Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

August 22, 2001, Page 10

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

Good Old Days

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

Clark County News

 

August 1921

 

Edwin Hauge’s Chev car, which was stolen from the Spencer Pavilion a week ago Sunday night, was located on a street at Marshfield on Saturday. The auto evidently was taken by someone who wished to run into Marshfield, then abandoned the car there.  It stood several days on the street before the police suspected that its owner was not in the vicinity.

 

Saturday, Hauge and W. D. Martin took the train over to Marshfield and drove the car home.  It was slightly damaged, but the wraps and other things inside the auto had not been disturbed.

 

J. F. Schuster has generously offered to deed to the City of Neillsville, a tract of woodland located in the Second Ward.  It is to be used as a free park and is to be named “Schuster Park” in memory of his father, the late Herman Schuster.

 

The Mayor and Common council of the City of Neillsville, in an assembled session, said the gift will be accepted with the conditions imposed by Schuster.

 

On the behalf of this city and its people, we tender our thanks to J. F. Schuster for this grand gift.  This park will be a great blessing to this community.  It will, through coming ages, perpetuate the name and memory of Herman Schuster, a pioneer and citizen whose work and life are well worthy of emulation and remembrance.

 

The Beach-Jones Stock Company of fifteen people has been booked for a four-day engagement at the Neillsville Opera House commencing Sunday. 

 

This company is recognized as one of the strongest popular priced shows in the Middle West.  The group carries nearly a carload of special scenery and electrical effects, presenting a line of the newest and best Royalty plays.  A new comedy “Mickey” will be offered as the opening play on Sunday night.

 

A number of local business men have formed a company and subscribed stock for the erection of a new motion picture theater on the lot owned by R. A. Clemens, on South Hewett Street.  The stock is already subscribed for and plans are almost completed.  Work will begin at once and the new building will be ready for business as soon as it can be completed.

 

O. A. Hiles will have charge of the business in the new house and will discontinue the old Badger Theater when the new building is ready.  The new house will be constructed of tile and brick.  It will be built along the lines of the latest ideas in motion picture theaters.

 

The Ettrick and Northern railroad running from Blair to Ettrick has been having its financial ups and downs since the road began.  The regular passenger service is now being taken care of by a Ford.  The Ettrick Advance says: The E&N R.R. have a new specimen for transportation.  It is a Ford touring car mounted on gas car wheels, which allows it to run on the railroad track.  The new Omni-bus made its “maiden trip” over the road on Monday and proved itself satisfactory in every respect.

 

The Lung Motor Co., of Philadelphia has sent a pulmotor to Neillsville on approval.  Some money has been subscribed to purchase it, only $70 more is being needed.  Who will donate toward this?  A pulmotor is an instrument used for reviving persons who are drowned or overcome by gas.  Leave subscriptions at this office or at J. B. Lowe & Sons.

 

O. E. Counsell, who has been in partnership with G. C. Youmans, has bought out Youmans’ interest in the stock barn near the depot.  The cattle dealing business, has and will continue with O. E. Counsell as owner.  Youmans’ other lines of work made it difficult for him to continue to devote any time to the business.

 

Monday forenoon, William Johnson, who was assisting in excavation the basement for the new moving picture theater, nearly met his death when a part of the south bank caved in on him.  The falling earth caught Johnson and buried him except for his head which remained in view.  A fragment of the cement walk struck his head, injuring him quite badly.  His fellow workmen dug him out of his dangerous position as quickly as possible and medical aid was summoned.  Johnson is able to be about again but he is somewhat stiff and sore from the accident.

 

The law requires that there must be two lights on all autos at night.  The lights must be lit so that they may be seen.  This law must be complied with in Neillsville.  The warning has been issued by H.A. Frantz, Neillsville Marshal.

 

August 1936

 

Fire which broke out about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Fullerton Lumber Company’s barn and warehouse on West Fifth Street; spread almost instantly through the structure.  Within half an hour it destroyed the entire building and its contents at an estimated loss of between $4,000 and $5,000.

 

The firemen were handicapped by a shortage of water, due to the small water main which feeds that section of the city.  But they were able to keep the blaze from spreading to the O and N Lumber yard which appeared to be threatened for a time as a brisk northwest wind hurled burning embers over a wide area.

 

The fire was one of the hottest here in years, being fed by a carload of tarred roofing material, a large quantity of loose hay and a pile of coke. A gigantic whirl of black smoke rolled southward over the city, obscuring residences in its path.  A large number of empty metal linseed oil barrels in the upper part of the barn exploded as the terrific heat vaporized the small amount of oil that remained in each.

 

The fire was discovered by August Janke, who is employed at the O. E. Counsell feed business across the street.  By the time Janke was able to turn in an alarm, the blaze had spread to the upper part of the building and when the fire department arrived the interior was a solid mass of flames.

 

Everett and Alfred Kleckner ran to the building when they heard the siren and succeeded in getting Herman Yankee’s horse out of the east end of the barn just as the blaze swept into that part of the building.

 

The origin of the fire was not determined.  No one from the Fullerton Company had been around the building for several days, according to D. A. Peterson, manager.  Yankee had hauled in a load of hay Tuesday afternoon.

 

The building was built a number of years ago by Guy Youmans and O., E. Counsell, who at that time, were dealing in blooded cattle.  Later, it was sold to the Midland Lumber Company and was acquired by the Fullerton Lumber Company when it purchased the Midland interests a few years ago.  It is not likely that it will be rebuilt as the Fullerton Company’s new building is adequate for its needs.

