Clark County Press, Neillsville, Wisconsin

July 29, 2009 Page 20

Contributed by "The Clark Co. Press"

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

Clark County News

July 1869

 

What ever be your calling, be proud of it.  Are you a shoemaker? Try to make a better shoe than any other man can make.  Yes, whatever your trade of profession, excel in it if you can.  Bear in mind that any kind of honest labor is honorable, but choose well.  “In whatever you sweat, indulge your taste.”

•••••••••

We notice that the roads in every direction from our village are being neatly and substantially repaired.  The teams of horses and pedestrians are relieved from the danger, which menaced them a few weeks ago in attempting to traverse almost any of the public thoroughfares. The road from here to Staffordville is being put in splendid condition.  The stumps have been removed, track widened and artistically rounded up, and the one-mile drive presents itself in all the beauty, which characterizes many of the principal drives of first class cities.

 

L. B. Stafford has lately purchased an open omnibus to run between here and Staffordville.  The amount of travel between the two places is considerable and for the accommodation of the numerous patrons of our neighboring burg, Stafford with his usual enterprising ways starts in with a “Free Bus for Staffordville!”

•••••••••

Messrs. Neverman & Sontag have opened their new brewery here and hundreds who have so long hankered for the favorite beverage have already indulged in copious draughts of home-made lager.

 

While we have no word of encouragement for the practice of beer drinking, we recognize in the completion of the new brewery another evidence of the steady growth and sure prosperity of our embryo city, as well as an unmistakable indication of the paying character of cash investments in Neillsville.  The brewery building of Neverman & Sontag is of large proportions, being three stories in height, besides the basement and when entirely finished will be a fine specimen of architectural beauty.  With a splendid brewery in full blast, who says that Neillsville cannot afford to put on Metropolitan airs?

 

 

 

William Neverman purchased land from James O’Neill in 1859 and built a brewery, providing its first droughts of home-brewed lager to Neillsville residents in July of that year.  He sold the business to Louis Sontag in 1874, who in turn sold out to Herman Schuster in 1882. A significant change came when the brewery was sold to Ernest Eilert in 1884. Eilert hired a European trained brew master, Kurt Listeman who eventually married the boss’s daughter, Marguerite.  The couple later took over the business when Eilert moved to California, where he started a larger brewery business.  The Neillsville brewery closed during the time of the Prohibition Act.  The building burned in the 1950s, and the site is now a parking lot along East Sixth Street, across from the Clark County Courthouse.

•••••••••

The Clark County Board at its last session formed a new township in the northern part of the county. The town is named Eaton, in honor of Elijah Eaton, Esq., the pioneer settler of that area.

•••••••••

The new residence of Mr. James O’Neill is going up.  It will be a comfortable and substantial structure of medium size.  O’Neill is going in for something “neat, but not gaudy.”

 

Mr. C. Blakeslee is building a large new barn on his farm a couple of miles east of town.  The barn-raising came off yesterday, and some of those attending were raised also, in spirits! 

•••••••••

The limits of our village are gradually extending.  James O’Neill’s fourth addition has just been made. It is situated east of the courthouse square and consists of about six blocks.  The deputy County Surveyor, Mr. Wm. Welsh, says, in the report of the survey made by him, “that the streets are 60 feet wide, the alleys are 16 ½ feet in width and the lots in the blocks are 66 feet front and 132 feet deep, or in length, and the single lots are 68 feet front and 132 feet in length.”  There are, in all, 51 lots. The first street east of the courthouse, running north and south; is named State; the second, Huron; the third Center; and the fourth Willow.  Mr. O’Neill has already disposed of some of the lots and we notice building has been commenced upon one of them.                                                                                    

•••••••••

On the north side of O’Neill Creek, west of the main road, quite a little settlement is springing up. The woods conceal the many improvements going on there.  Mr. Thos. Kerns has recently put up a frame house and Mr. C. P. Cunningham has also started building.

•••••••••

On last Friday afternoon a man named Elijah Buell was accidentally shot in his left thigh by a “set gun” in the woods, which may possibly cause his death.  He was employed in Warner’s logging camp on the Black River, about 30 miles north of here with a crew of men, who are kept there during the summer to take care of cattle and make hay.  Last Friday afternoon Buell went out in search of a stray ox, when he suddenly came in contact with a length of string attached to the lock of a gun, which was set for the purpose of shooting wild game. The gun then discharged and the ball entered his left thigh.

