Westphalia Little School

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Westphalia Little School in Falls County. Now settle in, because this one's got roots that go deep. When the earliest settlers arrived in Westphalia in 1879, they were building more than a community.

They were building a future, and that future needed a school. Plans got underway not long after those first families put down stakes, and three trustees took on the job of making it happen: Anton Jansing, Joseph Hoelscher, and Stanislaus Rollewitz. Under their direction, the school was set up to provide both parochial and public instruction, which tells you something right there about the kind of people these German Catholics were.

Practical. Purposeful. Not inclined to do things halfway.

The Westphalia Little School opened in 1884, and the teachers who stepped up to serve it make for quite a roll call: J. H. Pels, Professor A.

Kechoff, Brother Stefan Geiser of the CPPS, George Laloumoudiere, G. Horst Daniel, Joseph Henke, and Tim Sullivan. Now, the building those early students walked into had a story of its own.

It was originally constructed as the Church of Visitation. Then the storms came, and they came hard enough to do heavy damage. The building was remodeled in 1893 and took on a new purpose as the community schoolhouse.

A church, rebuilt into a school. There's something poetic about that, even if the storms themselves weren't much of a poem. Then in 1899, the Sisters of Divine Providence arrived from Our Lady of the Lake Convent in San Antonio, and they began teaching in the school.

The parochial program they supported eventually came to an end in 1935, but here's the part worth remembering: the Sisters kept right on serving in the public school. They didn't leave when the program ended. They stayed.

And since 1884, through storms and remodels and the slow turning of decades, Westphalia Little School has kept offering area residents a quality education built on that same cooperative spirit between public and parochial instruction. Some things, once rooted properly, just don't quit growing.

What the marker says

Plans for the establishment of a school to serve the German Catholic community of Westphalia began soon after the earliest settlers arrived here in 1879. Under the direction of the first trustees, Anton Jansing, Joseph Hoelscher,and Stanislaus Rollewitz, the school was set up to provide parochial and public instruction. The Westphalia Little School opened in 1884. Early teachers were J. H. Pels; Professor A. Kechoff; Brother Stefan Geiser, CPPS; George Laloumoudiere; G. Horst Daniel; Joseph Henke; and Tim Sullivan. The building was originally constructed as the Church of Visitation. After being heavily damaged by storms, it was remodeled in 1893 for use as the community schoolhouse. In 1899 the Sisters of Divine Providence from Our Lady of the Lake Covent in San Antonio began teaching in the school. Although the parochial program ended in 1935, the Sisters have continued to serve in the public school. Since 1884 Westphalia Little School has continued to offer area residents a quality educational program based on a cooperative effort between public and parochial instruction.