Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

October 21, 1998, Page 14

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

The Good Old Days

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

Clark County News

 

October 1898

 

A transfer of deeds was transacted in Milwaukee early this week on the big Romadka tract of hardwood timber lands in York and Fremont townships.  The George Hiles Land & Lumber Co. of Dexterville is the new owner of the property which includes 3,320 acres and is estimated to cut 20,000,000 feet of lumber.  The hardwood consists mainly of white and red oak, considered a value of $80,000.  The same company has purchased a tract known as the Green Lands in the York and Fremont townships, estimating to cut 3,000,000 ft., with estimated value of $12,500.  The firm of Grow, Schuster & Co. of Neillsville negotiated the sale.

 

When finished, the front of the Commercial State Bank’s new quarters will be one of the neatest in town.  It will be painted white and inlaid with gold leaf.  The brick work on the new vault is nearly completed.

 

The corn husking and shredding machine owned by Mr. Cardorelli began work Monday and is a marvelous machine.  It husked 40 bushels of corn in three quarters of an hour and works like a charm.  He charges only 3 ½ ¢ a bushel which includes the husking, shredding of stalks and all.  The machine does not shell the corn, but husks it clean.

 

County Clerk Bradford has requested us to state that all licenses to hunt deer must have a 10¢ stamp on them.  Applicants must enclose $1.20 with their applications, which later must have a 10¢ stamp also.

 

A corn husking bee was held at Kurth’s on Pleasant Ridge last Monday evening.  Everyone enjoyed the husking and especially the fine supper served afterwards.

 

The Neillsville Furniture Factory begins work at 6:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m. and stops at 5:30 p.m., now-days until the rewiring in the building is completed.  Electric lights will then be used in the work areas.  Harry Robinson is head electrician on the project.

 

The forest fire west of here last week destroyed Garfield Bros. shingle mill and some fencing.  A stack of buckwheat belonging to Mike Graves was also burned.

 

West Pine Valley people have formed a cemetery association and incorporated under the law.  C. S. Stockwell drew up the plat and papers.  The cemetery is located near the J.B.L. Winters place.  (This is the South Pine Valley Cemetery; south off of West Sand Road)

 

Luethe & Schroeder shipped 1500 pounds of live chickens by express to Chicago on Tuesday.  The enterprising firm is doing a large business in shipping chickens, eggs, potatoes, and other produce.

 

One thing certain, when the pine is all used up, we can fall back upon the mahogany forests of our new possessions.  Mahogany 2 x 4’s with ebony drop siding would pretty near cork a wire nail, eh?

 

Ben Tragsdorf was riding his cycle wheels out in the country Sunday afternoon.  While coming down the hill west of the Black River, near the railroad trestle, his wheels struck a rut and he took a header, landing in the ditch.  His right collar bone was fractured with a bone driven near the right lung.  Dr. Esch set the break and Tragsdorf is resting comfortably.

 

The Wisconsin Central Railway’s bridge crew has been working on Grave’s Mill spur, repairing the old bridges at Loyal.  John Davel has purchased a lot from Frank Vetter and intends to build on it in the spring.

 

H. J. Bickmores held a dancing party for the young folks in the Tioga area.

 

The Neillsville City Library will be closed for the next two weeks, starting on Monday.  The Board of Directors deemed it necessary on account of several cases of diphtheria.  The library will be open the rest of this week for the return of books but none will be issued out until further notice.

 

R. B. Salter of Colby will build a barn 40 x 90 ft. on his mill farm west of the boarding house.  It will be one of the best stock barns ever built in Clark County. There will be a stone basement under the entire structure, 10 ft. high.  The interior will be divided up into sections, one for the horses, a section for the cattle and an area for the sheep.  The barn will have 20 ft. support posts set in masonry.  Phil Henkel has charge of the construction which has already been started. 

