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Clark County Press, Neillsville, Wisconsin June 11, 2008, Page 28 Contributed by "The Clark Co. Press" Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon. Index of "Oldies" Articles
Compiled and contributed by Dee Zimmerman
Clark County News |
June 1868
The Clark County Commissioners appointed to section off the Black River Road into sections of two miles each, have now completed their labors as far as Mr. H. Huntzickers, 13 miles north of Neillsville and twenty-six miles from the south line of the county. The law requiring that ten days notice shall be given for letting contracts and notices, have been posted today.
(The section of road referred to as 13 miles north of this city is now primarily the route of Highway 73. DZ)
G. W. Kings steam saw mill, in the Town of Mentor, narrowly escaped being consumed by a recent fire. It is believed the pine timber destroyed around the mill was worth fully fifty thousand dollars. In a few years, the timber destroyed in the county by this fire, would be worth millions of dollars.
The town board of Pine Valley will meet in the post office next Saturday at 1 p.m. for the purpose of letting road jobs.
The Milwaukee Sentinel says its difficult to give the particulars of immigration as they occur. Three or four hundred immigrants pass through that city daily, arriving by the different routes of travel.
During the past two weeks several thousand immigrants have arrived at La Crosse from Norway, Sweden and Denmark, before going to Northern Wisconsin and Minnesota. La Crosse is the separating point and from there they go in various directions to locate in the vicinity of respective friends and relative who have come before them. Those coming this year are of a very healthy, thrift appearing class and do not show evidence of the ill-treatment on the way over, which others in former years had received.
The showers of rain which fell during the fore part of last week, has proved a God send to the lumbermen of the Black River. The logs have been running at a glorious rate. We have been informed, by reliable people, that the logs in the Popple River have been gotten out very clean, as well as most of the logs in Rock River. The main drive on the Black River is as far down as Eatons Mill, where they are suspended for the present time. It is estimated that over forty million logs have gone into the main boom at the mouth of the river. This will fill the boom and the way the men handle the logs, there will soon be room for another invoice as large as the present.
Many had begun to fear that we would not have the June rise in the river. Happily our fears have been dispelled, for upon the success of the lumbering interests depends in a great measure of success for the farmers, as well as every branch of business in our county.
The people of school district 2, in this town, are proud of their new schoolhouse, built by Mr. Orson Cornwell. Miss Mary Wood commenced teaching there last Monday.
Strawberries are selling for 15 and 20 cents per quart, here in our village.
The farmers around Clark County have declared war against that nefarious pest, the potato bug, and they are waging it with great energy. As one passes along the road, he can see children and sometimes the farmers wife in the potato fields with various kinds of implements making deadly war against the enemy to our potato crop. Our constant prayer is that the farmers may prove victorious in destroying this pest, for owing to the high price of flour the new settlers can ill dispense with the loss of their potato crop.
(I remember as a child, picking potato bugs off the potato plants, in the mid-to-later 1940s. Dmk)
There will be an Independence Day Ball given at the Lumbermens Hotel on the evening of July 4th with dancing to commence at 3 oclock p.m.
June 1948
Wisconsin has entered upon the second century of the existence as a state of the federal union.
One hundred years ago last May 29, President James R. Polk in the White House signed a congressional act, which transformed the wilderness Wisconsin Territory in the then Far West into the 30th State of the American Republic. Last weekend thousands of citizens of Wisconsin gathered in Madison for the formal celebration of the event and for the rededication of the commonwealth to the principals and traditions, which gave it greatness during its first 100 years.
With a gigantic and colorful parade, with speeches by the great of Wisconsin and the nation, with fireworks and other manifestations of pride and consciousness of the states history and accomplishments, the second century of statehood was greeted and acknowledged.
Acting Gov. Oscar Rennebohm, addressing the assembled crowds at the weekend celebration in the capital city, probably caught the spirit of the occasion when he said The present generation of Wisconsin citizens is grateful to the hardy men and women whose toil, thought, faith and hope have given us such as abundant heritage.
Al Devos gave a glimpse of Wisconsin 100 years from now at the Kiwanis club of Neillsville, Tuesday evening, when he prophesied as follows:
Socialism and Communism will increase, unless Americans get enough of that tendency and return to rugged individualism.
Family life will be distinctly different.
Farming will decline. Other types of work will tend to dominate and people will work less hours per day with more time spent in fishing.
The new $12,000 athletic field at Neillsville was to be dedicated at its formal opening Wednesday night, with Thorps strong Cloverbelt league team appearing against the Neillsville Athletics in the feature baseball tilt.
A great crowd, perhaps the largest to witness a baseball game in the history of Neillsville, was expected to be on hand for the dedication ceremonies and the opening game. Several prominent speakers are to be on hand, according to Jack Tibbett, president of the Neillsville Athletic Association.
The Neillsville High School band will lend its music to the occasions.
Opening ceremonies were scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. The baseball game was to get underway about 8:30 p.m. under a blaze of 156,000 kilowatts of electricity shot into the night by 104 reflectors.
For this opening classic, the Neillsville Athletic Association has been making an effort to secure the services of Jim Haas, former University of Wisconsin hurling start and his Augusta teammate, Young, as a battery.
Thorps fine western division Cloverbelt League team may throw Frank (Lefty) Winarczyk, its ace port-side, into the fray. These two batteries should assure plenty of real baseball in the headline entertainment.
The athletic field is located on the fairgrounds. It covers approximately eight and one-half acres, the entire area of which lies within the old racing oval.