 

Falling to the ground, he laid exposed to the hot sun.  His cries brought some Indians to his assistance, including a well-known Indian called Jake, who it appears set the gun. Among them were two or three squaws, who set up a piteous wailing over the sad casualty.  The Indians seemed to realize their guilt in the shooting incident sympathizing deeply with the unfortunate man so with great care conveyed him down the river in a birch-canoe.  Within a mile of Wm. Meads place, they met some white men who took Buell in charge.  They then carried him to Meads home, from where they carried him ten miles to George Huntzicker’s place upon the shoulders of four men, accompanied by another four men to act as relief carriers.  From Huntzicker’s the injured man was transported in a boat down the Black River to Weston Rapids, then two more miles to the O’Neill House in the village of Neillsville, arriving Saturday. Dr. Cole of Black River Falls was summoned, reaching here the same evening. Drs. Cole and Crandall performed an operation upon the limb, removing the ball, which had shattered the bone into five pieces.  There is little hope for the man’s recovery.

 

(In this day and age it is difficult to imagine the strength and endurance of he men who carried the injured man for many miles on a stretcher upon their shoulders through and over underbrush for medical help. D. Z.)

 

(The Harry Mead family homesteaded a farm in 1866 along the trail from Greenwood to Withee.  Mrs. Mead seemed to have a stronger desire for home acres than did her husband Harry, who was interested in logging and had a weakness for card playing.

 

Located in the heart of timberland, the lumberjacks working nearby brought their dirty clothing for washing to Mrs. Mead.  Money received for the laundry services was placed in a container and saved to make farm payments, which eventually paid off the mortgage.  For many years after the Harry Mead farm was referred to as the “Dirty Shirt” farm. D. Z.)

 

July 1944

 

Clark County has raised, as of June 27, 76.4 percent of its quota in the Fifth War Loan Drive. With the First Period ended and with the entire county supposedly covered, the county was short 23.6 percent of the allotted goal.  Because of the large in reporting, it is probable that the shortage would drop to 20 percent if all sales and subscriptions had been fully reported to date.

 

At the end of the First Period the amount subscribed or sold was $441,640.95, leaving a shortage of $148,550 in individual subscriptions.

 

It has come to be noted in the war savings organization that the persistent shortage tends to be in about the same locations in each drive. This has occasioned serious inquiry and concern.  Is it possible that there are parts of Clark County, which are less patriotic than the county as a whole?  The answer thus far given is that, if there are variations of patriotism, those variations are probably due to insufficient salesmanship in the war savings organization.  Thus the real problem lies in making certain that the selling is thoroughly and wisely done.          

•••••••••

The T. J. Haas family of Owen has sons widely separated in other parts of the world.  Sgt. Lloyd Haas is in Italy and has recently been promoted to staff sergeant.  Kermit Haas, petty officer 2/c, has let it be known that he has arrived “down under,” which probably means the Solomon Islands.

 

S/Sgt. Vernon Haas, son of Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Haas of Withee, has been awarded the Air Medal.  He was wounded in August, while on a mission over Sicily and is now in a hospital in Staunton, VA.  He had previously been awarded the Silver Star, Air Medal and the Purple Heart.  He is a radio operator and gunner.

 

Herbert G. Braun of the U. S. Marine Corps, a former resident and businessman of Loyal, entered the service in October 1943 and took his boot training at San Diego, Calif.  He left the States in December 1943 and is stationed in the Hawaiian Islands.  Mrs. Braun and daughter, June, reside in Loyal.

•••••••••

The marriage of Miss Ethel Leah Hamann, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Hamann, Marshfield and Harold F. Lindekugel, Granton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Lindekugel, Loyal; was solemnized in the Trinity Lutheran Church at Loyal on

Wednesday afternoon, June 28, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. J. C. Langholz.  Mrs. Mavis Rossow, accompanied at the organ by Mrs. Marvin Seeman, sang, “O Promise Me.”

 

The bride’s attendants were maid of honor, Miss Janice Foelske, her cousin of Loyal, and bridesmaid Mrs. Ruth Litka, who is a sister of the groom.  The groom’s attendants were a cousin, Horace Lindekugel of Marshfield and his brother-in-law Reuben Litka.

