Clark County Press, Neillsville,

May 4, 2005, Page 13

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

 

Clark County News

May 1900

 

S. E. Hutchings had a telephone placed in his residence, at the corners south of the city.  He can now order his groceries, call out the fire department in case of a conflagration, etc.  It will be a great local convenience.  Every telephone user is interested in expanding the system and should do what he can to increase its general use.

••••••••••

A recent letter from James L. Gates informs us that he and his associates expect to land at least 5,000 European emigrants in Wisconsin this season.  A large number of these, they hope to settle on lands in Chippewa and Clark counties.

••••••••••

French’s saw mill, of the Town of Levis, furnished the first load of lumber for the Neillsville Furniture Factory, this week.

 

About a dozen men are employed in and about the furniture factory piling lumber, cleaning up and getting the machinery in shape to run.

••••••••••

Tuesday afternoon, as John Wildish was attempting to put a bull into the barn, at his farm in the Town of Pine Valley, the animal became enraged and turned upon him. The bull struck him in the side breaking two of his ribs.  Help came, the bull was driven off, and Mr. Wildish was rescued from his perilous situation.  Dr. Matheson set the broke bones and the patient is getting on as comfortable as can be expected.

••••••••••

Last week, a carload of machinery was delivered at the Neillsville depot and hauled down to the new creamery being built in the Town of Levis by Gregory and Henold.  Nothing speaks better of the future of this region than these new creameries and cheese factories.

••••••••••

Wednesday morning, a party of between twenty and thirty land-seekers and the six teams of horses, used for their conveyance, were ranged up in front of the Merchants Hotel.  Geo. Sontag took a snapshot of them with his camera.  They came from places in Illinois, Whitewater, Fond du Lac, Milwaukee and other points in Wisconsin.  They will look over some of the lands held by the Gates Land Co.  Many of the party expressed themselves as being highly pleased with the looks of the country in this vicinity and the city of Neillsville.

••••••••••

Rev. G. N. Foster owns several tracts of land out in West Weston.  The land is fenced with section and quarter lines.  He claims to have quite a large number of livestock on his land.  They are all branded and the brand, a white flag, is registered in the office of the State Game Warden.  He wishes to warn gun clubs and private parties against driving this stock off from his premises, or violating international law by firing on a white flag.

••••••••••

H. M. Root sold his family’s team of horses to W. H. Turner, of York, and has purchased a pretty span of bay drivers from a party in Jackson County.

••••••••••

The baseball team of Lawrence University will be here to engage in a battle royal with the Neillsville baseball nine, June 1st and 2nd.  Our boys will be in good training by that time.  The university nine has an excellent reputation in baseball, so this game should be worth witnessing.

 

The Portage baseball team lost to the local club in the two games played here last Saturday and Sunday. Both events were good exhibitions of the national game, the first game being featured by good base running on both sides.

••••••••••

Fred Vine, of the Lac du Flambeau Indian Agency, is visiting in this vicinity.  He expects to be placed in charge of work at Yankton, S.D., in the near future.  Mr. Vine has tendered his resignation to Uncle Sam, who is somewhat slow in releasing him.  He has other situations offered to him, which he deems more pleasant as well as more remunerative.

••••••••••

A new cement sidewalk will soon be laid from Walk Bros. corner to Balch & Tragsdorf’s corner, between Fourth and Fifth streets.  There is talk also that it will be extended along Hewett Street from Marsh Bros. store to the Neillsville Bank.  This will give Neillsville a metropolitan air and the pedestrian, with any imagination at all, may feel as though he is walking on the streets of Chicago.

••••••••••

Large quantities of wool have come in from the surrounding area this past week. R. F. Ramsdell, who represents the Barron woolen mills, states that he never before secured so good a quality of wool as that purchased this year.  He thinks it is due largely to better grades of sheep and the greater care farmers are taking of their flocks.

 

In five days, the past week, E. D. Murphy paid out $1,800, which would represent about 90,000 lbs. of wool.  This is only a small fraction of the wool, within the country tributary to Loyal.

