July 7, 2021, Page 9

Contributed by "The Clark Co. Press"

 

Extracted by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

 

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

Clark County News

 

July 6, 1950

 

Hail riddles crops along Pleasant Ridge

 

Strikes an area of six square miles with hail stones hurled in drifts like snow in winter

 

Hail riddled crops and gardens in an area of eight to 10 square miles of southern Clark County Monday afternoon, July 3. The storm centered in the Town of Grant, with extensive damage running along the north slope of Pleasant Ridge and extending from approximately the William Duge farm in the west to the west line of the Town of Lynn, with some damage over the line eastward in Lynn. In this area of eight square miles or more a large portion of gardens were ruined, and the loss in crops was extensive.

 

Lloyd Spry of Granton, discussing the storm with old-timers, concluded that it was the worst hailstorm known to the area. In Granton apple buds were so battered that the apple crop is considered done for. Gardens in the village took a terrible beating, with the more tender plants completely done for and with not much left of the tough ones.

 

The damage to crops, as appraised Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, is fully as serious as when they were viewed with the unthawed heap of hail upon them. Hay still out was beaten down. Heads of oats and wheat were cut down. The leaves of corn were shredded. The present decision appears to be that grain had best be cut for hay, including oats and such wheat as had been planted.

 

On Tuesday Ernest Vine plowed up a field of soybeans and put it into corn. Walter Sternitzky figured on a catch crop of buckwheat on one of his ruined fields. To some extent there will be late planting of corn for silage.

 

Some damage was reported as far west as the William Duge place, although the damage was not so severe there as some two miles further east. It extended to the Moh farm near Granton and south to the Alvin Moldenhauer and the Ed and Walter Wischulke places.

 

The first impression

 

The information given above reflected the situation as it was found Wednesday morning. A description of the situation as it was found by The Press Monday evening, within six hours of the storm, follows: –

 

The violent storm of Monday afternoon centered along the northern slope of Pleasant Ridge. There hail riddled gardens and crops. In a limited area, beginning about half a mile north of Kurth’s Corners and covering an area of a mile square or thereabouts, the hail came in density seldom seen hereabouts. At the height of the storm the density was so great that Edward Herzog, looking from the house toward the chicken house and the barn on the Adolph Herzog place, was unable to see the chicken house at a distance of about 150 feet.

 

The wind and the water carried the hail into large drifts, attaining a maximum thickness of 18 inches to two feet. These drifts persisted on the Walter Sternitzky place until after nightfall. The drifts lay upon the front yard of the Sternitzky place, and in a line perhaps 20 feet long in a deep depression just back of the Sternitzky house.

 

The hail beat the Sternitzky garden to a pulp. Peas which had been in blossom were not recognizable. Tomato plants were utterly gone. Hardly a vestige of cabbage plants remained. The strawberries were reduced to jam without human help. This garden had been the overtime work of Mrs. Sternitzky. It had taken her many hours to do what the hail undid in five or 10 minutes.

 

The storm came at about 1:30 in the afternoon. Six hours later the hail lay in great drifts on low spots in the oats field of the Celon Winter farm. The Winter garden was ruined. Corn was so beaten and shredded as to be considered by Mr. Winter a complete loss. Uncut hay was beaten down.

 

The storm center

 

Observation of The Press, made on the spot, was that the damage was worst on the Sternitzky and Winter places. There the ridge rises rapidly from north to south.

 

The appearance was that the wind blew against the ridge and dumped there the greater part of its load. Next south of the Winter farm the Ernest Vine place suffered damage, but the appearance was that the damage was not so severe. Looking northward, up the slope from the Herzog place and from the Winter place, the crops did not give evidence of any great damage.

 

Westward from the Winter place the farms of Irving Vine and Theomore Vine suffered severely. Theomore Vine said that his hay was about all in the barn, but that corn appeared to be ruined and that oats should be cut for hay; it would never make grain.

 

Mr. Winter stated that the damage at the nearby Henry Winkler place was as great as on his place.

 

The hail stones were as large as marbles. The wonder is that, propelled by the big wind, they did not damage buildings. Even at the Sternitzky place, where the hail appears to have been densest, not a window was broken. No damage was done to buildings on either the Winter or the Sternitzky place. The only building damage which The Press came upon was one broken window in the Ernest Vine home.

*****

Archery course laid out West of Neillsville

 

Work was started this week on laying out an archery course near the Stables Nite Club, six miles west of Neillsville on Highway 10.

 

Behind the project is the newly formed archery club, which was formally organized here last week Wednesday evening. About 30 archery enthusiasts who turned out for the meeting elected the following officers: Dan Brewer, president; Ray Tesmer, vice president; Mrs. Dan Brewer, secretary – treasurer; and Matt Gassen and James Hauge, directors.

 

On the Stables site the club will have an archery course of 6,600 yards, with 14 targets. Members set to work last Sunday brushing out trails, placing bunkers and targets for the course.

 

Membership in the group is open to all interested in archery and the furtherance of sports in the area.

*****

Local juniors chalk up first league win

 

Neillsville’s American Legion junior baseball team chalked up their first league win of the season last Sunday when they blanked Thorp’s juniors by a 6 to 0 score. Marvin Meihack did the mound duty for the locals.

 

The local Legion juniors will play a non-league game at the Neillsville athletic field Friday afternoon against the Melrose American Legion juniors. They dropped a 5 to 2 contest at Melrose last week.

 

*****

 Moose meeting open

 

Roy Wing of Stevens Point, state director of the Moose, is scheduled to show motion pictures of Mooseheart and Moosehaven at an open meeting of the local Moose organization in the Legion Memorial Hall this Thursday evening.

