Clark County News

June 29, 1950

Sedan is smashed up at Cunningham Bridge

Gust of wind is regarded as cause – occupants escape injury

A large four-door sedan driven by Phyllis Hauge was completely wrecked Monday afternoon when it hit the east side of the Cunningham Bridge. Those in the car with Miss Hauge were Mrs. Shirley Lazotte, with her two small children, and Joan Allen. All of them were shaken up, but none seriously hurt.

The right front corner of the car hit the bridge parapet. The blow turned the car to the right and swung it around. There the car came to a stop, without hitting the parapet on the west side. It was right side up, but was so thoroughly wrecked, and in such a position on the bridge as to stop all traffic for about half an hour. Traffic Officer Frantz responded to the call, the sedan was removed, and traffic was resumed.

The manner in which this accident occurred is a mystery to the participants, most of all to the driver. The most logical explanation, in the judgment of Officer Frantz, is that an unusually heavy gust of wind, on a very windy afternoon, swooped down on the car and turned it against the parapet.

The impact was so great as to crumple up the right front of the car and to pull off both doors on the right side. The car was otherwise damaged beyond the prospect of further usefulness.

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Shortell succeeded by Harry Scott of LaValle – two other vacancies

Robert Shortell has resigned as principal of the Granton High School and will be succeeded by Harry Scott, who resides at LaValle. Mr. Shortell will become principal of the public schools at Norwalk, not far from Reedsburg.

Mr. Scott has been assistant principal at Hillsboro. He is studying at the University this summer for his master’s degree. He is married, the father of two children. The Scotts will come to Granton the latter part of the summer.

Two other changes are taking place in the teaching staff at Granton. Mrs. Edna Sternitzky is resigning from her work as teacher of the upper grades, and Mrs. Myrtle Peterson is resigning from her work as commercial instructor. No announcement has yet been made as to these two vacancies.

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Pee Wee League is being organized

Director Lukes signs up players – league play is starting July 10

A Pee Wee baseball league is being organized by Henry Lukes, playground director. This league is for boys of 10 to 16 years. All who wish to play will be signed up not later than Friday of this week. Captains will then be appointed, and teams chosen with a view to paving the way for tight play.

The Pee Wee league will play with a hard ball and will follow the rules of big-league baseball. The only difference is that bases will be 60 feet apart instead of the standard 90 feet.

Director Lukes plans to have games in the Pee Wee league three afternoons of the week. One of the other afternoons will be devoted to tennis; the other to swimming.

In order that the afternoon may be free for these activities, Mr. Lukes is rearranging the morning schedule. The North side playground will be open for children from 9 to 10:30 Monday through Friday. The South side playground will be open for children of the first to fourth grades from 10:30 to noon, Monday through Friday.

The match games of the Pee Wee league will begin in the week of July 10. Next week will be devoted to practice.

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Events at the golf club

A schedule of tournaments, dinners and other activities at the Neillsville Country Club, embracing the next 10 days, was announced this week by officers of the club.

The activities will open Saturday at 3:30 p.m., with a two-ball foursome for men and women. Saturday’s event will close with a 6:30 potluck supper.

Sunday morning, July 2, a handicap match for men will get under way at 9 a.m.

A flag match for men and women will be held from 8 a.m. until 12 noon on Tuesday, July 4; and a four-ball foursome for men and women, on a handicap basis, will be played beginning at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. A dinner at the clubhouse starting at 7 p.m. will be followed with a bang at 8:30 p.m. when fireworks will be touched off.

Next week Saturday, July 8, the club is planning a basket social at 6:30 p.m. to replace its usual family dinner. The social idea is being tried to determine whether members would like to continue it.

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Longwood factory in the Ed. Zelm estate

The Longwood Cheese Factory is part of the Ed. Zelm estate. A recent publication in The Press indicated uncertainty as to the exact status of that factory, the uncertainty meant being whether the factory was in the Ed. Zelm estate or in the estate of his mother. The inventory of the Ed. Zelm estate has been filed and makes clear that the factory is part of the Ed. Zelm estate.

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Lucky O’Hara offers thrills next Sunday

A Thrill Day program of car crashing and stunting will be held at the fairgrounds here Sunday afternoon, starting at 2 p.m., under the sponsorship of the Clark County Agricultural society, which conducts the fair.

Lucky O’Hara, the so-called “Devil Driver,” will bring his troupe here for the performance. O’Hara is the driver who broke his back in a crash spectacle at Marshfield last year. The Suicide Crash, Leap of Death, rollovers, ramp hurdles, and other spectacles will be included in the program.

