Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

June 16, 1999, Page 28

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

Good Old Days   

 

Clark County News

 

June 1884

 

Chas. Cornelius has sold his store building at Maple Works to August Dahlke, from Marathon County.  Cornelius will sell out his store stock by an Auction, on June 13 & 14, starting at 9 a.m. each day.  Merchandise to be sold is gent’s furnishing goods, hats, caps, boots, shoes, ready-made clothing, farming tools, horses, wagons and buggies.

 

Wiesner’s new hotel building is progressing; the framework and roof are in place.  It is enclosed and being made ready for business.

 

A surfacing is being put on Neillsville’s Main Street: between Second and Third Street.  That section of street is being fenced in and cut off from general traffic. The main feature of the surface will be stone, laid or packed in gravel and sand.  The man who has the job knows all about the business, and will probably put down a street with the middle name “Forever.” 

 

Two of J. L. Gate’s new tenement houses have been built during the past week, and two more are being started.  When these four are completed, Gates will have nine tenement houses on the brickyard lot, alone.

 

L. A. Doolittle’s horse and cart were briefly seen one day last week by the Third Street residents as horse and cart flew by like a streak. 

 

Doolittle had left the horse and cart in front of Harns and Schmidt Marble Works.  The horse’s bridle slipped off from his head, so he ran back to Doolittle’s barn.  No damage was done by the run-away’s incident.

 

A large hole in the ground, and piles of stone to make a cellar, are visible signs that George Dewhurst’s new block will soon loom into view.

 

A petition has been signed for an extension of the sidewalk on the east side of Grand Avenue.  The sidewalk will extend southward to the south line of C. A. Youman’s tenement property.

 

Last Saturday noon, Wm. Farning’s saw mill in Grant, on the Dwyer Road, was burned to the ground. The fire started when a cinder from the chimney pipe, which was very short, fell on the roof.  There was no insurance, as insurance companies decline to take risks on such property.  Farning’s loss amounts to about $500 or $600.  The engine and boiler were damaged, but not ruined. The main loss was on the building and stock.  John Dwyer started circulating a subscription paper on Monday, and about $180 has been raised toward rebuilding the mill building.

 

O.P. Wells received word of the death of his father, at Parson, Kansas.  The deceased was 84 years old, a minister and a man of most fine character.

 

The Sherman Guards formed in line at the Neillsville Armory Sunday afternoon.  They met at 4 p.m., marched to the depot, and boarded a special train, on their way to Mauston. They plan to have a week of camp life, with all its fun and none of its danger.

 

Neillsville people will celebrate the Fourth of July at Orin Hank’s place. There will be a lemonade and peanut stand on the grounds for the accommodation of the many people who will assemble there on that day.  There will be games played. A grand dance will be given in Hank’s new barn, which is being fixed up for the occasion. Everyone will take part in a picnic dinner.

 

Robert Garvin has a new frame barn on his farm west of the Black River, just south of the railroad tracks.  The barn was raised Friday and is already boarded in.  The size is 40’x50’, with 20-ft. support posts.  Orson Cornwell was the builder.

 

Dangers has moved his wood shed away from his residence, to the back of his lot.  The purpose of making the move was to enable building an addition onto his house.

 

Harns & Schmidt Marble Works of Neillsville are manufacturers of fine craftsmanship. They do a variety of items, such as marble and granite monuments, headstones, cut stones, wash stands, mantles, tabletops, etc.  They offer their customers the best material, the best designs and the most skillful workmanship that can be procured. Fine carving is a specialty of their work.

 

A company of invited young people had a dance in “Horticulture Hall” at the fairgrounds on Saturday night.  The usually quiet building never before saw so merry of a crowd as then.  The committee provided a tank of lemonade, and food. The guests in attendance were a happy group.  The fun stopped at midnight when the music ceased.

 

Last week, John Sufficoll bought the Parkhurst residence on the north side, from Chas. Sniteman, for $1,175.  Sufficoll will move from his farm on the Huntley settlement road and will soon occupy his newly purchased home.

 

Lime stone flagging, eight inches thick has been delivered by Harns & Schmidt for a crossing in front of Sniteman’s store.

 

The Central House is for sale. The desirable piece of property could be made a good business if managed rightly.]

