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Clark County Press, Neillsville, March 8, 2006, Page 12 Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon. Index of "Oldies" Articles
Compiled by Dee Zimmerman
Clark County News |
March 1906
Neillsville has a good orchestra, which takes its name from and, under the leadership of Prof. F. W. Whitcomb. There are eight pieces in the organization and each one is a soloist of much ability. The group consists of the following: F. W. Whitcomb, first violin; Miss Ruth Whitcomb, second violin; Frank Burnett, bass; Miss Ruby Neff, pianist; Claude Sturdevant, flute; Fred C. Neverman, clarinet; Ernest Ayers, cornet; Forrest Calway, trombone.
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The Dresden Hotel is comfortably equipped and a well-appointed $1.00-a-day house, located on Fifth Street. It is where the Weisner House formerly stood. It is ably conducted by Bert Dresden, who has owned and operated it for the past few years. He has built it up and warrants a good patronage through his affable and obliging manner.
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Dr. J. Henry Frank, physician and surgeon, has an office on the corner of Hewett and Fifth Streets. He came to Neillsville in 1899, from Antigo, Wis., and has been in active practice since. The doctor is a Milwaukee man, grew up there, and graduated from city schools and from the Wisconsin School of Physicians and Surgeons. With his family, he occupies the beautiful modern home on the North Side built by Gus Hosely, shortly before he left to become a citizen of Idaho. The doctor is popular socially and enjoys a lucrative practice.
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Sol F. Jaseph is one of Neillsville’s oldest residents who have been in business in the city since 1871.
He is a great nimrod, a sober and consistent devotee of Isaac Walton.
Jaseph has done much for Neillsville, having built or improved many business and residential properties of the city.
He built the brick store next door west of the express office, the C. R. Sturdevant residence, the North Side store building and many others. He was the first to have electric lights in his residence and the first to have a lawn on his residential lot in the city.
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Another of Neillsville’s substantial businessmen, of whom we are justly proud, is George L. Sontag. Mr. Sontag was born at Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin November 17, 1865. When one year old, he was brought by his parents to Neillsville, where he has since resided.
He began his school days in what is now the old Lowe Bros. meat market building that stands on Fifth Street, to the rear of the W. J. Marsh Dry Goods Store. There, he learned his P’s and Q’s, which laid a foundation for an envious career. His next studies were pursued in a schoolhouse standing on a site near where our mammoth new school building is located. That building was later moved to Grand Avenue and forms the nucleus of the present Marth residence. After the high school building was completed, he continued studies there until he lacked but a short time of graduation. Mrs. Deming, who resides on the North Side, was one of Sontag’s first teachers.
During the latter part of his school days, he worked during his spare time in the H. W. Klopf jewelry store, finding the work not to his liking. He then worked in the drug store for Meyers & Sniteman, which has been nearly 25 years ago.
In the year of 1888, he began his college career, graduating from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1890.
The present C. C. Sniteman Co. was incorporated in 1892 and Mr. Sontag has since that time been a heavy stockholder as well as one of the active managers of the business. He has been in the city for nearly 40 years and though he is but a young man, he has hewn his way to the front, standing respected and honored by all who know him.
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The Merchants Hotel stands on the corner of Hewett and Seventh streets, where once stood the old Central Hotel, which burned down some twenty years ago. It is a historic spot to old residents and many are the tales of logging days associated with it. The present building once stood where the W. A. Leason residence now stands on the North Side and was then called the Huntzicker Hotel. The immense building was later moved to its present site by Mr. Huntzicker, was brick veneered, added on to and remodeled into what is now a modern and up-to-date hotel known as the Merchants Hotel.
Joseph A. Dillman purchased it later, adding to it more. He conducted the hotel business for some time, afterward leasing it to Herbert J. Brooks. Presently, V. M. Murphy, with the assistance of Mrs. Murphy, conducts the business in a commendable and genial manner. The hotel is a popular resort of the traveling public as well as for the Neillsville people.
The Merchants Hotel has a fine bar, in connection, ably conducted by Wm. G. Klopf.
