Clark County Press, Neillsville, Wisconsin

January 4, 2017, Page 9

Contributed by "The Clark Co. Press"

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

Clark County News

 

Chronology For 1936 For Clark County

 

Jan. 2 – Clark County Clerk announces 221 marriage licenses issued in 1935.

Jan. 4 – Fred Schoengarth, 94, dies.

Jan. 6 & 7 - Fire Department called out three times in less than 24 hours, setting a record of some kind.

Jan. 16 – First National Bank makes ten per cent dividend payment.

Jan. 18 – Greenwood Hall burns to ground, damage placed at $25,000.

Jan. 23 – Official temperature was 31 degrees below zero.

Jan. 30 – Van Gordens announce plans for new fertilizer plant in Neillsville.

Feb. 1 – Harvey Fuller, Neillsville, receives first pension check.

Feb. 9 – Worst blizzard in years, following several days of snowing, ties traffic completely.  Train schedules canceled.

Feb. 16 – Official temperature at Stevens Point was 43 degrees below.

Feb. 17 – Andrew Schaer, found frozen to death by Ole Aspen, rural mail carrier.

Feb. 20 – Four county farm loan associations merged.

Mar. 4 – Fire damages offices of Tibbett’s Ice & Fuel.

Mar. 19 – Willard farmers set up REA Co-op.

Apr. 7 – Spring election.  Highway 73 paving approved by large majority.

Apr. 13 – Start remodeling of Keller’s Fireplace Supper Club.

May 1 – Major Bozo’s Amateurs amuse city residents.

May 3 – City hall partly damaged by fire.

May 4 – Dr. Sarah Rosekrans honored as guest artist by Marshfield clubs.

May 8 – Council discusses plans for new city hall.

May 25 – Plans made for Scout camps.

June 6 – Graduation exercises held at fairgrounds for 600 rural school students.

June 20 – County Club razed by fire.

(That was the golf course clubhouse, located along Hwy 95, west side of the Black River. DZ)

June 21 -  Boy Scouts hold “Open House”.

June 23 – Farm Loan Association holds annual meeting.

July 13 – New Neillsville post office bids opened.

July 14 – Hottest day in Neillsville, official temperature of 108 degrees.

July 16 – Conservation department posts emergency regulations.

July 30 – George E. Rude, elected president of state Register of Deeds organization.

July 31 – Brush fires endanger two manufactories in Owen.

Aug. 2 – Neillsville starts belated baseball season.

Aug. 13 – Six more towns added to emergency fire districts.

Aug. 26-27-28, - Clark County Fair at Neillsville.

Sep. 6 – St. John’s Lutheran Church celebrates Golden Jubilee.

Oct. 1 – City offices occupy new city hall.

Oct. 19 -  Circuit Court opens fall term.

Nov. 3 -  Progressive Party carries State.

Nov. 14 – First National Bank pays 10 per cent dividend, bringing total to 86 per cent.

Nov. 16 – Clark County Board takes over Fair Grounds.  They will lease to the Fair Association.

Nov. 22 – Neillsville Milk Pool announces plans for addition.

Dec. 3 – Neillsville Christmas Party launched.

(The above article was taken from the Clark County Journal, located at 139-141 West Seventh Street, Neillsville with P. C. Ludovic, as Editor.

 

Two issues of that newspaper were recently brought to the Press Office by Irban and Leona Aumann, longtime residents of the loyal area who now, in retirement, live in Marshfield.

 

The couple has done a great job of collecting news articles, and compiling two scrap books, one of Clark County history and the other of their family history.  Their efforts will be appreciated by future generations. DZ)

 

January 1907

 

Gov. Davidson has appointed Ex-Atty. General L. M. Sturdevant, state agent, to look after Wisconsin’s interests at Washington D. C.  During the winter, Mr. Sturdevant will probably remain in Madison to give special assistance to the governor, to whom he will be a most valuable man during the session of the legislature.

 

(Sturdevant was a Neillsville resident. DZ)                                       

•••••••••

For the past week or more many the young people of the city have gathered at Hewett’s hill and coasted down the slope across Black River Bridge and far on the other side; then climbing the slope by Andrus’ Creamery, turned and coasted back down again.

