Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

May 29, 2002, Page 10

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

 

 

Clark County News

 

 

May 1877

 

Flour has become an article of great value throughout the country.  It is now welling in the area market at $10 per barrel.  The unfortunate customer must pay well for the bread-making ingredient.

••••••••••

Finnegan & Kerns have opened a blacksmith shop in the new building opposite Heaslett’s gun shop. They can be found at the shop, ready and able to do any work in their line, warranting satisfaction to all whom they serve.

••••••••••

The survey made by C. E. Bussell, county surveyor, has established the boundaries of the lot upon which George Lloyd is building.  Changes have been made upon the adjoining lot boundaries. The boundary changes will require the moving of Tragsdorf & Schoengarth’s shoe shop.  The shoe shop building had been built so near the lot line that the projection of the roof covers a portion of Lloyd’s premises.

 

Lloyd commenced work on his new store building last Monday.  He has now given employment to about every man with a team of horses that can be had.  The cellar upon which they are now working, digging out and hauling soil, is about completed.  The building is to be a 2-story brick structure, 30’ by 100’.  It will be used; throughout for the business Lloyd is now carrying on.

 

Lumber and timber for Lloyd’s building is being hauled from Nasonville, a distance of 16 miles.  Notwithstanding the fact that Neillsville is surrounded with pine timber, a portion of which at least should be manufactured here.

••••••••••

C. F. W. Schmidt, the mill man at Humbird, publishes a short address of warning in today’s newspaper.  It is to parties who are led to trespass upon Schmidt’s property for the purpose of catching the fish in the waters of his millpond.  He has been compelled to adopt this course due to the abuses practiced by parties going there for that purpose.

••••••••••

Peter Mitchell & Son, experienced mill men of Plainfield, Waushara County, are to erect an extensive flouring mill at Nasonville.  They are said to be men of worth by some people residing here and who have been acquainted with the Mitchells for years.

••••••••••

Louis Rossman has what will be, when completed, the finest country schoolhouse in Clark County.  It will be known as District No. 1, Town of Eaton, south of Greenwood.

 

Bob Schofield has a crew working around Greenwood, building fences, clearing land and making general changes.  For us, Schofield is the right man in the right place. We understand he is to build a fine residence in the village this summer.

••••••••••

Louis Sontag is building an addition to his dwelling, which, when completed, will give him one of the best houses in town.  The addition now being erected will be 22 x 32 feet, a story and a-half in height.  It is to be veneered with brick and will be a substantial building.

••••••••••

Mrs. O’Neill has her ice cream rooms nicely fitted up.  Open to the public, a new soda fountain has also been put in the rooms.

••••••••••

He that sits down on the point of a needle, or even upon a tack that standeth on its head, shall rise again.

••••••••••

The dance held at the O’Neill House, last Thursday, was very poorly attended.  Dances have been more abundant than money in this village for the past few months.

••••••••••

This coming week, Mrs. Jas. W. Ferguson will have a special offer for the ladies of Neillsville.  She has a full line of linen and cambric suits, varying in price, according to quality, starting at $1.50 per suit.

••••••••••

During the past few months, by direction of the Clark County Board, the county clerk has tax-deeded lands to the county.  All of these lands upon which the county held certificates subject to deed, totals in all, something less than 300 forties. These lands are nearly all of some value and some of them are desirable, to be sought sooner or later.  At present, the real value of the lands has nothing to do with the price for which they can be had of the county.  The clerk, in selling, has no authority to charge more or less than the amount of taxes, interest and charges against the land.  These charges may be above or below the actual value of certain tracts and some classification should be made of the lands in question, giving to each class a price corresponding to value.

 

May 1952

 

Four Clark County youths were inducted into the armed services, last week, as part of the April county draft quota.

 

James Suda, of Greenwood, and Howard Frane, of Curtiss, were inducted into the Army at Minneapolis on April 22.  Harland Heimke, of Granton, who volunteered for induction this month, was inducted into the Marine Corps.  Charles Gundlach, of Loyal, who transferred from Waukesha, was inducted into the Army.

••••••••••

The 1952 edition of the Neillsville Athletics, city entries in the Cloverbelt baseball league, will make an early-season debut at Chili Sunday afternoon.  It is the opening league game and starts at 2:15 p.m.

 

Manager Eugene Christie and his men have had but little time to get into shape.  The line-up is still uncertain.  However, for this first game, Manager Christie expects to use Arnold Buchholz and Bob Seltrecht on the mound, pitching with Hank Lukes in reserve.  Both Buchholz and Seltrecht were on last season’s pitching staff.  Merle Barsch, last year’s catcher, will backstop.

 

Others expected to appear in the lineup are: Bob Urban, first base; Bud Lazotte, shortstop; Gordon Vine, third base; Dick Tibbett, Pat McIntyre and Dick Buchholz in the outfield.  Harold Milbreit, veteran catcher and coach, also will be suited.

 

Other Cloverbelt opening games scheduled for Sunday include: Marshfield at Stratford, Loyal at Greenwood and Abbotsford at Medford.

••••••••••

Grand opening of the Women’s golf program at the Neillsville Country Club will be held this Thursday.  The program will start at 9:30 a.m. with golf; sandwiches and coffee served at 12 noon; card playing begins at 2 p.m. with Canasta and bridge and golfing again at 2 p.m.  A smorgasbord supper will be served at 5 p.m.  The cost will be 75c for each person.  The women are selling social memberships of $5 for the season for women interested in all or part of the program, or those who hope to make it a weekly outing.