March 1956
Recognition was given by local educators, last Thursday evening, to Miss Stella Davis of Neillsville for 25 years of teaching service to the children of Neillsville.
At a banquet held in the Fireplace Supper Club, Miss Davis received a purse of money and a card signed by over 60 teachers, school board members, their wives and husbands, and others who have been closely identified with educational work here over the years.
During the 25 years she has been in the Neillsville Public School system, Miss Davis has started upward of 500 children on their way to learning, as she has been the teacher of the first and second grades of the North Side School during that time.
She prefers the first grade, which she now is teaching exclusively, “Because their advancement is so pronounced” at that stage. In her opinion, the first and second grades, too, are the most important in a child’s learning, for this is the time when the basic foundation is laid for their future learning.
Miss Davis has served as principal of the North Side School during most of her teaching experience in Neillsville. There was a period of four years, after she had left teaching for a short time, when she taught in the South Side School. She shifted back to the North Side School as soon as there was an opening there.
During her experience on the South Side, she had as pupils several of the young men and women among this year’s high school graduating class. Included among them are: Kay Overman, the valedictorian; Wendell Seif, the salutatorian; Sarah Albrecht, Erma Stucki, “and all the others who were on the honor roll, except Judy Reese. Miss Reese, who came to the high school from St. Mary’s Catholic School, was not living in the area at that time.
Miss Davis also taught (or is now teaching) the sons and daughters of several parents she started on their way. Included are Sally Gress, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Gress; and Ronald Marden, whose father Glen, she taught.
In length of service in the Neillsville public school system, Miss Davis is fourth. Three years ago, Arthur Flynn was honored for 25 years of service; two years ago D. E. Peters, superintendent, and John W. Perkins, agriculture instructor were similarly honored.
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A 6:30 p.m. supper was given for employees of Wuethrich’s Creamery Co. in Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, at Green-wood Saturday evening. Those from Loyal who attended were: Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Collins, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Dahl, Mr. and Mrs. Orville Greene, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Dusso, Mr. and Mrs. William Essex, Mr. and Mrs. Burnell Yaeger, Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Zimmerman, and Mr. and Mrs. Jake Henseler, Jr.
Trinity Aid met in the Lutheran Church parlors, at Loyal Friday afternoon, March 2. The Bible study was led by Pastor J. G. Pfohl, and devotions presented by Mrs. Herman Schefus. A reading was given by Mrs. John Luchterhand. Mrs. Art Wolfe and Mrs. Ed Dobbe are to attend the Northern Group meeting of W. J. F. officers of the executive board at Edgar, Saturday. The Lenten project, of the society, will be an offering for the church building fund to be taken at the April meeting. The Aid voted to serve the banquet for the bowling clubs. Used Christmas cards or other greeting cards are to be brought to Violet Haslow. The dart ball banquet will be held in Greenwood, this year. The serving committee consisted of Mrs. John Luchterhand, Mrs. Herman Noeldner, Mrs. Norbert Noeldner and Mrs. Walter Wegner.
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A course of instruction in the safe use of firearms, to open March 16, was announced this week by Delbert C. Struble, of the sponsoring Neillsville Sportsmen’s Club.
The program is open to youths of all ages; but it is primarily aimed at boys from 11 to 15 years of age who soon will be handling guns during hunting seasons and in armed forces training.
The course consists of 12 hours of instruction covering every phase of safety practices in connection with the use of firearms. The gun safety course has been devised by the National Rifle Association. Insofar as is known, this will be the first instruction of its kind in this area.
Provisions have been made to handle groups of 25 youths in each class. Just how many classes will be required will, of course, depend upon the response; but the club is prepared to conduct up to three classes if required, Mr. Struble said.
Expenses of the course will be largely met by the sponsoring Neillsville Sportsmen’s Club; but a small portion of it will be borne by the boys who take the course, amounting to 50 cents registration fee.
At the satisfactory completion of the 12 hours of instruction, boys will be presented with a rifle safety certificate, which can be carried in a wallet. Also available, for those who wish them; will be shoulder patches with the safe hunter emblem.
