Clark County Press, Neillsville,

March 30, 2005, Page 12

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

 

Clark County News

March 1880

 

Dr. Crandall has just purchased a full set of prescription bottles with the names of the medicines, which they contain, blown in on the side of the bottle.  These fine bottles make the prescription case look complete in every way.

••••••••••

W. J. Krause will go to Milwaukee, this week, for the purpose of replenishing his depleted stock of tobacco leaf.  He informs us that he will purchase the best tobacco the market affords.

••••••••••

It has been reported to us, that five children out of a family of six residing near the village of Blair, Trempealeau County, died the first of this week, within ten hours of each other of diphtheria.  The five children were buried last Tuesday, all at the same time.  This is indeed a sad calamity.

••••••••••

The good people, of the Town of York, assembled at the residence of M.V. Visgar last Thursday night. They gave our worthy pastor, of the M. E. Church, a donation. The total subscription was $50, about $18 of which was paid.  The house was crowded to its fullest capacity and all who attended reported having a very pleasant time.

••••••••••

A new post office will soon be established in the Town of Washburn, under the significant name of “Shortville,” with Andrew Short as postmaster.

••••••••••

Joe Morley, Ed West, Lewis Schuster and George Blakeslee, have sent in their order for bicycles and may soon be seen “flying through the air with the greatest of ease’ in a few days, but there’s no knowing where they will land.  Time will tell.

••••••••••

Our town’s streets have presented a lively appearance during the past week, in consequence of the breaking up of a number of logging camps, in this vicinity.

 

The majority of the boys, who have worked hard to earn a few dollars in the logging camps during the winter, quietly put it into their pockets and will spend it judiciously, this year. They have seen the folly of spending it in riotous living.  That’s the right way of doing it, boys.

 

The log-driving boys are pounding calks into their boots, getting ready for the driving season.

••••••••••

Price County will soon have a new courthouse and jail at a cost of $8,000.

••••••••••

At a recent meeting of the Clark County Board of Supervisors, the contract for erecting a house, barn and other buildings on the Poor Farm was given to C. Blakeslee.

••••••••••

The silver mine excitement at Silver Creek, on the Wisconsin Central Railway, has again broken out. The mine is situated three miles east of Silver Creek Station and nineteen miles south of Ashland, in the Penoka range, which was discovered last year.  A group of Chicago men, with ample capital to develop the mine, are already working on the ground and the region around about it is alive with excitement.  The Bayfield Land Office is flooded with applications for entry of lands on the silver range.

 

March 1940

 

Well over a hundred members of the American Legion, the Service Company and their invited guests will observe the anniversaries of the two organizations in a joint “army” banquet in the Moose Hall, Tuesday night.

 

The occasion will mark the 21st anniversary of the Legion’s national organization, founded in France on March 15, 1919.  It will mark the 20th anniversary of the reorganization of the Service Company here, on March 12, 1920.

 

Principal speaker will be Col. Fred T. Cruse, senior instructor in Wisconsin.  His announced topic will be “Headlines from the Caribbean.”  Colonel cruse served for a time with the regular army in Caribbean areas and his experiences there will serve as a background for his talk.

 

Lt. Col. Leo M. Jackson, one-time commanding officer of the local National Guard Unit, also is expected to be present and will represent the Adjutant General’s office.  Other guests are expected to include regimental officers, ex-service men and former members of Company A, which was the local National Guard Unit before the entry of the United States into World War I.

 

Preliminary arrangements for the banquets were under taken by Cap. Herbert Smith, officers of the Otto A. Haugen Legion Post, headed by Harry Roehrborn and Darrell J. Cummings and officers of the Service Company.  Entertainment, to be staged following the banquet, will be worked out by a committee composed of A. E. Russell, Archie Van Gorden and George Prochazka.

 

Plans for a community-wide celebration, to mark the birth of the Neillsville Chamber of Commerce, were given a start following the election of directors and officers of the group late last week.

 

Floyd C. H. Casler, unanimously elected president of the Chamber by directors, indicated that arrangements would be made for such an observance; probably a free dance, open to the public.  The use of the Armory, for such an occasion, was offered by Herman E. North, of the Neillsville Bank, as one of the board of directors.

