Robert Kulack
Storyteller Robert Kulack,
Retired Associate Principal,
Red River High School
Email: bkulack@yahoo.com
Phone: 701-772-5836
Will Portray Elroy Schroeder,
Former Superintendent of
Grand Forks Public Schools
Elroy Schroeder was one of three Superintendents who served the Grand Forks Public Schools for more than twenty- five years. He competed for the job with Walter Loomer, a longtime school principal in the city. Schroeder was born in Holmes, ND, just west of Thompson. He was a graduate of Central High School and the University of N. D. He completed his BS Degree in 1926 and his Masters Degree in 1935. In 1948, he was granted an honorary doctoral degree, the LLD, by Wesley College. The people of Grand Forks called him Dr. Schroeder. Earlier in his career he served as Grand Forks County Superintendent beginning in 1926. Prior to this he taught in area rural schools and at St James Academy in the city, He impressed people with his capacity for leadership. He was noted for his conservative and careful handling of public money. He was also noted for driving a hard bargain. He owned both agricultural land and city real estate. He took great pains to keep his private business and his school responsibilities quite separate. Thus, his integrity remained uncompromised and this was recognized as another notable characteristic. A part of his leadership style was that he considered opposing viewpoints. The citizenry recognized that Schroeder’s mind was not hampered by conceptual blocks. Among other things he developed a clear concept of what a school should look like. Schroeder also was an amateur inventor. He patented a product that resurfaced desktops; another was a portable lectern that could be carried around by a speaker. On the social level he was a member of the Lions Club and the Elks Lodge, as well as the Grand Forks Shrine and Scottish Rites Bodies. He participated in many of the city’s charitable ventures. He and Walt Loomer organized a city dance club that lasted for 33 years. During the last eight years as superintendent he oversaw the addition of Lincoln, Lewis and Clark, West, and Viking Elementary Schools and Valley Junior High to accommodate the children of the returning veterans of WWII. He passed to the afterlife in 1958.