 

June 1939

 

A 75th Year Jubilee Service was held at the American Lutheran Church, south of Granton last Sunday.  Bertha Gerber Wiesner, who attended one of the very early services of the congregation in 1864, was present for the Jubilee service.  In that year, when the church was first incorporated, Gottfried Gerber, her father, took her in his arms and carried her through the woods, a distance of one mile. She had no shoes on, and needed none, with her father carrying her out of the reach of the snow.

 

That trip, made at the age of three, was only the first of hundreds of trips which Mrs. Wiesner has made to the church of her choice.  Children and grandchildren have been baptized into their faith at this same church.

 

As to Mrs. Wiesner, so to many who attended the services and festivities Sunday, memories arose of the times that were gone, when the present brick building was frame, but few harked back to the days when only logs furnished protection. 

 

It was a great occasion for the church, with perhaps 1,500 in attendance. The bright sun invited the people out, and they came, to visit in the woods, to enjoy the picnic dinner and to attend the three services which were held. 

 

The keynote message for the occasion was given by the Rev. George Muedeking of Oconto, who preached the afternoon sermon.  “What moved the forefathers to start this church?  Sincerity for one thing.  Are we equally sincere?  The world has changed since this church was founded, but some things never change.  God never changes; His word never changes.  The simple nature of man is the same – he is in need of salvation. God’s love and preserving care are eternal. They have rested upon this church in the past. They are a refuge for all time.”

 

A crowd estimated at nearly 3,000 persons gathered in Neillsville for the season’s first Wednesday evening band concert and program.  A fine half-hour program by the Neillsville High School band, under the direction of Richard A. Becker, opened the entertainment. Everett Skroch acted as master of ceremonies for the activities which followed the concert.  He was assisted by Glen White, Hubert Quicker and Jake Hoesly.  The program was the first of 15 to be held this summer under the sponsorship of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, cooperating with Neillsville business and professional men.

 

Saturday afternoon, an estimated 3,500 persons lined several blocks of Neillsville’s city streets to see a children’s pet parade. Seventy children from the city and surrounding countryside entered their favorite pets in the event.  Twenty-nine of them won ribbons in nine divisions, and the first winner in each division was awarded a prize.

 

First place winners of each division wee: Best pet – Darrell Grottke and his Chihuahua dog; best trained pet – C. Schweinler and his dog; best combination of pets – Harold and Harley Miller, and their family of Banty chickens; best cared for pet – O. Schaub and his pony; cutest pet – D. Hantke and his dog; most unusual pet – Lawrence Kutchera and his pig; largest pet – Addie Jean Ferrand and her horse; smallest pet – Joyce Schock and her bull dog.

 

Lightning struck a barn late Saturday evening on the farm occupied by Howard Struebing in Washburn Township. The barn, a silo, about 12 tons of hay, and several farm implements were destroyed by a fire caused by the lightning. August Struebing, owner of the farm, estimated the loss at more than $2,000.

 

This week Struebing and his two sons, Raymond, and Howard, were busy cleaning up the debris, in preparation to building another barn on the old foundation, and a new concrete silo.

 

The Hatfield Roller Rink is open for roller skating every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday night and Sunday afternoon. A pair of new wooden wheel Chicago roller skates will be given away every Wednesday night.  On Friday evening, there will also be prizes.  Joseph Vieau is the proprietor.

 

There will be a benefit dance for the Neillsville flyers baseball team at the Silver Dome Ballroom on Tuesday, June 13.  Irv Lutz and his Swing Band will play.  Admission will be 25¢ per person.  The Pleasant Ridge baseball team will play at Shortville on Sunday, June 11.

 

Mrs. Hemphill’s flower garden, in the rear of her house on South Hewett Street, is planted for continuous bloom.  Presently 15 varieties of Iris’ are in bloom.  The display is very colorful.  The bed of delphinium is especially thriving and promises a beautiful display.  The pool, small but neat, contains hardy water lilies in tubs. These are stored in the basement during the winter and are watered weekly.  In this way there is no difficulty in carrying them over from year to year. 