 

*****

Girl Scout news

 

Camp Higichari opened for the summer sessions of 1950 on Wednesday, July 5.

 

Miss Norma Nelson is the director of the camp, assisted by Miss Marjorie Musil. Mrs. Earl Schultz is the cook.

 

Diane Seif and Joan Schultz are senior counselors, and Marilyn Haas is junior counselor.

 

Second Class and Tenderfoot Scouts from Troops 5B and 6B, under the leadership of Mrs. Henry Stucki and Mrs. Arnold Ebert, will be at camp this first session.

 

*****

Plant at Thorp goes to Central

 

Possession of locker plant, under litigation, to be turned over July 1

 

The Thorp locker plant will go into the possession of Central Refrigeration, Inc., on Saturday, July 1. Peaceable possession of the plant will be given, according to a stipulation of attorneys, entered into Tuesday before Judge Beilfuss.

 

The stipulation further provided that foods belonging to the Monroe’s should be removed meanwhile, but that certain personal property belonging to them might be left in the building, pending their request for its delivery.

 

The efforts of the Monroe’s to secure a re-hearing in Circuit Court failed, and accordingly an appeal is being taken on the merits to the Supreme Court.

 

Thus, this litigation proceeds on its expensive way through the courts, with a new lawyer making his appearance for the Monroe’s – Willis E. Donley of Menomonie. He takes the place of Laurence W. Hall of Madison, whose connection was brief. Still connected with the defense are Arthur Bluestein of Chicago, the attorney of record, and A. L. Devos of Neillsville, of counsel. In the original trial Hugh Haight of Neillsville also participated for the defense.

 

All of these attorneys have rendered services more or less extensive, and the costs on both sides, already high, will soar still further before the case emerges from the Supreme Court.

 

The litigation, which has become so protracted and expensive as to hold one of the top places in local court annuals, originated in the agreement, or lack of it, for the construction of a locker plant in Thorp. The construction was done by Central Refrigeration of Thorp for A. W. Monroe. The action was to foreclose a mechanic’s lien. Judge Beilfuss heard the case and found in most particulars for Central Refrigeration. After delays the plant was sold at public auction at the courthouse. It was bid on by Central Refrigeration, but Mr. Monroe has fought, and prevented confirmation of the sale until now.

*****

Adney - Brown

 

Miss Violet June Adney, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Adney of Granton became the bride of Frank E. Brown, son of Mrs. Bertha Brown of Abbotsford, on Friday afternoon at the Adney home at Granton. The home was decorated with an archway trimmed with white wedding bells and pastel-colored streamers.

 

The bride wore an aqua suit with a corsage of white carnations and pink roses.

 

The couple was attended by Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Pickett, Marshfield.

 

The young people are making their home in Abbotsford.

 

*****

Carl - Perushek

 

Miss Jeanette Carl, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gust Carl, became the bride of Anthony Perushek, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig Perushek of Willard, at the Holy Family Church at Willard on June 22.

 

The Rev. Augustine Svete performed the double ring ceremony before an alter banked with baskets of peonies and roses.

 

Miss Anne Perushek, a sister of the groom, was maid of honor. Miss Evelyn Carl, sister of the bride, was bridesmaid.

 

Charles Perushek, a brother of the groom, and Robert Mitte were groomsmen. A wedding dinner was served at the home of the groom’s parents at Willard and a wedding supper at the Legion Memorial Hall for approximately 40 guests. A wedding dance and shower followed the reception.

 

The young couple left on a honeymoon in northern Wisconsin and Canada. After their return they will be at home on North Hewett Street, Neillsville. The bride was graduated from Neillsville High School with the class of ‘47 and is employed by the Neillsville Milk Products cooperative. The groom received his education at Willard and is employed by the Laabs Dairy at Willard.

 

*****

Postal service is further reduced

 

All mail handling stopped here Sundays, holidays – daily closing at 5:30

 

A further curtailment of mail service in Neillsville has been made by the post office department, effective July 1. This curtailment chiefly affects the receipt and dispatch of mail on Sundays and holidays. This service has been suspended. Beginning July 1 there will be no handling of mail from 5:30 Saturday afternoon until Monday morning. No mail will either go out from Neillsville or come into the city.

 

The rule will be the same on holidays, beginning July 4. There will be no mail handled at all that day. Heretofore box holders have been able to go to the post office and get their incoming mail, but from this point on no mail will be coming in, and there will be no personnel at the post office at all.

 

The ban on incoming and outgoing mail is definite and complete. Even local mail originating at nearby points in Clark County will not be handled. The blocking of mail will occur at the point of origin and at terminals. The mail for Neillsville will be held back, so that it will arrive only as personnel is available for its handling.

 

Only two holidays are an exception to this rule. These are February 22, Washington’s birthday, and November 11, on which local business houses commonly remain open for all or part of the day.

 

In addition to the above, the post office windows will close daily at 5:30 instead of 6 o’clock.

 

These changes are in line with the general department policy. Similar curtailment of service is being made all over the country, according to the understanding of postal workers here. The purpose is to effect reduction in operating cost. In Neillsville the effect will be to cut out the time of persons working on an hourly or substitute basis.

 

*****

All-Star games slated for Loyal on July 11

 

Eastern and western division stars of the Cloverbelt league will meet in their annual All-Star game next Tuesday evening, July 11, at Loyal.

 

Six members of the Neillsville Athletics led to appear with the eastern division stars: Jim Baierl, catcher; Jackie Leonhardt and Hank Lukes, pitchers; Bob Urban, first baseman; and Bud Bremer, second baseman.

 

Manager of the eastern division team will be Gene Christie, who manages the Neillsville Athletics, defending divisional titleholders. Western division manager is Joe Anger.

 

*****

 

 

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