The Good Old Days 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

August 1901

Tom Lowe has had sewer connections put into his fine residence, on Grand Avenue.

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The village of Dorchester is making the preliminary moves toward being regularly incorporated as a village, under the state laws.

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Drs. Conroy and Conroy have added an X-ray machine to their office equipment.  They can see right through you with this.

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Geo. Milton cut a small artery in his wrist, Tuesday afternoon, and had to get it plugged lest he lose his vital spark.

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The prairie chicken and partridge season opened Sunday. A small army of local Nimrods took to the woods, many of them bagging large numbers of birds.

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Real estate men have begun to complain because farmers are putting up prices of land, but, why not?  Who ought to get the advance values, the man with the hoe or the chap with the option?

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Fred Reitz has packed up his goods and moved out of the store building near the O’Neill House, which he recently sold to Carl Rabenstein.  He intends to locate at Alma Center.  The building has been sold to Henry Marth, who will move it to the corner of Fourth Street and Grand Avenue.

Kurth & Friebke will open a carpenter shop, in the Marth building, opposite Gene Webster’s residence.

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The Omaha work trains have filled-in at the big trestle, at the end of the big bridge at the western limits of this city.  It has been a big piece of work and a commendable one.  The company has made the road and depot grounds, here, first-class in every particular.

On Tuesday, the construction crews lately working near this city were taken to Merrillan to work there.  When they got there, they demanded $1.75 a day.  This proposition, the railroad company through the proper officials declined to pay, and some went to work at the regular price of $1.50.  With the overwork, etc, $1.50 for a ten-hour day means about $40 a month.

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A high school football team has been organized and they are now practicing to get in shape for their games.  They will play at Medford September 28 and Merrillan October 5.  They have also challenges from Marshfield and Augusta, but the dates have not yet been definitely fixed.

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One of the busiest and most prosperous institutions in the city is Wm. Volkman’s factory, where pop, birch beer and other light drinks are made.  It is an interesting place to visit, where things are under high pressure and if a plug or cork should go wrong, the operator would take a rude shot to the roof.

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The city’s ice supply has run short, the ice men say, and many customers will have to go light on the frigid.  The same calamity befell last year.  It is time that the size of the demand, be rightly estimated and a sufficient store layed in during the winter.

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Carl Walk, Sr., has ordered a new Stevens husker and shredder machine, the latest and best outfit to be had, and he will have it working as soon as possible.  By making use of the machine, farmers will be able to save a lot of labor, feed their stock with corn product and sell their hay, which is bringing a big price at the present time.

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Andrew Emerson’s farm in Loyal Township has, it has been reported, been sold to parties from Southern Wisconsin for $17,000.  It is about the biggest farm sale on record in the county, we believe.

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Bids are wanted to build a new schoolhouse in Dist. No. 4, in the Town of Washburn.  All bids must be received on or before September 28, 1901.  For full particulars, inquire of J. E. Taylor, Clerk.

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News from Loyal: Geo. Albright has rented his farm, near Spokeville, and will be a resident of the village in the future.  He has moved into the rooms over Justice Barker’s office.

The household goods of John White came from Dodge County, Saturday.  He has rented the A. K. Prior farm and purchased the 80 acres adjoining it on the north.

Lulu Welsh has had a hard time trying to pronounce the German of the words “not, eight and I,” but she finally succeeded.

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Mail boxes on all rural routes should be about 3 ½ feet from the ground and project far enough in front of the posts that they are set on, so that the carrier’s rig can be driven close up to them without danger of striking the posts with the buggy hubs.  These posts and boxes also must be placed where a buggy can go up to them easily and quickly; so carriers do not have to leave their rigs to reach the boxes.

September 1941

Clark County farmers, this week, were warned to be wary of the lobelia weed, or wild tobacco, which has proved a menace to the health of cattle in this section recently.

Already, two deaths in cattle, both near Curtiss, have been reported, according to the State Department of Agriculture and Markets.  Other deaths resulting from eating the weed have been reported in this section of Wisconsin.

