July 1918

Monday evening, at one of the most largely attended school meetings ever held in the Neillsville and Pine Valley District, drastic resolutions were unanimously adopted, prohibiting the teaching of German in the Neillsville schools in the future and providing for the destruction of all German textbooks and all books or papers printed in the German language. The resolution was particularly stringent and was adopted enthusiastically.

(This was 1918 when there was great animosity against the Germans in Europe due to World War I.  At that time there were many Clark County residents who were immigrants from Germany, or second-generation family members living here.  That had to have been difficult for them, knowing they had relatives still living in Germany who may have been fighting in the war against soldiers from this community.

There were a few incidences where German immigrants living on farms around Neillsville, woke up on a morning to find portions of their barns having been painted yellow during the evening hour. D.Z.)

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Sheriff Hewett was up in the north end of the county last week, making a casual effort to locate Leslie Krueger of the Town of Longwood.  Krueger was drafted into the army and had ben called to go to Camp Grant with the last contingency, which went there, but failed to show up on the day set and has since left for parts unknown. Louis Krueger, a brother of Leslie, beat the draft also by taking French leave and the authorities are now on the lookout for both boys.  Theirs’s is a very serious and ill-advised act, the penalty will hold over them until after the war and at some time in the future they will pay the penalty for slacking.

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John Galbreath will give a dance in his new barn near Shortville next Saturday night, proceeds for the Red Cross.  The new barn is 36 x 50 feet and will give the young folks an opportunity for a fine time.

(During the time period between 1910 and 1940, after a new barn was built, there was a trend when a few owners would regularly hold dances in the new barn’s hay loft area and charge an attendance fee. The owner would hire a two-or-more piece band to provide the music, then the profit made from attendance fees, went toward paying off the remaining debt incurred in building the barn.

There were some barn dances held in the Neillsville area, such as Marquart’s along U.S. Hwy. 10, across from the fairgrounds, always holding a dance during the county fair; Hake’s, southeast of town, Kurasz’s south of town; Pischer’s on the west side of Granton; and a barn located one mile north of Christie, along state Hwy. 73., DZ)                                                                                           

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Mrs. Allen Wildish and three children and Mrs. Mary Ayers were the victims of an automobile accident on Sunday night, which was a very close call to serious results.

Mrs. Wildish and Mrs. Ayers had been to Gust Ayer’s farm Sunday and were driving home in a two-seated light-weighted-wagon.  When near the Swann farm on the ridge, they heard an approaching automobile and turned into the ditch to allow it to pass by.  The driver of the car was Baltz Hoesly and it seems he did not see the wagon until being right upon it and then becoming confused, drove into it.  The wagon tipped over and all the occupants thrown out and the Hoesly car also tipped over.  Both Mrs. Wildish and Mrs. Ayers received minor injuries and bruises, as did also two of the Wildish children.  The smallest of the three children was quite badly hurt, but as of now seems to be recovering fairly well.                     

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Notice – Berry pickers are hereby notified to keep out of my woods! James Milton.

(James Milton’s farm was located one and one-fourth miles west of Neillsville along County Road B, (which was old U.S. Hwy. 10) with one-third of his land on the north side of the road and the remaining two-thirds on the south side of the road. DZ)                                                             

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Saturday evening was the last day for licensed saloons in Neillsville, at least for a year, and from now on those who desire to take a little nip will either have to bring it in from outside or else be pretty “hep” to where a bottle had been secreted.  There was a large crowd in town Saturday night to watch the saloons expire, but the crowd was an orderly one with less disturbance  than had been anticipated.

(Members of the prevailing countrywide temperance societies encouraged the National Prohibition Act, known formally as the Volstead Act, which became effective on Oct. 19, 1919. D.Z.)

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Herman Wegner, the new owner of the Merchants Hotel, has opened up the hotel again after a few days of general cleaning and repairing.  Herman is well known here and needs no introduction to the traveling public, for he has been in the hotel business for some years.  The Merchants will be run at a $2.25 per day house, with single meals at 50 cents.                                                             

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Leo Meyers of Loyal came back home to Neillsville, to spend a few days of visiting.

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Emil Wepfer came home Tuesday from Great Lakes for a ten-day furlough.  He is in the pharmaceutical department of this great training camp, and it looks as though the work and life thoroughly agreed with him.

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For Rent: Seven-room house, with or without large planted garden, located next to the Neillsville South Side schoolhouse.  Inquire of Mrs. Matilda Ketel.

(The Ketel property extended southward from the school property on the west side of State Street, down the hill to the intersection where East Second Street starts, extending eastward. That area was referred to as “Ketel Hollow” or “Dutch Hollow.” D.Z.)                                                            

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Sunday was a big day for the blueberry pickers at Pray, and the migrations to the berry patches were likewise very profitable to the Indian pickers and the automobile repairmen.  It is reported that at least 150 automobiles drove to Pray from all parts of this neighborhood, and everybody brought home berries, either of their on picking or by “right to purchase.”

(The southern half of Washburn Township is mainly Clark County forest and recreational land being made up of woods and wetland, which extends into the northern Jackson County Forest.

Pray Avenue runs southward through Washburn, over the county line and through the little hamlet of Pray located in Jackson County.

Years ago, that area was well known for deer hunting and blueberries.

Wild blueberries grew abundantly in the Pray area wetlands, which attracted many pickers during blueberry season, those who could endure the mosquitoes.  D.Z.)  