 

Mr. Casler indicated that the function would be timed to correspond with the completion of organizational formalities.  He is expected to appoint a committee at the next meeting to work out arrangements.

 

With the exception of a brief discussion on the celebration, last week’s meeting was confined to the election of 10 directors and to the election of officers by the directors.

 

Members of the board are: Dr. M. A. Foster, George May, Mr. H. North, Dr. M. C. Rosekrans, Mr. F. Casler, Arthur E. Russell, Joe Zilk, Gerry Halverson, Hubert Quicker and Lester H. Zawske (Zaeske).  The first seven represent “senior” memberships or business interests of the city; while the last three represent “junior” members.

 

Officers elected by the board were: Mr. Casler, president; Dr. Foster, vice president; Mr. Zaeske, secretary; and Mr. Quicker, treasurer.

 

The directors were elected from among 17 names placed on a ballot by a nominating committee appointed at a previous meeting.  No nomination was made from the floor, but results of an informal ballot taken earlier were used as a guide by the nominating committee.

••••••••••

Ernest Bieneck, official garbage collector, is making preparations to start garbage pickup service here, on April 1.  He has already discussed the service with householders and plans to see others in the near future.  The service will be available to all desiring it, those who live within the city limits.  It is anticipated that the volume of garbage will be moderate at first and that it will attain substantial proportions at canning time.

 

Mr. Bieneck is supplying a tank and will have one man available.  Being without experience in a plan that will cover the whole city, he is naturally concerned lest the demand be beyond the capacity of one man a truck.  However, he is getting information from outside of Neillsville and has had some reassuring information.  For instance, he learns, through a letter written to The Clark County Press, in response to an inquiry that in Sturgis, Michigan, a complete city wide collection is made in a single day, with one truck, a driver and a helper.

••••••••••

New lands accepted for entry under the forest crop law include 3,280.96 acres in Clark County, according to word from the Wisconsin Conservation Commission.  Other counties adjoining Clark entered the following acreage: Wood, 1,680; Taylor, 7,600; Eau Claire, 2,089.85; and Jackson, 4, 434.43.

••••••••••

The Neillsville Production Credit Association moved to a new ground-floor location in the Leason building on East Fifth Street, between South Hewett and Court Streets.

••••••••••

Electors of Clark County, in town meetings, Tuesday, studied how their towns stood, having before them the detailed reports of receipts and disbursements.

 

The Town of Hendren, according to the showing to the voters, is better off financially than in years past. The town board commented, in its report, that a “pay-as-you-go” policy, put into effect from now on, would eliminate borrowing expense.  The town had on hand, at the end of the fiscal year, $5,049.40.

 

During the year, the Town of Hendren, one of the newer sections of Clark County and one of the most progressive, has carried through the following road program; purchased and placed 6,209 cubic yards of gravel to complete 5.37 miles of new graveling and 2.43 miles of patching; brushed and burned 640 rods; ditched an filled 400 rods; did about four miles of roadside brushing; stumped 2.25 miles; purchased and placed 340 feet of concrete pipe for culverts; constructed and completed 3.5 miles of town line and 2.25 miles of new town roads, including the bridge at Cameron Creek and the bridge across Wedges Creek on the 26 road.  The two bridges were built with county aid and with the cooperation of the Town of Foster, so that the net cash outlay to the Town of Hendren for both bridges was only $643.46.

 

The Town of Hendren was shown by its report to be a substantial business enterprise, with receipts from all sources of $25,538.07.

 

In view of the excellent financial condition of the town, the board recommended a levy of only $2,500 for general town purposes, this being $2,000 less than last year.

 

The Town of Butler, with a relatively small population showed for the fiscal year total receipts of $8,086.24 and total expenditures of $5,861.99, leaving cash balance of $2,224.25.  This cash balance is nearly $300 better than at the end of the previous year and speaks for a sound financial condition.