Originally, the lobelia weed was found chiefly in open woods but now it is appearing in fields and meadows throughout the state.  The weed’s spread has probably been helped by farmers who have seeded their fields with unscreened clover seed, in the opinion of Henry Lunz, inspector in charge of weed and seed control.

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About 50 teachers in Clark County’s rural school system have indicated an interest in attending night school extension classes in Central State Teachers college, Stevens Point, during the school year, Louis E. Slock, County School Superintendent, said this week.  The night school this year, he said, probably will be under the direction of the Extension Department of the University of Wisconsin; but the classes will be taught by instructors of the teachers college, same as they have been in the past.

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The enrollment at Sunny Nook School, in the Columbia area, is 36.  The class of beginners numbers five, including: Jackie Hnetsovsky, Ralph Deal, Ronald Bachman, Michael Potucek, Jr., and Leo Lindner.  Miss Elsie Zank is the teacher.

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Wendell Ayers was six years old Wednesday, September 10.  That afternoon, he treated his schoolmates, the children of the first and second grades, with Dixie cups and animal cookies.  The biggest thrill of the day was from his daddy, Claude Ayers, of Alexandria, La, containing delightful birthday greetings.

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The major job of transforming the old Neillsville Brewery building into housing for modern bowling alleys has been nearly completed, and installation of six new alleys by factory workmen was under way, this week.

As the work of placing the building and new alleys in shape for the first crash of ball against pins, nears the final stages, Ted Schmidt, who will operate the recreation center, has called meetings of  bowlers and those interested in bowling.  A meeting for the purpose of forming a women’s league will be held in the Kiwanis clubrooms in the basement of the Neillsville Bank at 8 p.m., tonight.  All women in bowling are invited to attend.

A similar meeting for men interested in bowling is planned for Friday night at 8 p.m. in the Kiwanis clubrooms.

Drastic things have been done to the old brewery building.  Although its appearance on the outside is the same as ever, with the exception that it is being spruced up and repaired, it would not be recognized in the interior.

The inside has been finished in two-tone wallboard paneling of modern design.  The six new alleys will be in the east wing of the building, with the runways extending out into the lobby.  The ceiling of the alleyways has been stepped down, and at the end where the pin-setting machines will be installed, is an arch and a noise trap.  The alleys will be illuminated by hidden fluorescent lights, which also will furnish the illumination for the rest of the building.

In the ample lobby will be a dairy bar and locker space in addition to spectators’ seats.  A ladies’ lounge is being provided off the lobby, as are the rest rooms.

The old brewery had, in the basement of the building, probably one of the best known wells in this section, which can provide a constant supply for drinking.  It is a dug well, 12 feet deep and four feet in diameter.  It was curbed-up; but while they were doing things to the old brewery building, they also did things to the old brewery well.  A cement wall was built inside of the old curbing, and the space between the old and new walls has been filled with washed and chlorinated gravel.  A cover also has been put over the well, and an electric pump is being installed.

An air conditioning system and a hot air plant are being installed in the basement.  The outlets for the heating system are in the ceiling of the lobby and alleyways, which will aid in keeping the air fresh and the building at a proper temperature.

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Willard’s Cloverbelt baseball league entrants, which (who) gave the league leaders a battle for the title during the recently closed season compiled a final computation statistic, which were revealed this week.

Players, as a team, collected 176 hits out of 551 trips to the plate during the season, and scored a total of 130 runs in the 15-game season.

Leading the batters was Mike Krultz, Jr., who collected 20 hits out of 37 trips to the plate for an average of .540.  John Zallar, who batted 12 times, connected for six hits and an average of .500; while Korenchan made 25 hits out of 54 trips, for an average of .407.

Leading in the total number of hits and runs was Paul Klancher, who made 25 hits and 22 runs in 63 times at bat.  His batting average was .397.