 

May 1930

 

Trout season opens Thursday, May 1.  The fishermen are polishing up their rods and reels, preparing to make a running start for the streams Thursday morning.

••••••••••

Bill Farning has just completed a creditable piece of work in cleaning the Neillsville’s streets and alleys. A large quantity of refuse was collected and disposed of.  Bill has put in a lot of hard work, during the past couple of weeks, in attending to the cleaning job.

••••••••••

While cleaning up the ruins of the house on East Sixth Street, owned by Mrs. John Charles and which was wrecked by fire last winter, a number of relics were found in one of the rooms. Among these, is a Latin book; “The Commentaries of Julius Caesar,” which had been the property of Dwight Roberts.  It bears his name on the flyleaf with the date of Jan. 5, 1874.  Mr. Roberts was doubtless then a student in school.  Later, he lived in Neillsville and vicinity for several years.  At one time, he had a confectionery store in a little building on the corner where the First National Bank now stands.

••••••••••

As summer draws near, the young man who attends school begins to make plans for his summer vacation.  One of the most profitable ways in which he can employ himself during this time is by attending a Citizens’ Military Training camp.  These camps are organized and conducted each year by the Government at 51 places throughout the country.  Young men, between the ages of 17 and 24, travel from their homes to the nearest of these camps and spend a month there under the care of the Government and are then returned to their homes, all without expense to them.  Railway fare to camp and return home, clothing, food, shelter, medical attention, housing and laundry services are all furnished the men by the Government.  The Regular Army and certain selected officers of the Reserve Corps provide the training of the men.

 

Before a young man is allowed to go, he must submit an application and be accepted.  Association blanks are in the hands of civilian county committees throughout the state.

••••••••••

A large congregation attended the exercises held Sunday to dedicate the new bell of Christ Evangelical Church, at Chili.  Guest speakers for the service were Rev. Hoeh of Maple Works and Rev. Rathke of Auburndale.

•••••••••

Louis La Bonte, of Stanley, has established a novel eating place and confectionery on the H. J. Brooks’ lawn, in Neillsville.  The building is an old passenger coach from the Northwestern line that used to run from Stanley to Jump River. The coach was taken off the railroad tracks, the seats removed; and was then shipped on flat cars to Neillsville.  Sherman Gress was the engineer in charge of the car’s removal and transporting it to the concrete foundation Mr. La Bonte had built for it on the Brooks premises.  The car is painted a bright red and will attract much attention.

 

The Al-Aboard Lunch will be managed by Frank Quesnell, who has been running a restaurant for Mr. La Bonte in Stanley.  The most modern equipment is being used, including an automatic mechanical waiter, which carries the tray of food along the counter to the customer.

••••••••••

M. E. Wilding, trustee in bankruptcy, last week disposed of the P. J. Kemmeter property in Granton.  The store building was sold for $3,000 and the home for $2,250, both purchased by John Pietenpol.  The barbershop was sold to the First National Bank of Neillsville for $500.  The old mill site, consisting of a frame cabin and three acres of land, was sold to Mrs. Wilson Mallory for a price of $300.

••••••••••

The Loyal post of the American Legion is sponsoring a three-day celebration from July 4th to 6th.  They are planning an elaborate affair.

 

A meeting was held at Loyal, Thursday, and a complete reorganization effected of the Loyal State Bank, which suspended operations a few months ago.  A number of new stockholders took shares and an entirely new board of directors was elected.  The name will be changed to “The Clark County Bank.”  A favorable agreement was entered into with all old depositors, which it is believed will result in little or no loss to them and make for the stability of the institution.  It is planned to open up for business in the near future.

••••••••••

During the summer months, the offices at the Clark County Courthouse will be closed Saturday afternoons, beginning May 10th.