 

The Town of Grant, one of the oldest sections of Clark County, had receipts for the year of $47,605.35.  The disbursements were $39,924.22 and this left the town in the comfortable possession of a balance of $7,681.13.  During the fiscal year the town, in addition to ordinary maintenance, graded about 8.25 miles of road; graveled six miles; cut a new bed for O’Neill Creek of some 65 rods north of Krause Bridge.  For the ensuing year, the board recommended raising $1,200 for incidentals; $500 for culverts; $200 for cemetery; $100 for weed cutting.

 

The Town of Hewett, a considerable part of which is in the county forest area, would up the year with a balance of $3,101.61, an increase of about $500 over the previous year. The current receipts for the fiscal year were $5,361.36 and the disbursements $4,891.10.

 

Voters of the Town of Levis found themselves in completion and financing of the new Riverside Bridge, replacing the bridge washed out by the flood of September, 1938.  For the construction, the town had accumulated a fund of $12,807.50, of which $6,000 was a loan from the state.  Of this $12,807.50, only $3,681.58 had been disbursed when the town report was made up and the detailed report showed that much of this $3,681.58 had been paid back to taxpayers of the town.  The construction of the new bridge reunites the town of Levis and also the Riverside school district, which is cut apart by the Black River.  With completion of the bridge, it is no longer necessary for some of the children to make the long trip up through Neillsville and back down on the other side of the river. For a year and a-half, some of these children have, daily, traveled about 30 miles to get a stone’s throw distance.

 

The Town of Levis, though not densely settled, is in good condition financially, closing the year with a balance of $2,693.86.  The town board recommended a levy of $300 for fees.

 

The Town of Lynn, in an older part of the county, closed the year with a cash balance of $4,395.10, with a total indebtedness of $1,000.  The receipts for the year from all sources were $27,400.70 and the total disbursements $23,005.69.  The board recommended raising $700 for current expenses. The board reported an assessed valuation for the town of $910,955.

 

The Town of Seif expended $8,187.12 for all purposes during the fiscal year and reduced its cash balance from $4,384.80, as it stood the beginning of the year, to $3,138.28, as it stood at the end of the year.  The board recommended a levy of $500 for the general fund.

 

The Town of Sherwood held its financial situation just about steady during the fiscal year.  With total disbursements of $3,764.34, the cash balance at the beginning was $1,526.22 and at the end $3,620.79.

 

The Town of Washburn made a slight improvement in its cash balance at the beginning of the year to $4,665.92 at the end.  Total disbursements for the year were $8,725.50.

 

Voters of the Town of Weston heard from their town board, a recommendation that nothing be raised for bridges and roads, incidentals, poor fund, or snow removal. The reason was that the town had a net balance on hand, at the end of the year, of $5,089.26, in addition to $876.86 due school districts and $2,551.71 to cover outstanding orders.

 

One of the largest town enterprises is that of the Town of York.  There, the town treasurer has been responsible for a total of $50,134.76 during the year.

 

The Town of Fremont is also one of the large public enterprises of the county, with close to $43,000 going through the hands of the town treasurer in the fiscal year just ending.

 

The Town of Pine Valley disbursed during the year $24,978.29 and close the books with $4,780.48 on hand.

 

Back in the past…Remember the rumble seats in cars?  It was a fad of the 1920s and 1930s.  A rumble seat was built in the trunk of some coupe cars, folding out when the trunk door was opened. A rumble seat ride could be enjoyed only on a sunny day, or moonlit night, not during inclement weather.

 

The days have also gone by since the accelerator was referred to as the “foot feed.” D.Z.

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Ed Hauge’s Cities Service Station, circa 1940, was located at the intersection of Hewett and Division Streets (south side of Division). At that time, the business was owned by Hauge and operated by William Wilsmann, Sr.  The business also provided delivery service, when five-gallon containers were manually filled and carried from the truck to the customer’s storage tank.  The five-gallon counting gauge is visible on the opened door of the Chevy truck’s tanker, the attendant’s means of keeping track of gallons being delivered.  The truck driver, in the photo, is believed to be Otto Grosnich.

 

 

The photo above was taken along Division Street, west of the Hewett Street intersection.  Hauge’s Cities Service Station is shown in the middle of the scene and the Roadside Inn, later White Horse Inn, is at the right.  (Photos courtesy of Robert Wilsmann, Sr.)

 

 


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