Other batting averages for the season were: L. Lesar, .405; W. Hribar, .333; E. Arch, .324; Joe Zallar, .298; E. Dergance, .294; Gabrovic, .241; E. Podobnik, .250; B. Dergance, .224; E. Trunkel, .217; M. Dergance, .200; and L. Fortuna, .174.

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News from the Town of Foster, as reported by Mrs. Roy Durst:

The school board of District No. 2 has bought a new bus, in which to transport children to the Lone Pine School.  It will haul children of the Lone Pine School District, also.

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Tuesday night, the city council authorized the acceptance of a bid of $700 for the old Carlson house, which belonged to the city, located on the North Side.  The bid was made by Selmer Lee.  Payment will be made at the rate of $15 per month, with interest, insurance and taxes to be kept up by Mr. Lee.

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Monday was a real Blue Monday at the county farm in the Town of York.

First, the corn binder broke down; then a cow lost her calf; and Will Uhlman, who was to hull clover, was delayed because his team ran away at the Vincent farm and smashed his haystack. 

When he did get to the county farm, the clover huller balked.  But the last straw was a runaway team at the farm in the afternoon.  That topped off the day of perplexities in fine shape.

Two inmates were picking corn for husking and throwing it on to a wagon.  They had unloaded one rack-full and were getting another when the team of horses, pulling the wagon, started to run.

Lewis Kaudy, working nearby in the same field, tried to stop the team, but they went all the faster.  A woven wire fence, four feet high with two strands of barbed wire at the top, separates the county farm field from the Happy Hollow School grounds.

The men thought the horses would run around inside the field; but the horses didn’t think so.  They had ideas of their own.  So over the fence they fairly flew, (with) the wagon and hayrack breezing out after them like the tail on a kite.

Around the school house they ran, and how they avoided hitting the bikes and playground equipment on the west side of the school building, to say nothing of Mrs. Lilly Reich’s car, parked on the grounds, is something that people who saw the ordeal are still scratching their heads over.

Children of the first and second grades were playing on the giant stride, a piece of playground equipment at the time.  The team ran between the playground equipment and the school building; but miraculously, the children were out of the path of danger.

Twice the team circled the building before they slowed down enough so that Glen Wachholz, an upper class pupil could catch them and hold them until the men came from the field.

The only damage, fortunately, was a couple of steel fence posts bent and a line on the harness broken.

By nightfall, the damage had been repaired; the calf that had been lost was found, having strayed into a neighbor’s pasture.  Once more everything was serene on the county farm.

However, the clover huller remains to be repaired.  The horses are middle aged, and horses go; but like some people, they apparently decided they could no longer stand the humdrum routine of everyday life.

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The Pine Valley Mound School opened August 25, with Mrs. Forrest Greene as teacher and the following children as pupils: Eighth grade – Ralph Smith; seventh grade – Jeanette Carl, Teddy Meinholdt, Marie Smith, Jeanninne Roder and Jeannette Roder; sixth grade – Donald Marg, Melvin Marg, Francis Letsch, Herbert Smith; fifth grade – Dolores Hause, Walter Roder, Wendell Roder, Irvin Marg; fourth grade – Patty Roder, Donald Aumann; third grade – Arlo Smith, Oakley Smith, Yvonne Evans; second grade – Evelyn Carl, Alice Meredith; first grade – Junior Roder, Janet Meredith and Bonnie Smith.

Janet and Alice Meredith and Yvonne Evans entered the Tuesday after Labor Day, making the total enrollment 24.

In the above photo, Elenora Lichte Huebner and Laura Lichte Drescher are shown seated on a new 1941 Massey Harris tractor the day it was delivered to the Lichte farm, located on Pray Ave south of Hwy 10.  Owning the tractor for doing field work, after years of using horses, was a special event.  Now 65 years later, that same tractor is still in the family, owned by Laura’s grandsons, Jim and Paul Drescher, who find use for it on their farm.  (Photo courtesy of Charlotte Drescher)