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Art Flynn, who has served as janitor of the Neillsville High School for the last 28 years, is heading toward partial retirement. Last week, Thursday, he started training Ray Reineck of Neillsville Rt. 3, to take over the head janitor position. Mr. Flynn will remain with Mr. Reineck for the remainder of this month, and then will serve part-time on the night shift.
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Members of the Longwood Lutheran Church held a farewell party for their pastor and Mrs. M. S. Egge and family on Sunday. Pastor Egge has accepted a call to the parish at Redwood Falls, Minn.
Ira Tanner of Oconomowoc has accepted a call to the pastorate of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Greenwood. Mr. Tanner is now attending a Seminary at St. Paul. He will graduate in May, will be ordained in Oconomowoc, and will take over his duties at Our Savior’s Church in June. Mr. Tanner, a married man, will take the place of Rev. M. S. Egge, who recently accepted a call to the Lutheran Church at Redwood Falls, Minn.
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With the worst blizzard of the year behind it, Clark County and its residents were digging out early this week after a four-day period, which saw 19 inches of snow fall, topped off by the granddaddy of them all.
Maurice Meredith, highway department superintendent, declared Saturday night’s blizzard the worst in his memory. He recalled one other almost as bad, back in the 1930s but it didn’t last as long.
While now serious situations were reported as a result of the Saturday storm, many were the dramas that it brought about.
One came Saturday night when Mr. and Mrs. Ray Gluch, who live about two miles east of Granton, staged a six-hour race with the stork. They battled drifts with shovels and power, and strained through zero visibility in their truck, after they abandoned efforts in their car. Finally they received highway department help.
They arrived at the hospital in Marshfield but a short time before their son was born, their first child.
Glen and Joe Zilk, Jr., walked about two and one-half miles through the blizzard early Sunday morning; bucking waist-high drifts over highway 10 east of the city.
They had been on three rescue calls with their powerful tow truck; had been in the ditch and pulled themselves out twice, when the truck hit the ditch for the third, and last time in front of the C. A. Paulson farm.
“We just couldn’t see the road,” Joe Jr., explained the following day. “It all looked alike, just snow.”
The Tom Flynn’s of Neillsville spent four and one-half hours making it back from Merrillan, spending two hours at the Roy Iverson farm after giving up. They followed a highway snowplow back into the city as it passed the Iverson place.
From 12 to 15 cars and trucks were piled up along Wood’s hill, three and one-half miles west of the city on Highway 10, for a time Saturday night. They received help from the highway crews returning from a run to Highway 12, where it cuts across the southwestern edge of the county. Cars, there, were jammed up, too.
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Valentine Krainz, Jr., of the Willard State Graded School, scored a perfect 1,000 points to win the county rural school grain judging contest, in Neillsville last week. He was the first contestant since 1948 to turn in a perfect score.
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With 4,000 pounds of milk, or 2,000 pounds of total digestive nutrients per acre, John Taylor of Owen was selected as the top participant in the 1955 Grassland Farming program.
Mr. Taylor fertilized the pasture area and then divided it into small paddocks. Each little field was pastured four days at a time by his large Guernsey herd. Milk production data was kept for three months, and the T.D.N. was computed.
He stated: “It doesn’t pay to let the herd roam over a wild 40, when 10 or 12 acres will produce three times the feed when the pastures are rotated, and the fields are kept small.” This was the third year Mr. Taylor had practiced rotational grazing on small areas.
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Wisconsin Trivia
Q. For what group of historic figures are streets in downtown Madison named?
A. Signers of the U. S. Constitution.
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In 1906, a new building, shown in the above photo, opened for the Neillsville High School students, next to the South Side Elementary School, located on East Fourth Street between Court and State streets. Elementary age students, who lived on the north side of O’Neill Creek, attended the North Side School, which was on Prospect Street, between Eleventh and Twelfth streets. (Photo courtesy of Bill Roberts’ collection)
