October 1918

List of French orphans adopted this week were: Eastern Star Lodge and Business News Club at Greenwood; the Women’s Council of Defense at Owen.  The chairmen of the various towns of the county are working hard and have been promised the support of most of the lodges, schools and churches and many private individuals, so we will have many adoptions to report soon, and the mothers of France will know that Clark County is on the map.

The Home-Foreign Relief Society will meet at the library Friday at 2 o’clock.  Everyone come prepared to sew.  Old clothing that can be made over or repaired will be very much appreciated.

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Red Cross Notes:

Old clothes wanted at the Neillsville courthouse for the Belgians.

Proceeds of the sale of the Town of Grant exhibit at the County Fair, $8.68, have been turned in to the Red Cross.

Rec Cross entertainment at the Prince of Peace Church, southwest in Pine Valley, Sept. 27, netted $55.15, which was promptly turned in.

We have plenty of work for every woman in Neillsville and vicinity who will work half a day a week.

(Prince of Peace Church was located 4.5 miles southwest of Neillsville [at the southwest corner of Sydney Ave. and Sand Road].  The cemetery is on Cemetery Road, [about a mile to the west of the church] and a quarter-of-a-mile south of Sand Road. DZ)                                                                                   

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Herbert Radke drove his car home from a garage on Sunday to make room for storage cars, but he wanted to get home too soon with the result that he paid a fine of $18.75, on Monday for exceeding the speed limit.

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William Bradford has bought the George Frei farm in York, his home in this city being taken in on the deal.  Mr. and Mrs. Frei are moving to town.  Mr. and Mrs. Bradford are moving onto the Frei farm and Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Thompson are moving onto the Bradford farm, which they recently bought.

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On Monday, the Neillsville city schools closed on account of the state order asking for the discontinuance of public meetings, schools, churches, theatres, etc.  Many of the teachers have gone home to spend the vacation.  The public buildings will be closed until the order has been lifted.

(The state order to close public places was due to the widespread flu epidemic. DZ)   

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W.L. Smith went to Cloquet, Minn., Monday evening, as his mother, brother and sister live there, and he was much worried to their safety on account of the forest fire that swept that city.  After he had gone, a telegram call was received here from his mother stating that all were safe. But they had lost everything in the fire.

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Bert Leatherdale of Loyal left on Monday for Jefferson Barracks, Mo., to take up military training and on Tuesday, Harry Garbisch of Dorchester, Edgar E. Dyre of Greenwood and John Horner of Owen went to Beloit to take up mechanical training.  That same day, the following young men went to Madison for the same purpose: Ethan Allen Peterson of Granton, Roy E. Anderson of Owen, Irvin Stevens of Neillsville, Bernard J. Beaver of Loyal, Arnold Garbisch of Granton, Lawrence David of Granton, Leo Schroeder of Baraboo, Harry Hales of Granton and George Williams of Granton.                   

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It is reported that Bill Gehrt and several other men had to fight fire all night Saturday to save the buildings on the Gehrt farm near Dells Dam.                                                            

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A public farm auction will be held at Mrs. John Kelly’s premises, 8 miles northeast of Neillsville in the Town of York, or one mile north of the Parrott schoolhouse on Tuesday, Oct. 25th.

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It is learned that Joseph Sneberg died last week and buried in his old hometown in the southern part of the state.  He had gone there to attend the funeral of a relative, dead from influenza, having then contracted the disease himself and died.  Sneberg lived on the old Wendt farm north of Neillsville.

(The 1918 Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than World War I at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people.  It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded history. DZ) 

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The blue silk banner, with its Wisconsin seal, embroidered on it, which was carried by the 3rd Wisconsin National Guard regiment to the Mexican border and again on March 26, 1917, when the third regiment was called into federal service, recently arrived from France and is now on exhibition at the State Historical Museum.  The 3rd regiment became the 129th Infantry, 6th Brigade, 32nd Division after it reached France and was commanded by Col. John Turner, Mauston.  The companies in the regiment were recruited in Neillsville, La Crosse, Hudson, Mauston, Eau Claire, Portage, Wausau, Menomonie, Tomah and Sparta.

August 1958

Several prenuptial showers for Miss Marlene Dobbe have been given, two of them in the Loyal area.  Miss Dobbe and Walter Mews will be married Saturday, Oct. 4.

Last Wednesday evening, Mrs. Irvin Schmidt and Mrs. Arnold Stumpner were hostesses at a shower-dance at the Beaver Town Hall.  Music was by Jerry Zettler’s Rhythm Ramblers.

Saturday evening, a bridal shower was given for Miss Dobbe at the Otto Goehring home.  Mrs. Lawrence Below of Spencer and Mrs. Eugene Reynolds of Stevens Point were hostesses.  Games were played and a lunch was served.

Guests were Mrs. Edd Dobbe, Miss Joyce Neeb, and Mrs. Robert Herdrich, Loyal, Miss Donna Lou Darton, Marshfield; Miss Ruthanne Goehring, Milwaukee; and Miss Judie Hasler, West Allis.

Miss Dobbe is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edd Dobbe of Loyal.

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With Johnny Schwellenbach throwing nine passes for completions without a miss, and with the entire team playing in top form, the Neillsville Warriors spoiled a homecoming football game for Stanley by taking the Chippewa County team into camp 20 to 6 last Thursday evening.

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Mr. and Mrs. Irvin Foemmel report that they have purchased the root beer stand and business of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Meyer, here in Neillsville.  They plan to make some improvements and have the stand ready for opening next spring.                                                                          

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Town of Washburn News:

The Carstensen brothers have sold their farm to Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Schoen.  The barn on the Schoen farm burned a few weeks ago.