 

Sunday night while thus engaged two “bob” sled loads collided near the bottom of the western hill.  The sleigh coming from the east had nearly stopped but all the coasters were still upon it when the load from the west came dashing down the hill striking them somewhat aslant, and piling up the two crowds promiscuously.

 

Joe Zimmerman sustained a bad fracture of both bones in one leg below the knee, and Will Gwinn, a high school boy who lives with Mr. and Mrs. Gus Krause, had a similar fracture.  Hazel Crandall received a bad cut on the knee, Fay Marsh was quite badly bruised, and Arthur Flynn had one of his ankles sprained.  Others in the party were more or less shaken up.

 

Altogether, it was the worst coasting accident that has occurred here in years.

•••••••••

T. E. Brameld and M. LaStofka have recently purchased six head of registered female Shorthorn cows from the County Farm, brought them here, and have them in the barn on Sixth Street, below the courthouse.  Local parties interested in Shorthorns, and in a position to take them, should not let them be sold outside the county.

•••••••••

The type of forest monarchs that made Clark County famous, and La Crosse rich was cut last week on the Martin LaStofka land in the Town of York.  Monday, two logs scaling nearly 1,000 board feet each, were landed at the Johnson Mfg. Co. mill.  The entire tree will scale over 5,000 board feet.  The load of logs brought in Monday, was photographed by De Lane in front of the O’Neill House, and the scene attracted quite a crowd.  Among the onlookers, were many old loggers, who viewed “the remains” as if at the funeral of an old friend.  Among the “mourners” with bowed heads and hat in hand, stood Tom Kerns and Dan Kennedy.  H. O. Moe of Sherwood made the closest off-hand guess on the scale.

 

One of the last Clark County virgin timber trees was cut down in the town of York in 1907.  Two of its logs, loaded on a bobsled were hauled into town, being delivered to the Johnson Mfg. Co. mill.  This photo was taken on E. Sixth street, near the O’Neill House, where the sled stopped to be viewed by several bystanders.

 

•••••••••

E. M. Holden has bought an automobile, which he expects to be shipped soon from Minneapolis.  It is a Glide machine, four-seated, and ten-horsepower.                                                               

•••••••••

Our thanks to A. G. Garvin for a splendid calendar issued by the Stokes Milling Co., Watertown, S. D. for whom he is bookkeeper.                                                                                                     

•••••••••

Wednesday night of last week, the house on Court Street occupied by Mrs. Madline, and children took fire.  Water was quickly put on the flames, and the fire was extinguished.  The family, which has several small children, one of whom is an invalid, is in needy circumstances.                                                                   

•••••••••

Miss Woodward, the city librarian, states that the last of this week, several new German books will be added to the circulating library.                                                                                           

•••••••••

Cream Wanted – J. B. J. Andrus’ Creamery must have more cream.  My “Pine Valley” butter has become so very popular wherever we have placed that the demand is greater than the supply.

 

We have established cream routes and our gatherers do now, or soon will, go past your farm.

 

We Want Your Cream!!

 

H. B. J. Andrus, Neillsville.                                                                                 

•••••••••

A Cooperative Creamery started business Monday, three miles south of Greenwood.  The plant cost $2,800.  About 30 farmers took stock in it.                                                                                     

•••••••••

Editor J. E. Noyes, of the Greenwood Gleaner, secured the appointment of General Clark in the Assembly.  Congratulations Brother Noyes.

 

January 1942

 

A board of three members to administer tire and tube rationing in Clark County was appointed at a meeting of the county civilian defense committee in Owen Thursday night; and organization of the board is proceeding toward operation by January 5, when the freeing order concerning the sale of new tires and tubes terminates.

 

Members of the local tire rationing board are: Leo W. Foster of Neillsville, chairman, J. W. Mahoney of Owen, and Gorton Vorland of Colby.                                                                               

•••••••••

The Neillsville Condensery of the American Stores Dairy Company has been working wholly on defense production throughout the months or November and December 1941.

 

Thus, it happens that farmers of this region who are patrons of the American Stores Dairy have been helping in defense production even more than they knew.

