In 1893, high school was not a requirement. But to fill a need, Professor Joseph Foeller of St. Louis, MO opened the Belleville Commercial College on E. Main St. in Belleville. Although named a college, one could attend immediately out of grade school if desired. The college offered a business curriculum including bookkeeping, accounting, practical English, business arithmetic, typing and shorthand. Below is a sample of the “speed writing”, or Gregg Shorthand, a student could take and many did. Dictating devices were yet to be invented. The school offered courses year round and were from 2 weeks to a semester in length. The school also offered an employment service that included Belleville, the Belleville area and St. Louis, MO. The school, located on the second and third floor of the Belleville Savings Bank at 18 East Main St., closed in 1951.
Angela Briedenbach and Roy Foeller, descendants of the founder, contributed equipment, photos and archives to the permanent collection of the Labor & Industry Museum.