 

Clark County Treasurer J. H. Fradette and County Clerk Calvin Mills made a trip to the north part of the county Tuesday on business.  They sold some county lands in Beaver and Hoard townships.

 

St. John’s Lutheran Church will celebrate its Golden Jubilee on Sunday, September 6.  An impressive program and dinner has been arranged, under the direction of William Bauman, pastor.

 

St. John’s congregation was organized by Prof. August Graebner of the Theological Seminary at Milwaukee, September 6, 1886.  From a flock of six families, the congregation has grown to more than 500 communicants.

 

The jubilee committee is composed of Wm. Duge, chairman; Herbert Borde, secretary; Paul Bartell, Emil Schoenfeld, Martin Bohm, Frank Knoop and F. W. Kluhsman.

 

The public of Clark County will be given an opportunity to inspect the vast amount of work being done in the county-owned forests on September 4.  Allen Covell, forester, will personally conduct the group through the area, starting from the court house at 9 a.m.  An intensely interesting program has been arranged, including dinner, for which a small charge will be made, at the Globe CCC camp.

 

The Clark County forests total about 120,000 acres and constitute and almost continuous block in the Towns of Sherwood, Washburn, Levis, Dewhurst, Hewett, Mentor, Seif, North Foster, South Foster and Mead.  These lands are now benefited from three improvement programs, embracing the 10 cents per acre paid by the state for forest development, the CCC work and WPA conservation project.

 

The first stop will be 17 miles from Neillsville, north of old Carter’s Lake, to inspect the Norway pine growth.  Stop No. 2 is 29 miles from Neillsville to see the red oak and pine growth.  No. 3 stop will be at the Globe CCC camp for dinner.  Stop No. 4, northeast of CCC camp, will be to inspect Norway and jack pine plantings.  Stop No. 5, will enable inspection of the typical hardwood ridge.  At stop No. 6, you may inspect the site of the proposed Rock Dam, which will create a splendid lake for recreational purposes.

 

It is hoped a large crowd will be on hand to make the trip.

 

Alvin Bugar, a young lad living near Loyal, is meeting with good fortune early in life.

 

With the money he earned picking berries, Alvin purchased a 19-year-oldmare and had her bred to the Percheron Stallion owned by Gene Enhelder.  Five weeks ago, the mare gave birth to a fine pair of coal-black twin colts.  These colts have been brought to the Clark County Fair where they are attracting much attention.

 

The roof on the new Neillsville city hall and fire station is finished so that the inferior (interior) work can now be carried on regardless of weather conditions.

 

The John Widi Company of Green Bay, which as the contract for the floor now has workmen busy in laying it.  The floor is a composition known as terrazzo being the finishing coat.  It is made of marble chips mixed with pure cement.  This will be ground down and polished, making a beautiful and substantial floor.

 

Somebody went to the Neillsville city hall early Tuesday afternoon and blew the fire siren, then left without letting anyone know where the fire was.  William Dahnert, fire chief, and his men ran to the Paulson garage where the fire truck is kept.  They then called the telephone operator to find out the location of the fire.  The operator informed them she had received no report of a fire.  Dahnert and his crew decided to start out on a still hunt.  They pulled up in front of the city hall where they paused for several minutes.  Finally somebody in the crowd said he had hard someone say there was a fire in the barn on the Fred Sears property on South Hewett Street. The fire company proceeded to that address, but the fire had been put out by the time the company arrived.

 

Dahnert requests that the next time anybody turns in an alarm, the telephone operator should be notified immediately as to the whereabouts of the fire. 

 

Rev. Wilson Bixler, the new pastor of the Zion Reformed Church in Neillsville, was formally installed as its pastor at Sunday services.

 

There was a large local congregation besides visiting members and friends from other places who attended the service.

 

Rev. Karl Ernst of the Mission House Theological Seminary in Plymouth, Wisconsin preached the installation sermon.

 

The Lynch Construction Co. has its grading machinery unloaded here to go to work on the contract for grading Highway 73.   They will be working from south of Christie through to the concrete south of Greenwood.

 

The recent rains have slowed up the grading work south of the city being done by the Burch Construction Co.  The rains however have settled the dust and improved conditions for laying concrete.

 

The Koch Construction Co. has the contract for paving Highway 73 from three and one-half miles south of Neillsville to Christie.  They have their paving machinery unloaded at the train depot and are setting up the hoppers for sand and gravel near the depot.  Work will soon start on the highway north of the city.

 

This car accident was photographed along Highway 10, now County Road B one mile west of Neillsville in the early 1920s.  The Ford coupe tipped over in the ditch after leaving the roadway. A barn show in the distance, far right, also served as a billboard and read, “It pays to Buy at Sniteman Druggists.”  The roadside Neillsville Welcome sign also ironically states, “Don’t Hurry.”   (Photos courtesy of Bud and Opal Hanke)

 

A backside view of the Ford car also shows the reverse side of the Neillsville Welcome sign.  Traveling west, leaving the city the sign read, “Neillsville Thanks You, Come Again.”  A small emblem, shown at the bottom of the sign, was that of the Kiwanis Club, probably indication the club made and put up the sign.  Neillsville’s Kiwanis obtained their club charter in 1921, now having 80 years of community service. 

 

 


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