 

This is believed to be the first definite statement of the extent to which local milk has been flowing into national defense under the Lend-Lease Act.

 

(The American Dairy of Neillsville manufactured canned milk, which was widely used in our country, then soon started being sent overseas for our military troops during war-time.  DZ)                    

•••••••••

The Neillsville Kiwanis Club, for the fourth straight year, won attendance honors at the Mid-Winter Kiwanis Council at Milwaukee this week, with an average of 93 percent for 1941.

 

Kiwanis is starting its 22nd year in Neillsville, and many of the charter members are still in the club.

•••••••••

Young men of Neillsville area between 17 and 31, inclusive, desiring to enlist in the United States Marines can do so January 12 and 13 when Sgt. Vincent Williams will be in Marshfield.  He will interview applicants for enlistment from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.                                                                                                               

•••••••••            

Ya gotta be tough!

That is the prerequisite for membership on the local tire rationing board.  And just how tough the board’s “got” to be was indicated in its first action Monday morning, Jan. 5.

 

An inspector telephoned the office of the board, located in the courthouse.  “There’s a fuel truck stalled here with a blow-out,” he said.  “I inspected the tire and tube, and he sure needs new ones right away.”

 

“Sorry.  Nothing we can do right now,” responded Leo W. Foster, chairman of the rationing board.  “He’ll have to make an application in the regular manner.”                                                              

•••••••••

It was a strange series of coincidences, which caused a fire in the blacksmith shop of Alfred Spiegel during the frigid spell last week.  And it all goes back to the unusual weather.

 

Like a good many others in this section, Mr. Spiegel had trouble starting his car.  For one thing, it was necessary to drain the oil from the crankcase of his car and heat it to make it flow smoothly.

 

Mr. Spiegel put the oil in a container and started to thaw it out on the stove in his blacksmith shop.  In some way, a little oil was spilled on the stove, and soon it was in flames.  Then the oil in the container was ignited.

 

Mr. Spiegel attempted to remove the flaming container from the building; but the container was too hot.  He dropped it on the floor.  The flames spread rapidly.

 

Fortunately, Mr. Spiegel’s sons Bruce, Alfred, Jr., and Robert, were nearby.  So was a scoop shovel, and snow was outside the door.  They quickly scooped and threw snow onto the fire.

 

Mrs. Spiegel, working in the house nearby, saw the flames in the shop and grabbed a pail, full of water, and went to do her part.  It wasn’t too long, then, before the flames were extinguished.

 

Fortunately, but little damage was done to the building, and the only “casualty” was Mr. Spiegel’s eye brows, which were singed off.

 

(I remember those days.  Back then cars of that era didn’t start as easily as present day models.  In the early 1940s, our family car was a 1929 Dodge.  Every other Satruday, during the winter, dad would make a trip to town taking the week’s collection of eggs to trade for a few groceries, or other bare necessities.

 

Dad would wrap half of an old gunny sack around a two-inch diameter tree limb, securing it with a length of twine, dip that into a can of used oil, then ignite it with a match.  He would crawl under the car, placing the flaming torch under the crank case to heat it up.  It’s a wonder that process never resulted in a spreading fire.  When the car still wouldn’t start after that procedure, a team of harnessed horses were brought out of the barn, then hitched onto the front frame of the car, pulling it until it started.  I was the one who handled the reins, walking along the side while dad sat in the car working the choke. DZ)                                                                                                           

•••••••••

By the calendar Monday was January 19, the “dead” of winter.

 

But the weather was more like springtime.

 

Many men were out in their shirtsleeves, and others had shed their heavy winter coats in the warming sunlight.

 

So, it wasn’t too surprising that Otto May, who lives just off North Grand Avenue in the Town of Pine Valley, found a live grass snake out sunning himself.  He, too, probably believed spring was here.

 

Mr. May was walking across Mrs. Herman Gress’ pasture on the way to cut wood when he came upon the snake wriggling across the grass and snow.  It was really quite limber.                         

•••••••••

Norman Drescher, who has been teaching in the Mack School, southeast of Loyal, resigned last Friday to enter the service of the armed forces.  Mrs. Evelyn Stange of Loyal, has taken charge of the school for the remainder of the present school year.

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