 

Moving pictures will be shown at the Slovenian National Hall in Willard on Saturday, June 17, at 8 p.m.  There will be some films from Yugoslavia as well as domestic films.  It is sponsored by Lodge #198, Slovenian National Benefit Society.  There will be dancing after the show.  Movies and dancing, one price, 25¢ for men and 10¢ for women

 

The flinging of a stone by a small youngster caused one of the Tibbett Ice and Fuel Co. teams to stage an old-fashioned runaway Wednesday.  The horses, which were hitched to a mower, came west through the alley and ran pell-mell down Seventh street until Leland Bandelow stopped them near the end of the street.  Fortunately the mower blades were turned upward, and the team kept well to the center of the street. The only damage was a broken wheel on the mower.

 

Leo W. Foster and son, Jack of Neillsville, and the L. G. Anderson family of Black River Falls, returned Thursday night from a four-day fishing trip to Mountain Lake on the boundary of Minnesota and Ontario. They returned with their limit of salmon and trout, five each.

 

The Zion Reformed Church, Greenwood was the scene of an impressive service one Sunday recently.  Eleven children from the Greenwood and Braun Settlement Reformed churches were confirmed by Pastor E. G. Pfieffer, at a union service.  Confirmands were: Donald Schwarze, Leo Dill, Harvey Dill, Edward Braun, Richard Preller, Robert Speich, Arlen Schwarze, Elaine Beltoe, Gladys Wehrman, Bernice Vollrath and Catherine Sonderegger.

 

Alfred Spaete, former Neillsville and Granton businessman, now located in Rice Lake, was once measured for a grave – but didn’t use it.

 

A recent issue of the Milwaukee Journal told the story:

 

“Spaete’s grave was dug for him in 1917 in Siberia near the Chinese border when his Russian captors were convinced he was a spy and were going to execute him.  The order to hang him was later countermanded.

 

Spaete was a soldier in the Germany Army and was serving his enlistment when the war broke out in 1914.  He was dispatched to the eastern front under the command of Gen. Von Hindenburg.  He was captured while on patrol duty, wounded and spent several months in a Russian hospital.

 

He seized an opportunity to work in a lumber camp but found the hours were long, and the food bad.  Many German prisoners crippled themselves to avoid work but Spaete devised another way.  He poured boiling water on his foot and kept the wound from healing.

 

After the revolution when Alexander Kerensky came into power, Spaete was shunted to Siberia.  The Russians thought he was a spy and it was at that time the grave was dug.  Lenin came into power a month later and a friendly Polish engineer gave Spaete a pass that enabled him to return to Germany.”

 

Spaete’s brother, Paul, now operates the store in Granton, in which they were partners until about five years ago.

 

The Granton Clinic has office hours of 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.  Also, it is open Wednesday and Saturday evenings as well as Sunday afternoon.  The doctors are:  R. R. Rath, M.C. and Karl Kastl, M.D.

 

Penney’s Store of Neillsville has Fathers’ Day Specials; Men’s white, fine broadcloth shirts, new non-fray collar, cellophane wrapped and sanforized *shrunk, only 98¢; summer neckties, 49¢; men’s slack socks, 25¢; men’s sport shirts, 79¢; broadcloth pajamas, 98¢; novelty suspenders, 49¢.

 

There will be a free dance at the Riverside Ballroom on Saturday, June 17; Music will be furnished by Bill Fleischmann and his concertina Orchestra.

 

Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Haugen and daughter, Shirley, drove to Camp Douglas Friday to meet four of his brothers who gathered for a picnic dinner and a short visit. The group included Mr. and Mrs. R. J. Haugen and son, Robert, of Red Wing, Minn.; Mr. and Mrs. Thorneil Haugen and two sons, Madison; Mr. and Mrs. Freeman Haugen, Baraboo; and Nelvin Haugen of Sherman, Texas.

 

These five brothers and four others who could not be present, and Otto A. who gave his life in World War I, lived happily under one roof until they locked the door of the old home in Neillsville and marched away as soldiers.  Arthur and Rangwald had not seen each other since the close of the war.

 

The Haugen brothers will be remembered here as: Herman, Oop, Frank, Ted, Ki, Sol, Otto, Tunk, Nelvin and Tom. They have one sister Elva, living in Redding, Calif.

 

The Korman & Sommerfeld Wagon & Carriage Factory & Machine Shop building on the north shore of O’Neill Creek, as it appeared form (from) the Hewett Street Bridge in the early 1900s.

 

 


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