Good Old Days

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

Clark County News

January 1911

Henry Bieneck and F. W. Schultz have bought the Smith property opposite the Overall Factory.  The purchase was made from Geo. Evan’s and the property will be used principally for a real estate office by the new owners.

The Johnson Mfg. Co. needs logs at their spoke mill.  They want 500,000 feet of good logs, paying the highest market price for quality wood, delivered at the spoke mill in Neillsville or along the Omaha railroad track. White oak, red oak, pine, basswood, soft elm, soft maple, rock elm, birch, ash and No.1 hard maple are needed.  Hard maple must be 12 feet long and 14 inches in diameter and up, sound and clear of all defects.  No. 2 hard maple isn’t wanted.

Bolts – basswood bolts must be sound and clear of knots, 7 inches in diameter and up, 38 inches long, pine bolts 7 inches in diameter and up, can have small knots and be cut two ft., three ft. or four feet long. Bolts must be delivered to the spoke mill.

Dr. A. B. Jensen, who has been practicing medicine here since 1903, last week sold his residence, office building and practice to Drs. H. H. Christoffersen of Loyal and A. M. Christoffersen of Neillsville, giving the brothers possession on Jan. 20, 1911. 

The other day, we saw a set of false teeth hanging in the business office of one of our local stables.  It is a mute testimonial that the owner had borrowed a dollar and left the teeth as a promise to pay.  There surely is but one occasion upon which a fellow would pawn his false teeth and that would have to be only if he was either starving or thirsting, or it might have been both.

There will be a general license fee of $1.00 for fishing.  The proceeds will be devoted to more extensive planting of fry in the lakes and rivers in the state.  A proper maintenance of fisheries will, in the future, demand the combined efforts of the state and other interests concerned.

Our local assemblyman, Fred W. Draper is in Madison helping the law makers save the state.  He left here with a few ideas under his hat and those ideas have commenced to blossom forth.  He has introduced four bills in the assembly, three of which pertain to court matters.  The fourth bill is one that is liable to prove a rather important one and one that may occasion a pretty hot fight.  It provides that the county boards throughout the state be given authority to issue saloon licenses.  A copy of the bill, we haven’t seen yet, so the clauses of it are not clearly known.  But, if the bill does provide that saloon license monies be paid into the county treasury, as we have heard it to be the purpose of the bill.  Draper will get himself talked about.  A law of that kind would be far-reaching in its effects and won’t be killed except after a hard fight.  But, this demonstrates that for a beginner, Draper isn’t a slouch and will keep Clark County on the map.

Someone entered Chas. Neinas’ warehouse at Granton the other night and stole 24 sacks of flour.  There is as yet no trace of the robber.  It was reported that a team of horses was observed standing by the warehouse and it is evident the robber loaded up his sleigh and drove off.

January 1936

With nearly 200 old age pension applications on file and awaiting determination of the County Pension Committee, Clark County will start paying its old age pensions shortly after February 1^st.  In accordance with the state regulations, pension payments are payable the first of the month for the preceding month.

The first month’s assistance checks will vary from $5 to $20 for each pensioner, depending on the number of dependents.  While many hundreds of applications are expected to be filed for assistance, according to William Roberts, Clark County pension director, the maximum number of applicants that are expected to qualify for assistance will not approximate more than 150 at the highest.

Investigation of pension applications shall include a thorough examination into the eligibility of the applicant, including his financial standing and financial responsibility of his relatives.

Applications for pensions must produce evidence clearly establishing their citizenship.  No non-citizens are eligible.

In an informal summary of administration attempts to solve the unemployment problem, President Roosevelt said that the Works Progress Administration (WPA) had come within 20,000 of reaching its goal of 3,500,000 men at work and 77 per cent of the public works projects were underway.  By January 15, WPA will be functioning 100 per cent.

President Roosevelt repeated that the government assumed no responsibility for those not hired under the program.  He had asked congress for $4,000,000,000 last January, based upon an estimate that there were 3,500,000 needy men who could work.  “The remaining unemployed must be cared for by states, municipalities, counties and private charity,” he added.

Herman Schoenherr, Jr., returned for a Christmas vacation with home folks in Globe, from the CCC camp in Minocqua.  He has gained seven pounds in weight, much in wisdom and looks like a peppy, wide-eyed young soldier.  He is a strong supporter of the CCC camps and so is anyone else who sees the quality product they turn out.

Loyal’s out-of-town students returned to their respective homes for the holiday vacation from various schools, as follows: Miss Elpha Voight, Oshkosh Business College; Eugene Leschensky, Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa; Leo Theisen, Marquette University, Milwaukee; Richard Colby, William Theisen, Miss Hazel Fisher and Miss Veryl Nelson, Stevens Point State Teachers’ College; Clyde Grambsch, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Earl Theisen, Raymond Lotzer and Harold Fulwiler, La Crosse State Teachers’ College; Miss Eva Essex, Miss Ethel Sterr and Roland Seeman, Wausau Business College.

The farm home of Ed Wolfe, three and one-half miles northeast of Loyal was burned to the ground one night last week.  The fire was caused by an over-heated furnace. Because of drifted roads and intense cold temperatures, many neighbors were prevented from arriving in time to be of assistance in fighting the fire or helping to remove furniture from the home.  Most of the furniture and other household items were lost in the fire.

Fire of an unknown origin that broke out in the old Barton blacksmith and wagon making shop, occupied by the Carl Gassen welding shop and by the B & F Machine shop, Tuesday afternoon, gutted the entire two-story brick veneered building.  The damage to the building and equipment of the two tenants has been estimated at $10,000.