••••••••••

Steffen Swierkowski, 15 years old, a student of Deutschlander School, three miles north of Thorp, was taken to Dr. F. P. Neis Monday, with the first finger of his right hand burned off.  The accident occurred when he and a companion threw a wire across the high tension line near the school.  The boys were playing during the noon hour and had found a length of wire, from a curtain pole, on which they tied a stone.  Evidently curious as to the effect it would have, they cast the strand across the high line.  Steffen, on the end of the wire, received the voltage and was knocked out.  His finger was burned off, his hand was burned in other places and the forearms slightly burned.  It is remarkable however, that he was not instantly killed.  This should indeed be a warning to everyone to steer clear of the high voltage electric lines.

••••••••••

Florian Thiel, of the Town of Washburn, was 80 years old, May 6.  That morning, he got up early at 4 a.m. and walked to Neillsville to attend early mass, a distance of 13 miles. 

 

Mr. Thiel lives alone on his farm, raising a good garden and keeping a large number of colonies of bees.  Most of the cleared land is leased to neighbors.  He does all his own housework and is a very good housekeeper.

••••••••••

Percy Zickert and Charles Harlow each were fined $10 and costs, amounting to $18.65, Monday, by Arthur E. Dudley, justice of the peace, for fighting at Hake’s barn dance Saturday night.  Otto Handke, dance inspector, made the arrest.

•••••••••••

The hall at Columbia caught fire Saturday night in some unknown manner and was burned to the ground.  A dance was held there in the early part of the night, all lights were extinguished and there were no signs of fire when the dance closed.  The hall was a two-story building and was owned by the shareholders of the Columbia Cheese Factory Co., having been used formerly as a cheese factory for many years.

••••••••••

Tibbett Ice and Fuel Co. will not make any ice deliveries on Decoration Day, unless it is specially ordered.

 

For garden plowing, call Tibbett Ice and Fuel. They also have sand, gravel and black dirt; and will hire out horses for general teamwork.

••••••••••

According to Twin City dailies, of Wednesday, the removal of a toll barrier and virtual opening of a new highway to St. Paul from Chicago and the East; came a step nearer Tuesday after a conference of representatives of five Wisconsin counties, members of the Ramsey County Board and H. O. Defiel, secretary of the St. Paul association.  The toll barrier is the present pay bridge at Prescott.  If plans formulated at the St. Paul Athletic Club are carried out, the bridge will be purchased from the present private owners and the toll removed.

 

Wisconsin Highway 34, which extends east from Prescott thru Ellsworth, has been improved and will be designated U. S. Highway 10 under the plan formulated Tuesday, in place of the highway which goes east over the Hudson toll bridge.

 

Highway 34 was designated originally U. S. No. 10.  This designation was removed several years ago and given to the Hudson road which also is designated U. S. No. 12 and carries the traffic over a toll bridge owned by the city of Hudson, traffic which nominally would be distributed over both highways.

 

With the change in designation and freedom from toll at the Prescott Bridge, much of this traffic would be rerouted over the present 34.  The above-mentioned highways meet near Neillsville and Fairchild.  The route to Chicago is the same from there on.

••••••••••

There’s a dance at Louis Barton’s Pavilion Thursday, May 29, located eight miles north of Neillsville on Highway 73.  (Barton’s farm was south of Christie Mound, now Heck’s farm. D.Z.)

••••••••••

The Woodland Hotel, of Owen, serves a delicious chicken plate dinner every Sunday, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. for 75c.

••••••••••

Hatfield will have their opening picnic on Sunday, May 18 with many free attractions.  There will be a 5-piece concert orchestra playing all afternoon.  Vaudeville will start at 4:30 p.m.  The Hatfield baseball team will play ball against the Alma Center team.  An excursion boat will go around the lake.  You can enjoy roller-skating, or participate in a game of horseshoe.  Pack up a lunch, the kiddies and come out for some fun.

 

Remember –As kids, we had a bicycle, one bike to be shared by every sibling in the family.  I don’t remember ever fighting over who cold ride it now, or later, it depended on when each one had his, or her, chores done.  We learned to share! D.Z.

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This circa 1930 view of Hewett Street was taken from the Fourth Street intersection, looking north.  Strings of bulbs were strung intermittently above the street for additional lighting, along with the lamp posts, to aid visibility during night-time hours.  (Photo courtesy of Bill Roberts)

 

 

 


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