O’Hara says a big attraction of this show is that the plate glass is not removed from cars; cars have no additional supports; and the drivers wear only a crash helmet – no padding or fireproof clothing.

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City employees offer a working agreement

A working agreement was offered to the council by the city crew at the session Tuesday evening. The proposed agreement set up arrangement for a week’s vacation with pay for employees of one year or more of service; extra pay for holidays and overtime; a 15 percent increase over the present wages, which now begin at 82 cents per hour for common labor; extra pay of 10 cents per hour for several specified categories of work of a disagreeable or hazardous nature.

The council listened to the reading of the proposed agreement and then decided to have copies made for the members of the council, in order that each alderman might give the proposals consideration.

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Only one new teacher in Neillsville next year

Only one change is in prospect for the teaching staff of the public schools of Neillsville for the coming school year. The one change is in the home ec department. There the place of Miss Norma Nelson is being taken by Miss Naomi Wendt of Waupaca. This is Miss Wendt’s first teaching experience, following her graduation. Miss Nelson resigned to be married.

With this one exception all the teachers have re-contracted for the 1950- 51 school year.

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High wind damages the tent of the Wesleyans

The high wind of Monday blew down and damaged the tent in which evangelistic services have been held by the Calvary Wesleyan congregation. The tent was located west of the Masonic Temple.

The services had proceeded two weeks, and it was expected that they would be continued longer, but the damage to the tent has necessitated discontinuance.

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Stock hit but barn near Thorp is not ignited

Lightning struck the barn on the Art Stewart farm north of Thorp on Friday afternoon. The bolt killed one steer and knocked several head of stock to the ground. Electrical service on the farm was disrupted, but the barn was undamaged.

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Ghosts graduate to use of bicycles in Neillsville

The ghosts of Neillsville have passed the horse and buggy age and progressed as far as the bicycle. That has been established beyond question of doubt. The proof has been gathered up by Herman Olson, police officer and trusted citizen. Mr. Olson says it is so; therefore, it must be so.

The proof came about in this way: Mr. Olson as night officer was patrolling in the vicinity of the cemetery on Monday evening of last week when he saw a ghost in the cemetery. He shouted and took after the ghost, but the ghost evaporated, almost instantaneously. Mr. Olson had always wanted to meet a ghost, but he missed it again, because the ghost was faster than he was.

However, he did find, nearby the original location of the ghost, two bicycles. This led to the inference, afterwards shown to be true, that there are two ghosts instead of one. Also, there was one sheet, though that seemed to be a rather palpable thing to find where a ghost has been.

Officer Olson took the sheet and the two bikes to the city hall. There they held the place of honor in the police room, mute evidence of the bicycle riding habits of modern ghosts. In a day or two Allen Freezy came in on other business, saw a bike there which looked like his, and wanted to know how it came to be there. The last he knew of it, he said, was that he had left it at a neighbor’s to be repaired.

Ghosts borrowed bikes

Chief Drescher was unable to enlighten Allen, and the whole situation remained in status quo until a little later. Then it became known that the other bike belonged in the Cram family. So, the inference was that two ghosts had borrowed the Freezy and the Cram bikes and had put them into ghostly service.

This still left without explanation the sheet, which had once been white, but which has acquired indubitable grass stains. Presently it appeared that an interest in the sheet was taken by Mrs. Cram, mother of Maurine and Richard Cram, teenagers. She had on Monday two sheets tucked away, both of them white and clean. But her inquires revealed that those sheets had both acquired grass stains, somehow or other, including the one at the city hall.

There was no disposition on the part of the police to hold either the sheet or the bicycles. Indeed, Chief Drescher was glad to restore them to their rightful owners and thus in part to undo the wrong the ghosts have done to the Freezy and Cram families.

Officer Olson and Chief Drescher are now confirmed in their belief in ghosts, and they feel that they have a demonstration about the vehicle preferred by Neillsville ghosts. Assuredly this preference has gone beyond the horse age, has progressed to the bike era, but has not yet gone so far as the auto or the airplane.

The girls are doubters

It is said, however, that this belief in ghosts is shared only with reservations by Maurine Freezy and Caroline Cram, who disappeared from home in the shank of Monday evening and who seemed a little worse for wear after they had run from something or other. When they were seen earlier in the evening they were on bikes, but when they returned at 10 o’clock or thereabouts, they were on foot. One of them carried a grass-stained sheet.

During their absence from home Richard Cram, Caroline’s bother, was also somewhere else. Rumor has it that he was checking up on the girls. He has double dared them to play ghost in the cemetery Monday evening, and he was in the offing to make sure that they went through with the dare. 

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These above ads are from the McCain’s Store at Neillsville.

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