The fire was first notice in the east partition wall that separated the two shops and in a few minutes the whole structure was a mass of smoke and flames.  The density of the smoke hampered the firemen in their work of reaching the building’s interior where the fire originated.

Efforts of the firemen were centered on keeping the flames from reaching the acetylene tanks and generator of the Gassen shop, an explosion of which would have rocked the Neillsville downtown district.

The building, located on East Sixth Street, was one of Neillsville’s oldest landmarks and was erected as a wooden structure in about 1875 by A. Barton, who operated it as a blacksmith and wagon shop for many years.  In 1896, the wood structure was brick veneered by its owner.

With the advent of the automobile industry and the subsiding blacksmith and the wagon-making work, the building work, the building was later used to cater to the new industry.  The present tenants have occupied the building for a number of years.

The B & F Machine shop was owned by Earl Bruhn and Max Feuerstein, who estimated the value of their machinery and equipment at $5,000, which will be beyond further use due to water and flame damage.  The Gassen equipment and stock was valued at about $2,500, very little of which can be salvaged.

The building, owned by the Kintzele estate, is practically a total loss, with damage to it being estimated at $3,000, partly covered by insurance.

Both of the tenants plan to reopen their businesses as soon as temporary facilities can be secured.

A snow storm hit Clark County on Saturday and Sunday, leaving a great deal of snow and drifts. Those living in the country won’t get their mail delivered for a few days.  Henry Langreck hauled his and Nettie Vine’s milk by horses and sleigh to Highway 10, along Pleasant Ridge, where George Hubing would pick it up with his milk truck.

The Bunco Club met at Mrs. Merle Bushnell’s, on their farm between York Center and Christie, Thursday evening.  Prizes were awarded to Mrs. Frederick Wendt, high; Mrs. Arthur Schaeffer, low and Miss Vilma Bird, door prize.  Most of the card players enjoyed an old-fashioned sleigh ride to and from the card party, with ringing sleigh bells to make it merrier.

The Moonlight Gardens dance hall, Greenwood, burned to the ground in an early morning blaze on Saturday.  The fire threatened danger to the entire city for a time when a high wind carried burning embers out over the town.

The fire, of unknown origin, was discovered shortly after 2 a.m. by Gilbert Rhode, a farm youth, who had attended a dance at the hall that evening and was driving through Greenwood after having taken a companion home.  He notified the fire department.

Firemen were unable to check the rapid spread of the flames but succeeded in saving the home of Mrs. Charlotte Haglund, next to the flaming building.  Snow on the roofs of the nearby buildings was credited with preventing the fire from spreading farther.

The Moonlight Gardens hall, formerly known as the Bagley hall, was built in 1892.  The present owner, Charles Stout, estimated the los at $25,000, which is partly covered by insurance.

Included in the loss were the set of drums owned by James Neuenfeldt, who had left them in the hall after the dance.

The men working on the WPA projects in the Town of Sherwood and at Kominsky corners, were instructed not to go back to work on those sites until the temperature rises. The Sherwood project involves the building of a dam, the back water having flooded 600 acres of land.  The Kominsky project consists of building fire lanes and clearing away underbrush.

Rev. P. B. White has been holding religious services this month at the Lake Arbutus CCC camp for the Protestant enrollees.  On Monday evening of this week, while conducting worship services, the Rev. and Mrs. White were dinner guests of the camp officers. Rev. and Mrs. White give much praise of the fine spirit and morale of the camp.

Ole Lowe, of the Globe area, celebrated his 72^nd birthday with a small group of friends and a keg of Hoppe’s special.

Ole has had an interesting life.  He crossed the Atlantic Ocean seven times.  His education was obtained in Norway and Germany.  Working for the Northern Pacific, he surveyed in Norway, Germany, Austria, France, Turkey and Canada. During the Cleveland Panic, he moved from Minneapolis to Neillsville.  (The “Cleveland Panic” as referred to, was an economic slow-down, during President Grover Cleveland’s administration which created panic across our country in 1893.)  While living in Clark County, he worked in lumber camps for logging companies, then in the Neillsville Furniture Factory and the city water works.  Laughing, he told of how once he knocked on the door of a house and asked to read the water meter.  The lady of the house was startled, so excitedly called to her daughter, “Who is he?”  The daughter replied, “Oh, that’s only Ole Lowe.  He wouldn’t hurt anybody.”

Ole is a hale and hearty man, still vitally interested in the affairs of his adopted country.  His good health is the result of a righteous and busy life. We take our hats off to Ole.

The Neillsville Kiwanians have done a fine job of removing snow from the ice on O’Neill Creek’s pond.  Skaters came from Marshfield, Granton, Humbird, Fairchild and several other area towns to enjoy the fine skating available here.  It is suggested that the “grown-ups” of Neillsville plan a few skating parties and take advantage of these great facilities.

For those who like eating pancakes, be sure to attend the Pancake Supper to be held Wednesday, Feb. 5, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Masonic Temple in Neillsville.  Pancakes, all you can eat, will be served with sausage and coffee all for the cost of 30 cents per person.

John Fagen, of Owen, has been appointed Seed and Feed Loan Collector for this section of the state.  He collected delinquent loans at the city hall at Greenwood on Friday.

Directors of the Production Credit Association held their final meeting for the year of 1935, on December 27. The directors are Edward Sopher, Gilman; Herman Afrank, Withee; John Wuethrich, Greenwood, Helge Rustad, Black River Falls and H. H. Richardson, Neillsville.

A circa 1900 view of Hewett Street, as a dirt road, crossing the O’Neill Creek on its route through Neillsville’s north side, now also Highway 73.  The Neillsville Milling Co.’s buildings are show in the foreground.  (Photo courtesy of the Webster Family Collection)