Armon Neuberger, who purchased the Alfred Spiegel farm last spring, has raised the house and is putting a full basement under it. A large addition is also being built onto the house.

Chris Feutz, Don Lindow, George Allbaugh and Irving Stevens worked last week at the Cannonville Church, repairing the door, etc.  Some of them are working at it this week to complete the job.

Rally Day will be held at the Cannonville Church Sunday, October 5, with other Sunday Schools attending.  Worship services will follow Sunday School and a potluck will be served at noon.

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Purchase of the Neillsville Dairy and Quicker’s Dairy Bar by Dan Patey of Neillsville took place here this week.  Involved were real estate, personal property and goodwill.

We are introducing Dan Patey as the new Dolly Madison distributor in the Neillsville area.

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The continuous residence of the Dewhurst-Hemphill family of 102 years in Clark County and 100 years in Neillsville, will be concluded October 14, when Mrs. Frances (Hemphill) Rodolf leaves Neillsville for her home in Tulsa, Okla.

Richard Dewhurst, the grandfather of Mrs. Rodolf, located at Weston Rapids, Clark County, May 1, 1856.  Two years later, he located in Neillsville, which he and his immediate descendants were to call home for 100 years.  Dewhurst’s parents were born in England, settled in Massachusetts and later in Ohio, where Richard received his early education.  After graduating from Oberlin College, he was admitted to the bar in Ohio in 1850.

He worked in the lead mines of Northern Illinois and in Grant County, Wisconsin, and taught school at Platteville from 1854-56, when he moved to Weston Rapids, two miles north of the present city of Neillsville.  In 1858, he was married to Maria S. Curtis.  The newlyweds moved into the large house, which he had built on the bank of O’Neill Creek, near the corner of Grand Avenue and 8th Street.

In 1856, while a resident of Weston Rapids, Mr. Dewhurst was elected Clark County Judge and again served from 1877-79.  In 1858, he was elected to the assembly, and the following year, he was elected county register of deeds.

At the time of their marriage, the nearest markets were Sparta and La Crosse. Roads were trails through the wilderness.  Store produce was brought in by foot or by horseback.  At that time, there were many Indians in the area, Chippewa’s north of the East Fork, and Winnebago’s to the south.  They often came begging to the Dewhurst door and were never turned away without food or clothing.

Mr. Dewhurst, one of central Wisconsin’s most active and capable leaders, was returned to the state legislature in 1865, at the close of the Civil War and again in 1875.  He also served Clark County as treasurer and county superintendent of schools.  He was engaged for many years as the logging and lumbering activities along the Black River.

In Neillsville, Mr. Dewhurst helped to organize the Masonic Lodge and was an active member.  He was affiliated with the Universalist Church and was the founder of the Neillsville Bank.

In 1868, he traded properties with Emery Bruley, Bruley taking the Dewhurst residence on the corner of Eighth Street and Dewhurst, obtaining the residence and acreage on Hewett Street, which included all of the land between Hewett and Grand Avenue, with between 200 and 300 feet of frontage.

The north section rooms had already been built by Bruley on Hewett Street, and Dewhurst added the larger south section to the residence, which remains today as one of the area’s largest and most impressive dwellings.  An architect planned the addition to five colonial beauty and balance.  Bay windows were added at the south to match those at the north on both floors.  A large and attractive front entrance and a stately porch were added.  A canopy was built over the driveway to protect them from rain and weather as people entered or stepped from the horse-drawn vehicles of the early days.

The large colonial residence of 17 rooms was recognized as one of Wisconsin’s best.  It had five fireplaces, a maid’s room, billiard room, spacious bedrooms and beautiful living rooms and dining rooms.  This residence was one of the first, to have a built-in bathtub.  It was built of sheet metal, six feet long, with a wooden jacket around it.  This early luxury is well preserved to this day.  When indoor toilet facilities were added, it was understood the conveniences were only for the use of company or guests.

A large stable was erected southwest of the house to provide space for as many as seven fine driving horses and at least two cows.  A large and graceful fountain has for many years added to the dignity and beauty of the front lawn. 

Mr. and Mrs. Dewhurst were the parents of three children, Frank and Lillian who did in infancy; and Mary, who on June 10, 1889, became the bride of Wallace Hemphill.  Mr. Dewhurst died in 1895. And the Hemphills then became the tenants and later the owners of the large home.  Mr. Dewhurst’s mother died in 1901, and Mrs. Dewhurst in 1922, in the Hewett Street home.

The Dewhurst-Hemphill residence on South Hewett Street, was a community-gathering place in the early history of Neillsville.  Many people, passing through on a stage, spent the night there.  Many well-known prominent people of pioneer Wisconsin days were associated with the family and were entertained in the Dewhurst home.

(One of the prominent people to visit the Dewhurst home was Benjamin Harrison, while he was campaigning for the presidency.  He served as President from 1889 to 1893.  Homer Root and other local residents formed a parade in Harrison’s honor, featuring a float with a small log cabin on it, a symbol of Harrison’s youth of growing up on a pioneer farm.

The Dewhurst-Hemphill house later was owned by retired Col. William and Mrs. (Jenni) Tuft.  It was Jenni’s request that the house be kept and known as “Tuft’s Mansion,” after her death.  DZ)

Construction was started this week on a one-story cement and block building on the old V.F.W. lot, adjoining the Masonic Temple to the west.  The lot has been used as a city parking lot in recent years. 

Ray Tesmer, owner of the property expects the construction to be completed sometime in November.  The building will be used for an automobile body shop, to be operated by Marvin Pischer.

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Benjamin Lynem, Donald Johnson, Henry Stucki, Roger Heineck, T. Thompson and R. Peters left Tuesday to hunt pheasants in the Howard area of South Dakota.

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