The formal opening and dedication of the lighted field mark the culmination of more than a years work, from paper planning to completion and considerably longer than that in the dreams of the originators.
Actual work was started last October, when the area was graded to provide a smooth, level, playing surface for baseball, football and softball.
All three of these sports will be carried on through the season. The high school is expected to use the field for its home football games; the field also is available for softball games.
Use of the field and lighting system is not limited to Neillsville organizations. The lease negotiated between the Neillsville Athletic Association and the Clark County Agriculture Society, who are operators of the fairground, provides that the facilities there may be used by others at any time when there is no conflict with scheduled games of association sponsored teams.
The only restriction, of course, is that a fee be paid to take care of the cost of electricity and maintenance expense involved with the use of the lighting system.
Miss Betty Lou Mathews, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. I. B. Matthews of Loyal, became the bride of Leonard J. Rueth, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Rueth of Loyal, in a double ring ceremony May 29 at St. Anthonys Catholic Church in Loyal. Fr. Aloys Zinhefer officiated at the wedding.
Miss Bernice Schwarze, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Schwarze and LeRoy Fravert, son of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Fravert, were married Friday, June 11, at the West Side Reformed Church, Greenwood.
Miss Elvera Reineking of Greenwood was maid of honor. Orlin Fravert was best man. Other attendants were Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Schwarze of Minneapolis, and Paul Franz and Norman Noah of Greenwood.
A 5 oclock dinner was served in the church parlors and a reception was held at the home of the brides parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Fravert are both graduates of the Greenwood High School. They will make their home on the farm of the brides parents.
There will be a double Wedding Dance at the Silver Dome, Saturday, June 19 for Gust Hagen & Doris Schelke and for Clarence Miller & Anita Wedekind. Music will be by the Howard Sturtz Orchestra. Admission will be 25’ per person.
Lee Albert Counsell of the Neillsville community will graduate as a doctor of dental surgery at Northwestern University, next Wednesday.
Bucher Paulus has sold the real estate and business of the Neillsville Bottling Works on Fifth Street. The realty property has been sold to Ray Montgomery and the business will be conducted under the management of Chester Lewis, who comes from La Crosse. The business has been in the Paulus family for 28 years, being conducted from 1920 to 1944 by James Paulus. Upon his death it was taken over by his son, Bucher.
The new management intends to conduct the business upon the old lines.
Gerald Gaier, 19, of the Town of Levis, escaped with the fracture of three ribs early Saturday morning when the car he was driving crashed into the guard rail on the Cunningham Creek Bridge, two miles south of Neillsville on Highway 73.
Traffic Officer Harry Frantz said Gaier told him he had fallen asleep. The accident happened about 3:30 a.m. while Gaier was diving (driving) a late-model sedan northward. Gaier was alone.
After crashing into the guard rail, the car overturned on the roadway of the bridge. It as badly wrecked.
Auto-Test, Inc., Neillsvilles newest industry, has made its first shipment.
Last week, 18 timing lights of distinctly new design went out from the factory, marking in a small way the entrance of the manufacturing enterprise in the nations market.
The plant is located on West 8th Street, in the building formerly occupied by the Nelson Muffler Co.
With the problem of shortages of materials at least partially overcome, a problem, which has harried the neophyte industry considerably, William Yenni, president, expects that production will be increased gradually until a substantial quantity of timing lights are being produced daily.
Playgrounds for Neillsville, this summer, have been assured by cooperation of interested organizations of Neillsville. The project is sponsored by the Neillsville Athletic Association, which is in charge of the conduct and management of the playgrounds. The Community Chest has, by action of its directors, allotted $300 for the payment of the director. The Business and Professional Womens Club has contributed $60 for the purchase of additional equipment.
In getting the playgrounds under way this summer, the Neillsville Athletic Association has arranged with Fritz Subke, a qualified instructor, to take charge of them. They will open Thursday, July 1st and will continue for two months.
The schedule calls for a playground at the North Side School at 9 a.m. each weekday and at the South Side School at 1 p.m. each weekday.
Cab Service can be had to the Neillsville Baseball grounds by calling 400. The fee for single rider is 25’, or for couple is 35’.
Murphys Tavern on Lake Arbutus provides Trap Shooting every Sunday.
They also serve meals with Sandwiches and Potato Salad only on Thursdays and Sundays; Fried Spring Chicken on Saturday night.
Cottages can be rented by the day, week or month. Boats and motors for rent and minnows for sale
In quest of information on how some of the peculiar names were given to locations in Neillsville, our reporter ran across Bill Dahnert, a Snake Street merchant of long standing and asked about the nickname of that busy thoroughfare.
Guess it was because there used to be a lot of snakes down there, Bill said.
About 30 years ago, more or less, the area of Seventh (Snake) Street was swamp land full of pine stumps. The sidewalk was wooden and built on stilts above the swamp on a portion of the street. There was a hand railing on either side of the wooden walk. Or so Mr. Dahnert recalls.
Another version, given by Carl Juvrud, is the legend he has heard that people who went down Seventh Street saw snakes.
The reporter notes the parallel of the two answers. The only difference is that the snakes in one version were real; in the other, imaginary.
We will keep asking!
The Neillsville area square dance club re-enacted pioneer life during the Wisconsin State Centennial celebration, which was held in Neillsville. The musicians, kneeling in the first row on the right, are Art Nemitz with the fiddle and Louis Nemitz holding an accordion. Art also called the square dances. (Photo courtesy of Mrs. Arthur [Margaret] Nemitz)
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