June 1953

Making preparations for Clark County’s Centennial celebration, some interesting stories of the past were uncovered, such as:

For the Presbyterians, Rev. James Mair held regular services in the old courthouse more than 40 years ago, some years after and shortly before the building of the Presbyterian Church when Rev. William T. Hendren, became pastor.  Mair was a Scotchman and had taken the degree of Master of Arts at one of the Scottish universities, he invariably added it to his signature the letters, M.A. to indicate it, although in this country, those who affect such additions usually us the initials of the Latin equivalent and write it A.M. (Atrium Magister.)

On one occasion in 1868, the members of the Methodist Church had a donation for their pastor and raised quite a sum of money, some sixty odd dollars. Besides getting quantities of flour, groceries, other articles of the kind.  Inspired by their success the Presbyterians resolved to have a donation for the Rev. Mr. Maier, and they enlisted the services of a half of dozen young men who were not members of any particular church and who assumed the charge and management of the whole affair.

It was prior to the election of county officers and the committee in charge promptly assessed all the candidates on both tickets in sums from two to ten dollars each, which assessments were promptly paid.

The donation party was held in the hall of the O’Neill House, a large room or hall upstairs, that was used for dances, concerts, and theatrical performances and when not so used, it accommodated a dozen or more beds for sleeping purposes and was called the “school section.”  Without the knowledge or sanction of the church members, the committee in charge sold dance tickets, and when the older of the people had gone home, the donation party was turned into a dancing party.  Mrs. Jane O’Neill, the wife of our first settler, was landlady of the hotel.  She was very religious and was shocked to learn that dancing was going on.  She appeared on the scene and forbid it, but the hall had been rented and paid for and her expostulations were without avail.

When the net results were figured up, there was raised at the donation party $165.00 in money, four barrels of flour and groceries in great quantities.

Mr. Mair made a speech but did not participate in the dancing part of the program.  He afterwards studied law, was elected and served as justice of the peace, finally moved to Minnesota where he lived out his life.

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The celebration of the Centennial of Clark County has passed into history.

Governor Walter J. Kohler arrived here to view the gigantic Centennial parade on Friday, July 3. It was a community triumph as was proven by the public reaction to the civic effort, which probably tops civic efforts of all time in Clark County.                                                                  

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Mr. and Mrs. John Susa entertained 40 relatives  and friends at their home in “Hungry Hollow,” Greenwood area, the afternoon of and evening July 4 in celebration of John’s Birthday.

A wiener roast was held and later the guests danced on the concrete floor, which was laid recently for a new hen house.                                                                                               

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Wedding Dance - Thursday, July 9 - Silver Dome Ballroom

In Honor of Jeanette Hales & Francis Steiner

Music by Bennie Gagas Orchestra

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Word has been received that Ensign William G. Catlin and his wife have arrived safely at Port Hueneme, Calif. after visiting family in Loyal.                                                             

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Miss Janet Rottjer of Loyal left Sunday for Marion, where she will live while teaching the home economics course at Clintonville High School.                                                     

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Skipper Lee and Tommy Overman of Neillsville left Saturday for the big Scout Jamboree on the West Coast.  They were to join the special Scout train at Chicago in the evening.  Clark County also had an adult leader making the trip, Dan Slupski of Thorp.

Some of the experience ahead of Skipper and Tommy are indicated by the following:

The special train will take 560 Scouts and leaders by way of Salt Lake City where a tour was arranged through  the Mormon Tabernacle and a swim in Salt Lake.  The special train arrived in East Los Angeles July 14, at which point the Scouts were taken by buses to Irvine Ranch, Santa Ana, Calif.

In three days, a temporary community of 50,000 scouts from every state in the nation and delegations from numerous foreign countries made camp together on the 3,000 acres of ground using 30,000 tents. A city larger than Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls combined became a humming metropolis of activities.  One hundred sixty-four doctors are in residence and 60 technicians from the United States Public Health Service staff.

There were 100 freight carloads of food and charcoal for cooking;1,300 head of steers to supply beef; over a half-million quarts of milk.  There were 16 miles of trains required to bring boys to the Jamboree.  Eighty-four special trains hauled 60 percent of the Scouts and leaders; 104 buses carried the remaining 40 percent.

The Chippewa Valley Scouts will encamp at the Jamboree until July 26.  The boys are cooking all of their own meals.                                                                                                        

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Now Open!  Horswill’s Café, across from the post office.

Serving Dinners, Lunches & Short Orders; Ice Cream, Sodas & Sundaes.

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Dance to “Whoopie” John, Wednesday Evening – on August 5,

At Colby Park Pavilion, Colby, Wis. 

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Marriage Licenses:

Wayne Kronberger, Neillsville, Ruth Burr, Neillsville, to be married at Neillsville, August 12,

Arthur Henry Edblom, Town of Unity, Florence Margaret Hebert, Town of Unity.

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Mr. and Mrs. Harold Hohenstein of the Washburn area are building a new barn to replace the one, which was destroyed by a tornado May 20.  Neighbors, relatives and friends assisted at the barn raising and rebuilding.  Several helped shingle the roof the latter part of this week.               

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Two suspended schools of Clark County are seeking to end their troubles by reopening.  They are the Peterson School, District 4, of the Town of Thorp, and the Oak Vale School, Joint Six, Town of Hixon. Both school boards have so notified Clayton Wright, County Superintendent of Schools.

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