Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

May 13, 1998, Page 24

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

Good Old Days

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

Clark County News

 

May 1868

 

We were told that the Post Office at Staffordville is now open.  Mail is being received and sent out by Postmaster Race.

 

Butter has been very scarce in this region for some time and commands almost any price that may be asked for.

 

Richard Dewhurst and his family left our village Wednesday morning for a visit with friends in Ohio and will return at the close of summer.  Dewhurst is one of the pioneers of this county and was a member of the State Assembly from this District in 1859 and again in 1865.  His integrity has won the respect of many friends here and it is gratifying to know his absence will be only temporary.

 

A. K. Stafford is laying the foundation for a fine residence on the hill just north of O’Neill Creek, opposite G. Sterns’ place.  It is a beautiful site and will improve the appearance of that part of town greatly.

 

S. C. Boardman, of here, will commence this week to set out thirteen acres of hops in the Town of Grant, four miles east of Neillsville.  There are other people in the county who contemplate starting fields of hops, also.

 

Boardman has Mason’s patent for poling hops, which is considered the means best claimed to protect hops from the lice that are now destroying many old hop yards.  A plan can be seen at J. T. Thompson’s Store, here.  Anyone wishing to use the method can have it upon reasonable terms.

 

An area is now being prepared in our village, for the manufacture of brick by the enterprising firm of Hewett, Woods & Co.  Edward King will have charge of the yard.  Brick layers living here have declared the clay does not contain enough sand.  But, King who has considerable experience in the business says there is enough of sand, though the clay is not of the best quality.

 

The men working at G. W. King’s sawmill in the Town of Mentor made a trial run last Saturday, to see how much lumber they could saw in one day.  Using a circular saw, in twelve and a half hours, they turned our 20,592 feet of lumber.  When we heard about the trial, we were confident Horace Stiles, as head sawyer, would do something extraordinary.  The best of the situation is the demand for lumber at the mill which has been greater than the supply.  They are able to sell the lumber as fast as it is sawed, at fair prices.

 

Last Friday morning our court house was placed in jeopardy by fire.  The timely discovery made by B. F. French, Esq., no doubt saved the building from being destroyed.  Some loose chips lying close to the house caught fire, it is supposed, by a burning cigar or the contents of a pipe being thrown among them.

 

The other day, two boys, not more than ten or twelve years of age, entered O. P. Wells’ Hardware Store in their village.  Each boy carried a few pounds of old iron, which they sold.  Afterwards, it was discovered that the hardware merchant had purchased the same iron before it came in possession of the youngsters.  They had taken it from a pile of iron stacked along the side of the store belonging to Wells.  For the sake of the parents we do not mention the boys’ names; but we hope they may be brought to the realization of the serious situation.

 

The weather has never been as dry in this locality as it has been this sparing.  The grain is doing poorly as a consequence.

 

Considerable damage has been done in the woods owing to the exceedingly dry weather this spring.  Fires emanating from burning brush piles on newly cleared land have spread through the woods with great rapidity.  Large amounts of standing pine timber, fences, blackberry brush, etc. have been destroyed.

 

Wedges Creek Area – a logging camp belonging to E. H. McIntosh was burned to the ground.  Fortunately, few logging implements were left there after the winter’s work.  Calvin Allen’s camp is believed to be in great danger, as many logging tools are stored there.  In some places logs stacked on the banks of the creek and even those in the stream, but thrown above the water in huge piles by jams, have caught fire adding their strength to the flames.

 

O’Neill Creek – So far no logging camps along the creek have been consumed by fire but a great deal of standing green timber is forever being destroyed.

 

Cunningham Creek – Not all of the timber along Cunningham Creek has entirely escaped from the fire although considerable damage has been done.

 

Farmers have been compelled to keep up a strict watch over their wooden fences.

 

Our county has suffered a very heavy loss in its timber wealth by the destructive flames.  It is consoling to know our best and most valuable pine regions remain untouched.

 

All supervisory members were present for the Clark County Board Meeting held in the village yesterday.  A county tax of $7,000 was levied for the purpose of improving the main Black River Road.  In accordance with the law passed last winter by the Legislature, three commissioners were appointed; B. F. French, James Hewett and Jones Tompkins, “to section off the road into sections of two miles each, commencing at the south line of the county.”  Also, “to make out a full statement of the nature and kind of work that is required to be done on each section, to make a good, sufficient wagon road of the same.”  All travel and transportation into and out of our county is principally upon this road.

 

May 1908

 

At present, 200 men are employed at the Hatfield power plant and this force will be doubled within the next week or ten days.  Three excavating machines are now in service on the canal and the work is being done rapidly.  Power will likely be provided to outlying cities by late July or early August.  The spillway of the dam is 494 feet long and 14 inches of water are flowing over it, producing about 18,000 horsepower.

 

Frank Ruddock is working in the shoeing department of the blacksmith shop at Hatfield.  He has some tough work ahead of him when he starts on the company’s mules.  But if there is any man who can handle the job, it is Ruddock.

 

About 50 men are employed at Owen, cleaning and cutting out the right-of-way for the Fairchild Railroad from Owen to Medford.  Plans are to have the road completed by September.  An officer of the road said that they will put in a station at Hollister’s mill.

 

Rev. James Bain of Portage organized a Sunday School at the Prince of Peace Church in Pine Valley last Sunday.  He expects to visit this locality again in the near future and look over the prospects of organizing Sunday Schools at Hewettville and Columbia.

