would go on to become Western Technical College.
Across town, Viterbo University was one of several institutions
established by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.
In 1865, Mother Antonia Herb, of the Franciscan Sisters,
made a vow to establish the practice of never-ending prayer.
- Gayda Hollnagel: She prayed to God
and said that if he blessed their ministry,
she and the community would build a chapel,
the biggest and best that their means could afford.
- Narrator: In 1901, the Franciscan Sisters began
construction of a masterpiece of church architecture,
Mary of the Angels Chapel.
The skilled craftsmen
of the Hackner Altar Company of La Crosse
built the altars, and provided stone carving and woodworking.
- Gayda Hollnagel: Doing the cabinet work, the altars,
the pews, the detail is just astonishing.
- Narrator: A teaching order, the Franciscan Sisters
also built the city's first school of higher education,
the St. Rose Normal Institute,
for training Catholic school teachers.
After years of growth and improvement,
St. Rose became Viterbo College in 1939,
offering a four-year degree in teaching.
- Gayda Hollnagel: The sisters also started
the first hospital here.
And in connection with that, in 1901,
began the St. Francis School of Nursing
primarily to teach their own Sisters how to be nurses.
- Narrator: The University of Wisconsin- La Crosse
traces its roots back to 1909,
when the La Crosse Normal School stood at the edge of town,
the result of a long effort by the city
to bring a state teachers' college to town.
- Susan T. Hessel: Every city was vying for a normal school
because they realized, like the railroads, that would bring
important economic development opportunities,
of just plain education for its citizens,
it would be considered a college city.
- Narrator: A second building would improve the facilities
for what had already become its specialty,
the training of physical education teachers.
- Charles Gelatt: It was known around town as "muscle tech."
- Narrator: The school soon grew to become a four-year college,
and its physical education program would go on
to receive national recognition,
setting the stage
for helping the city through some hard times ahead.