Clovis Grove
Clovis Grove Elementary’s history dates back to the 1880s, when a family by the name of Clovis purchased a plot of land in Menasha. Melissa Handler, an Austrian immigrant, married John Clovis and bequeathed the land to their daughter, Ida, and her husband, Frank Grove. With the land, the couple cultivated a thriving dairy farm, which was inherited by the only son of theirs who remained in Menasha: Alva.
Clovis Farm, 1912. Image courtesy of the Neenah Public Library.
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Mrs. Clovis standing in Clovis stock farm’s barn, taken from broken glass negative. Image courtesy of Menasha Historical Society.
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Eventually, Alva donated the land to the City of Menasha in dedication to his mother, Ida Grove, and his grandmother, Melissa Clovis. In possession of the city, the former farmland became the ground for a new elementary school, which bore the names of its past inhabitants: Clovis and Grove. Like the school, many streets surrounding the land are named in remembrance of the hard-working families that kept the land, such as Alva, Ida, Melissa, Arthur, Grove, John, and Clovis. Clovis Grove Elementary School, designed by architects Durrant and Berquist, opened for its first classes in September of 1958, at which point it had 12 classrooms, 2 kindergartens, a sophisticated kitchen, lounges for teachers and administration, and enough room for 400 children.
Floor plan for original Clovis Grove school, 1958. Image courtesy of the Menasha Historical Society.
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Original Clovis Grove school, 1958. Image courtesy of the Menasha Historical Society.
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In 2001, the lack of space in local elementary schools led to the recommendation to expand the school, which was in dire need of repairs and upgrades. Soon after, Clovis Grove Elementary School was renovated by McMahon Architects, who salvaged many of the original characteristics of the school while remodeling and creating seven additional classrooms. The new building features a modern library, gymnasium, choir and band rooms, kitchen, and space for 600 students.
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Clovis Grove Elementary
Tammy Richter
Doug Dahm
Peter Pfundtner
Barbara Drinkwine
Rocco D'Amelio
Terry Martin
Ivol Van Handel
2011-Present
2005-11
2001-05
1996-01
1990-96
1987-90
1975-87
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