 

The bride wore a white ninon gown and a finger-tip veil.  Her flowers were a mixed bouquet of white gladioli, sweat peas, baby breath and ferns.  Miss Foelske was dressed in a pink jersey gown and Mrs. Litka in a blue gown.

 

Supper was served in the church parlors, which were decorated with pink, white and blue steamers (streamers) and later in the evening, a reception for 50 relatives and friends was held at the home of the groom’s parents.

 

The bride was graduated from the Loyal High School with the class of 1943.  After July 3 Mr. and Mrs. Lindekugel will be at home at Granton, where he is proprietor of a shoe repair shop.      

•••••••••

While fishing recently in Sockwell Creek near Merrillan, Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Cummings caught several fine trout. The finest one, a German Brown trout, was 24 inches in length and weighed 4 pounds.

•••••••••

Five cents for a cup of coffee, including sugar and cream, is the ceiling price now fixed by the Office of Price Administration.  This is the maximum charge to be made by public eating places, unless in any case a higher charge was made in a seven-day period, October 4 to 19, 1942.  If such higher price was then charged, and if the proprietor now proposes to charge more than five cents, he must file a statement to that effect with the local price and rationing board.

 

On and after July 31, also, all public eating and drinking establishments must post prominently a list of their ceiling prices for the base period, April 4 to 10, 1943.  This list must include 40 basic items of the menu.

 

The new regulations requiring posting was suggested to the OPA by the National Restaurant Advisory Committee as a method by which the trade could assist the public in knowing maximum prices for basic food items in each establishment.

•••••••••

Business and professional establishments will generally close Thursday afternoon during the time of the James Paulus funeral, according to request and announcement of Victor Anderson, the mayor.  The time of closing will be from 1 to 3 p.m. 

•••••••••

There will be an auction at the Woodland View Cheese Factory located 3 ½ miles south of Willard, on County Trunk G, then 1 ¾ miles west on County Trunk I, Monday July 31st.

 

The cheese factory building, 38’ x 36’, houses the factory and 6-room living quarters; also has a 20’ by 30’ garage and ½ acre of land. The factory buildings, with steel roofs are modern and in excellent condition.  Francis Knops is the owner.

•••••••••

The Humbird Canning Co. received a letter from Cpl. Harry Dean of Neillsville, written on the back of a label of Garden Valley brand peas, canned by the Humbird Canning factory.  He said that he had eaten Humbird peas for dinner that day somewhere in Italy, and that they sure looked good to him, coming so near from home.

•••••••••

An honor roll is now being erected in the campus of the Owen Schools, designed to contain the names of all persons in the armed services from the Owen territory.  About 200 names are listed; other names will be added as they are made available.

 

The structure parallels the main highway of northern Clark County, No. 29, and is placed just to the east of the main walk leading to the high school.  It is 30 feet in height, with an emblem decorating the top.  A sidewalk will encircle the structure, in order that the public may readily read names of the service people listed.

 

The cost of the honor roll is $400 an amount, which is being raised by a committee headed by W. J. Mahoney.

•••••••••

An oil painting of “Little Harbor” on Lake Arbutus is hung in the current art exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Institute.  It is the work of Mercedes Ballam, formerly of Neillsville, who writes that she hopes to do some more painting in the area this summer.

 

The scene is in the vicinity of the Peet Warlum cottage, the background is the sunlit lake and shoreline and its composition includes two motorboats, one owned by Elliott Warlum and the other by Clarence Stelloh.

 

The picture was entered for the exhibit of the painters of the Steven Arts Society, of which Mercedes Ballam is past chairman.  The exhibit is held in conjunction with the men’s Sketch club of Milwaukee and the Women’s sketching class of the Art Institute.

•••••••••

An auction is to be held July 24 at the West Nasonville Cheese Factory, located 10 miles southwest of Marshfield on Highway 10, or 2 miles west of the Nasonville Store.  Cheese factory, real estate and equipment will be sold at 1:30 p.m.  Owner is Gerhardt H. Riedel.

 

July 24, Auction will be held on the Plummer farm, located five miles northwest of Greenwood. Rex Plummer is the owner.

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