••••••••••

The Clark County Bar Association has honored three Neillsville attorneys for their many years of practice.

 

Judge O. W. Schoengarth, attorneys W. J. Rush and Wm. A. Campman, were honored at a testimonial dinner give for them this week.  The event was sponsored by the Clark County Bar Association honoring the three men for more than a half century as members of the bar.

 

W. J. Rush of Neillsville is the oldest of the group.  He graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1900 and started practicing in Marshfield and Loyal, finally, and after he was elected district attorney in 1910, he moved to Neillsville.  Rush served four terms as district attorney.

 

“In those days,” he said, “There was none of this probation business.  Either they pleaded guilty or they stood trial; Had a great many trials those days.”

 

“One of the things I took part in during the time I was state senator was the Rural Electrification Program.  The private utilities were under the Public Service Commission and the REA wasn’t.  We had to pass a bill to give the REA the right to build lines.  It was left to me to get the bill put through the senate.  Finally, with only one vote to spare, the bill was passed.”

 

Rush served three terms as state senator.  In 1937, he was president pro-tem of the Senate.

 

The youngest of the group, is atty. Wm. A. Campman, who graduated from the University of Wisconsin law school in 1902.  He served as Clark County court reporter for two years after graduating until 1904.  Then, he entered the firm of Charles F. Grow and J. F. Schuster, abstract attorneys.  He has been in the same office ever since.  Grow died in 1909 and Schuster in 1946.

 

I can’t remember any definite highlights from the abstract work; but while I was court reporter, we had two big cases,” he reminisced for the Press reporter.  “Judge James O’Neill, nephew of the founder of Neillsville, was the judge.  The bank at Greenwood had been robbed.  The men escaped with $5,000 after holding up the bank at night.  After a clever piece of detective work, the men were arrested in Chicago and brought back to Clark County.  But I guess their alibi was too good, because the men were decided innocent by the jury.  The bank robbers were from Chicago and traveled by train. In those days, train was the only way to travel.”

 

“We also had the Cornelius trial.  Charles Cornelius was one of the founders of First National Bank in Neillsville.  He was named defendant in an action alleging he had obtained property of his wife’s parents by using undue influence.  When Judge O’Neill decided against Cornelius, it broke up their friendship completely.”

 

“Yes, it has been a rather uneventful 50 years, but a good 50 years.  I fish, hunt, and play golf. Those are my hobbies.”

 

Judge Schoengarth graduated from the University of Wisconsin law school in 1901 and joined the law firm of F. M. Marsh, in Neillsville, after graduation.  In 1905, he ran for Clark County Judge and took office January 1, 1906.  He has been county judge ever since.

 

“Well, they tell me the first 50 years are the hardest and I have a few more years before I’ll have been county judge for 50 years. In all of that time all but one of the cases I decided were upheld by the state supreme court,” Judge Schoengarth said.

 

“The present chief justice of the state supreme court is Oscar Fritz, a classmate of mine.  Joe Davies who wrote that book, ‘Mission to Moscow,’ was another classmate.  Michael Cleary, who was president of the Northwestern Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, is another classmate as is Theodore Brazeau, Wisconsin Rapids attorney; Henry Betling, circuit judge of Sheboygan for many years and Arthur Fairchild, head of a leading Milwaukee firm.”

 

“I’ve held court in various counties, such as around Phillips, in Price County, around Eau Claire and other cities.  It’s been very interesting.”

••••••••••

A civic revival is under way in Owen.  Immediate and tangible evidence is the construction of an addition to the high school and of a sewage treatment plant.  In the background is the awakened interest of citizens, which has found expression in the new Community Forum.  This Forum, at work through its officers and committees, has as its aim, the solution of the problems of the community, coupled with the aim of expansion and growth.

 

The high school project is coming to a head with the awarding of contracts for work which will soon be under way.  The building is projected for completion during the present open season.  The new construction will consist of a structure 85’ x 120’, located to the west of the present high school building and connected with it.  The material will be concrete block, with a facing of brick, so that its appearance will correspond with that of the present building.

 

The new structure will house a gymnasium and auditorium.  It will afford the Owen community its first and only adequate community meeting place.  For years past the only sizable meeting room has been the theater, the use of which is chiefly devoted to its own enterprise.

 

The contracts for the construction have been awarded.  The general contract went to the Miron Construction Co. of Appleton, on its low bid $118,104.  The contract for plumbing and heating has been awarded to Warlum-Robinson, Inc., of Neillsville on the low bid of $28,806.  The electrical contract has been awarded to Bill’s Electric Shop, of Abbotsford on its low bid of $5,000.

••••••••••

The time has arrived when the patient waiters will be rewarded by a choice of lots on the new Mead Lake.  With the lots now laid out, Clark County is ready to complete the leases.  A few lots have been reserved for public use and the other lots will go in the order in which applicants made their down payments.  First and third choices go to S. J. Glankoski of Thorp.  Second choice goes to Calvin Mills of Owen.  Both of these men put their money down on the lots five years ago.

 

Thirty-four persons had made their deposits on lake-shore lots and will now make their choices.  The choosing will be a somewhat deliberate affair, the present plan calling for about three choices a day.

 

All told, there are 192 lots available around the lake.  It is the anticipation of Mike Krultz, Jr., county clerk, that there will be an increasing demand for them, now that the lake is in being and the area is platted.

The REA Co-op building was located on Main Street of Greenwood, circa 1940.  The company’s utility trucks, cars and employees are included in the photo taken in front of the company’s headquarters.  (Photo courtesy of Val Krainz)

 

 


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