 

W. H. Thoma will give a barn dance on May 8.  There will be good music and plenty of stable room.

 

Mr. Kreiling who represents the Chippewa Beet Sugar Company has been out with Oscar Weinberger for the past few days securing acreage of beets.  They have reported good success.

 

It has not been very warm lately but if it ever does warm up remember Tragsdorf, Zimmerman & Co. have the best values in Sun Bonnets for ladies and girls, 10¢ to 25¢ each.

 

Regular worship services will be held at the Methodist Church here on Sunday.  Preaching at the Visgar Church will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

 

Howard and Seif are preparing to give a Farmer’s Reception at their new machinery warehouse which will be formally opened to the public. All of their machinery and other lines of merchandise will be on exhibition.  A five percent discount will be given on all cash sales on that day.  A free lunch will be served at noon.

 

Monday, L. G. Masters planted 5,000 walleyed pike fry in O’Neill Creek back of Wm. Buddenhagen’s farm.  They were obtained from the state hatchery at Madison.

 

A carload of good chicken wheat just arrived at the Clark County Elevator.

 

There are considerable improvements going on along the south part of Grand Avenue.  Fred Stelloh who purchased the William Huntley house is putting in sewer and city water as well as re-painting and making other improvements.  Geo. Phillips is remodeling his home.  J. H. Ketcham is putting a cellar drain in one of his houses.

 

Mrs. James O’Neill, Sr., died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. J. P. Lester, in Chicago, May 15, 1908.  She was buried in the Lester Cemetery lot at Pleasant Prairie, Wis.  The deceased was the second wife of James O’Neill, founder of this city and uncle of Judge James O’Neill.  Mrs. O’Neill lived here for some time after her husband’s death, having charge of the O’Neill House.

 

George Glass, Lester and Lyle Carter walked to Hatfield, Sunday and from there to Merrillan returning to Neillsville on the midnight train.

 

It is reported that a fish was caught in the Black River below Hatfield recently, said to weigh over 40 pounds.

 

George Gardner sold his Town of York farm to Mr. and Mrs. I. Fulwiler.  The sale amount of $2,600 included nearly all of the personal property, as well.  Gardner has purchased 80 acres of land west of Loyal, but will move into the village, as of now.

 

The best assortment of 9’x12’ rugs in Tapestry, Brussels, Velvet, Axminster and Wiltons, are from $13.50 to $45.  Ladies you can save from 10 to 25% by buying your wash dress goods from us.  For the house, screen doors are 90¢ to $1.45.  Window screens in wood or steel frames at 25¢ to 35¢.  All of these special priced items can be found at Tragsdorf, Zimmerman & Co.

 

Granton School was closed Friday due to a couple cases of diphtheria.  Classes will resume Monday if there are no new cases reported by that time.

 

May 1948

 

A family reunion and dinner party at the home of Mrs. Alvina Gault, 163 North Prospect, Neillsville, marked the celebration of the 50th Wedding Anniversary Mr. and Mrs. Fred Schoengarth of the Town of Grant on Saturday, May 1st

 

Schoengarths have three children, Mrs. Gault, Art Schoengarth of Tioga and Albert Schoengarth of Neillsville, all of whom were present for the occasion.

 

Also present were the grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Schoengarth.  Mrs. Gault’s sons: Bob, Franklin, Gene and Bill; Art’s children, Merlin, Delores and Robert; Albert’s children, Harris, Gayle and Bonnie.

 

A memorial service for William E. Tragsdorf, widely-known native son of Neillsville, will be held with Masonic Services in the temple 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 9.

 

Tragsdorf died Feb. 9, 1948, in the Panama Canal Zone, where he retired from long government service a few months before his death.

 

Here for the services are his widow, who makes her home in Cocoli, Canal Zone, and his son, William E. Tragsdorf, Jr., Secretary of the Camber of Commerce at Eugene, Ore.

 

The ashes of the deceased will be laid to rest at the Neillsville Cemetery.

 

Dance at the Lake Side Inn at Rock Dam on Saturday, May 8, with music by Frank Buresh & His Melodiers.  Free hall for wedding dances and parties

 

On May 1, St. Mary’s Catholic Church of Neillsville was the scene of the wedding of Ruth Kutsche, daughter of Sheriff and Mrs. Ray Kutsche of Neillsville, and Edward Rychnovsky, son of Mrs. Caroline Rychnovsky, of Neillsville.  The 9 a.m. nuptial mass and wedding was performed by Reg. John Pritzl.

 

Following the wedding ceremony, a reception was held for 25 guests at the bride’s home.

 

Marriage applications in Clark County this week were as follows: Edith Vinney, Humbird, and Philip Fitzmaurice, Humbird; Grace D. Hertz, Abbotsford, and Roger Staffeil, Colby; Ellen Henseler, Loyal and Orville Luchterhand, Spencer; Wava Bush, Neillsville, and Kenneth Larson, Alma Center; Betty Mathews, Loyal, and Leonard Rueth, Loyal; Joyce Noreen Hardwick, Humbird, and Carroll E. Kelsh, Humbird and Dorothy E. Stuve, Owen, and Henry Kostling, Loyal.

 

•••••••••••••••••••

It is better to be a person of value rather than a person of success.

A successful person takes more out of life than he or she puts into it;

A person of value gives more to life than he or she takes out of it.

--Albert Einstein—

•••••••••••••••••••

 

John Paulus working as a bartender: Paulus managed the O’Neill House for a number of years.  The O’Neill House was located on the corner of Hewett & Sixth Streets.

 

 


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