 

There is word that a proposal has been made to build a bridge near Hatfield.  The county board is expected to take some action to further the project at their next meeting.  The development of the county demands the bridge and the time is right for its construction.  The eighty acres of land in Clark County, about four miles east of Merrillan, north of the Marshfield railway track, belonging to the L. B. L. Johnson estate, was sold at public auction this past week.  Administer of the estate was Cannon.  E. J. Austin was the purchaser and the price paid for the eighty was $160.

 

Attorney Geo. E. Crothers moved his office temporarily to the city hall building.  He wanted to get away from the diphtheria case in the building where his office is.

 

October 1928

 

Mr. Fred Appleyard and Miss Lillian Thoma were united in marriage at two o’clock Sunday afternoon, Sept. 23, at Globe Lutheran Church with Rev. Motzkus officiating.

 

Miss Ann Appleyard, sister of the groom was bridesmaid and Mr. Arthur Thoma, brother of the bride, was groomsman.  Irma Dudei and Edna Schlinkert were the flower girls.

 

The bride wore a dress of white satin crepe, trimmed with rhinestones and lace.  She wore a veil and carried a shower bouquet of pink roses.  The bridesmaid was dressed in a peach colored georgette and carried an arm bouquet of pink roses.

 

The church was beautifully decorated with flowers.  Mrs. Motzkus played the wedding march.

 

After the ceremony a large group of friends and relatives gathered at the home of the bride’s parents where a reception was held.  Dinner was served at five o’clock and during the evening the guests were entertained socially.  A midnight supper was served to all.  Rooms of the home were decorated in pink and white.

 

The groom is the son of Mrs. Chas. Appleyard.  He came to Clark County with his family when he was a small boy and grew to manhood on the farm.  After completing the rural school course, he attended two years of Neillsville High School.  Since then he has had charge of the home farm which he has managed very successfully.  He is considered one of the most enterprising farmers of this community.

 

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Thoma of the Town of Weston.  She is a lady of fine personality.  With the home training experiences under the direction of her mother, she was capable of taking charge of her brother’s home after the death of his wife.  Her faithfulness and self-sacrifice have endeared her to all who know her.

 

The young couple left by auto for a few days visit in the southern part of the state.  Upon their return, they will be at home on the Appleyard farm north of Neillsville in Pine Valley.

 

It was 25 years ago on Sept. 6 that the Reformed Church was organized.  It had its beginning in Pine Valley and was first served by Rev. H. W. Schroer from Stratford.

 

Sunday, Oct. 7, the congregation will have an anniversary celebration with one of the former pastors as guest speaker of the day.

 

Charles Decramer & Co. has moved their cigar factory from the home south of the Zbinden milk plant.  They now occupy the small building owned by C. C. Sniteman on Seventh Street west of the Bruley Elevator.  They will continue to manufacture and sell the same high quality cigars at retail, either singly or by the box.

 

The Neillsville Public Library is attempting some extension work, by sending package libraries to Granton and Humbird. The books at Granton are being circulated from the Granton Bank, and at Humbird, Guy Crandall, the school district clerk, keeps the books at his barber shop.  Plans are being made to send books to Chili, also.

 

The West Side Cheese Factory, owned by Ed and Will Steiger, northwest of Greenwood, was destroyed by fire last week Wednesday, Meinholt, the cheesemaker, was away from the factory at the time and it is not known how the fire started.  All of the cheese, except that day’s run, had been shipped.

 

Will Lowery, who lives on rural route 3, Granton, was in Neillsville Saturday.  He advertised that he has sorghum syrup for sale.  It is homemade, home grown and manufactured by Lowery.  Some people of this area are no doubt not familiar with this sort of syrup.

