Mountain Lake Christian School (Mountain Lake, Minnesota, USA)
Mountain Lake Christian School, 710 N. 11th St., Mountain Lake, MN, formerly known as the Mountain Lake Preparatory School (Deutsche Vorbereitungs-Schule) and Mountain Lake Bible School, Mountain Lake, Minnesota, was started by I. I. Bargen in 1886, who had organized a School Association (Schulverein) of 30 members for this purpose. After two years this organization was dissolved and I. I. Bargen resigned, but J. J. Balzer continued the school. Through his efforts a new School Association was organized in 1896.
The 1905-6 catalog made provision for two classes of the lower level and four classes of upper level instruction in addition to some elementary school classes. The curriculum indicated that Balzer, who was a graduate of the Gnadenfeld Zentralschule, Russia, patterned his school after the one he was graduated from. In 1901 a commodious building was erected. The enrollment in 1901-2 was 83, 1902-3 was 106, 1903-4 was 116. More than half the students were adults.
In 1912 the Schulverein was dissolved and the control of the school was assumed jointly by five different Mennonite churches in the Mountain Lake community, who administered it until 1936, when another reorganization took place. After that time the school was known as the Mountain Lake Bible School and offered in its Bible department a Bible course of two years and six months for adults, and in its parochial department (in which the term consists of nine month) the regular state-required subjects of the first six grades and some courses in Bible and German. In addition to this the Bible School maintained a kindergarten.
In 1961 the name changed to Mountain Lake Christian Day School, as the curriculum covered all subjects taught in public schools. New additions were completed in 1969 and 1979. The name changed to Mountain Lake Christian School in 1981. Bethany Christian School (grades 7-12) began in 1984. It merged into Mountain Lake Christian School in 1996.
Among the outstanding teachers have been J. J. Balzer (1886-1914) and Cornelius Wall (1936-1946). In 1954 the school had an enrollment of 105 and five teachers.
Bibliography
Catalogs of Mountain Lake Deutsche Vorbereitungs-Schule and the Mountain Lake Bible School.
Harder, M. S. "The Origin, Philosophy, and Development of Education Among the Mennonites." University of Southern California, dissertation, 1949: 244 ff.
Hartzler, J. E. Education Among the Mennonites of America. Danvers, IL, 1925: 116 ff.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. III, 172.
Mountain Lake Christian School. "Building Future Generations." Mountain Lake, MN: Mountain Lake Christian, November 2004. Accessed 8 October 2006. <http://www.mtlakechristian.net/building.htm>
| Author(s) | Cornelius Krahn |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Krahn, Cornelius. "Mountain Lake Christian School (Mountain Lake, Minnesota, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 24 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mountain_Lake_Christian_School_(Mountain_Lake,_Minnesota,_USA)&oldid=101553.
APA style
Krahn, Cornelius. (1957). Mountain Lake Christian School (Mountain Lake, Minnesota, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mountain_Lake_Christian_School_(Mountain_Lake,_Minnesota,_USA)&oldid=101553.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 761. All rights reserved.
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