 

As the Press editor grew up in the area of sorghum fields, he has sweet memories of sorghum making seasons.  Nearly every farm grew a patch of sorghum, a sort of sugar cane.  In well fertilized soil it grew rank and high.  Ordinarily it ripened in early September and was cut before frost.  The leaves were stripped by downward stokes (strokes) through the stalks with a wooden sword or strong lath.  The tasseled plumes at the top of the stalk were clipped with a corn knife.  The stalks wee cut and bound in bundles, then hauled to the crushing mills, where night and day during the season, the syrup boiling went on.  Patrons took their turns in the order of which they began to deliver their season’s cut.  A patron who would offer to put his team of horses on the sweep and would lend a hand at feeding stalks into the mill would get his job run out ahead of schedule.

 

The sorghum industry brought a neighborhood together as the young folks of the day would socialize around the mill during the evening.

 

(The maple syrup industry of Wisconsin made available by its many maple trees, would take precedence over sorghum syrup.  Growing up in the prairie states, sorghum syrup poured over freshly made Johnny cake was a favored food for me as a child.  After living in Wisconsin and being introduced to real maple syrup, the taste for sorghum syrup was forgotten.  D. Z.)

 

The State Department of Prohibition reports the following figures for the first three weeks of September: 34 convictions resulting in fines of $6,250; 42 arrests resulting in the accused being bound over to court pending further action.  The bonds on the 42 cases amount to $26,500.  Many of those cases will result in fines and the revenues of the month will be swelled just that much more.

 

Commissioner of Prohibition, R. W. Dixon, reports that since the state department of prohibition was inaugurated, the state of Wisconsin has made a profit of $2,500,000 as a result of the operations of the department.

 

(Could it be the profits were greater due to fines of illegal liquor sales than the previous days of taxes on legal sales? D.Z.)

 

There will be a good band playing for the dance at Lynn Pavilion on Oct. 6.  Hi Covell’s band will play at Dorn’s in Loyal on Oct. 9.  Hake’s Barn will have as (a) masquerade dance on Oct. 10.  Cash prizes will be given to those in the best costumes.  The married folks dance club will have a dance at the Globe Hall on Oct. 5.  The Riverside will have a Masquerade dance on Oct. 6; Music by Chuck’s Midnite Suns.

 

Alfred Brown & Co. will complete the five miles of concrete work on federal Highway 10, extending from the Yellow River to the Clark County line on Thursday.

 

Something new – filling silos with a motor.  Recently, a silo was filled on the Henry Sternitzky farm at Lynn.  H. Hasz, Sternitzky’s son-in-law, used the power of a five-horsepower motor to run the silo filler.  L. C. Hoffman in charge of rural service for Northern States Power Co. had the motor taken to the farm for a test.  The five-horsepower motor is mounted on a light truck so that it can be easily moved about the premises and is known at the “Farm Chore” motor.  The Sternitzky silo contains 78 tons of corn silage besides about two tons cut to lot feed the cattle, 80 tons in all.  In 60 kilowatt hours, the power expense amounted to only two cents per ton.  Such a motor is economical power as it can be used for many farm needs, such as wood sawing, feed grinding, running a hay hoist and other operations.

 

It’s time to buy cheap feed at Bruley’s Elevator in Neillsville.  Selling for December delivery – nice yellow corn $29 per ton and December oats, $29 per ton.

 

W. F. Wilsmann celebrated his 66th birthday on Sunday evening when several friends and relatives gathered at the Merchant’s Hotel.  Wilsmann is the popular proprietor of the hotel, having owned and operated it since 1921.  During that time, Wilsmann has gradually enlarged and improved the hotel.  Another reason to celebrate on his birthday was his satisfaction of having paid off the last dollar of his indebtedness.  Wilsmann has made many friends with the traveling public and that friendship has helped to make the hotel business a success.

 

Harry Haslett, who has been cashier of the Citizens State Bank in Loyal since its organization 19 years ago, has resigned to accept a position with the Wis. State Bank Dept.  Assistant Cashier John Shupe will act as cashier for the balance of the year. 

 

A Neillsville City Baseball team at a camp-out, in the early 1900s.  None of the players can be identified.

(Photo courtesy of the Schultz Family’s Collection) 

 

 


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