Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

February 14, 2001, Page 10

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

The GOOD OLD DAYS 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

Clark County News

 

February 1886

 

Last Thursday evening, a caravan of cutters loaded with happy Neillsville people, rode out to the Clark County Poor Farm, to have a dance, a feast and a frolic.  Gallons of bi-valved containers of beverage and baskets of food, both substantial and delicate, were taken along for the party as well as a couple of fiddlers to provide music.  It was all the necessities for a good time.  The guests furnished the music for dancing; the food for dining and turned that official abode of misfortune into a winter picnic.  Will Woodward served as chief cook and can opener while Charley Bradford was the leader of the graceful minuet.  The crowd had a “geewhollopin” good time, as the folks say down in the “River Hollow” and came home feeling improved.

 

If spoke manufacturer Emery Bruley is not already buried under mountains of saw logs, it is only because he is too spry to get caught as the logs are set rolling.  There are tall piles of saw logs around his mill.

 

Little Misses Nita, Maud and Ruth Bruley entertained an invited group of their little friends at the Bruley home on Saturday afternoon.  They all played about the spacious house for several hours. Later, they were devoted in discussion over an elegant supper, consisting of sandwiches, salads, ice cream and cakes being served by the Bruley girls.  Shortly after sundown, the guests were all back at their homes, chattering of the wonderfully good time they had all enjoyed.

 

The 50 horsepower boiler in the Smith saw mill at Pittsville exploded with terrific force last night.  The engine house was totally demolished, but no lives were lost.  Low water in the boiler is supposed to have been the cause of the explosion.

 

A number of farmers living in the West Weston Township have been busy hauling hardwood logs to the Foster railroad.  The Foster railroad is nearby and a good means of shipping their logs to market.

 

(The Foster railroad had stations at Tioga and Gorman, seven and nine miles northwest of Globe.  D. Z.)

 

An institution, of which Neillsville people are very proud, happens to be one of its most beneficial business establishments, the Neillsville Roller Mills.  The mill is a model business, run by skilled men and makes brands of flour that everybody likes.

 

A. P. Adams has bought the music business and stock of C. Cornelius and has moved the merchandise to Frank Darling’s store.  Darling will tend to the business until school closes in the spring, and then Adams will devote his time to a new occupation.

 

A number of women, living along Pleasant Ridge, gathered at the home of Minnie Kurth on Feb. 14 to sew carpet rags.  They also helped Mrs. Kurth celebrate her 58th birthday on that day.

 

Otto Neverman met with a mishap last week, near Hein’s mill in the Town of York, which nearly cost him his spinal column.  He was piloting a load of logs through the dim forest.  He laid his body flat on top of the load trying to dodge a tree limb overhead.  However, the forward bob of the sled went up a little, the limb caught him, rolling him to the back end of the load.  He rolled off the load, where he fell hard to the unyielding earth, nearly breaking his back.  He was helped to shelter in much pain, but no bones were cracked.

 

The Hixton flouring mills of Hixton, Jackson County, burned at an early hour this morning.  The loss of the business is estimated at $22,000 with $8,500 insurance coverage.  These mills were formerly the property of H. H. Price and the mills produced 150 barrels of flour on a daily capacity.

 

Springs of water that have never before failed, aren’t flowing this winter.  This shows the present dryness of our mother earth that only a phenomenal soaking can overcome.

 

Judging by the vast quantity of logs hauled to market this winter, the oak tint of autumn leaves will soon be minus in our forest scenery. We question the long practice of this slaughter of the forests. Still, as a rule, each generation works out its own salvation with but little thought of the next.

 

A. A. Wassenberger and Miss Ida Hoffman were married at the Sheridan House in Augusta on Feb. 10th.  Mr. and Mrs. Wassenberger returned to Neillsville on the noon train on Monday.

 

Senator C. A. Youmans of Neillsville, and Assemblyman Joseph Marsh of Spokeville, went to Madison Monday to be in attendance at the extra session of the state legislature.

 

Seward Way and a crew of men are putting in a boom near the Hewett Street Bridge in the O’Neill Creek.  They are getting ready to run through many of Coburn’s logs, 30,000 or so, which were cut two miles upstream this winter and banked on the O’Neill Creek.  It looks like old times, when Price and other loggers made the O’Neill Creek one of the most important logging streams of the Black River Valley.  Gus Hoesly is directing the work crews.

 

George L. Lloyd and family have moved into their beautiful new home on the northeastern section of Neillsville. The house is a model in every particular; heated with hot water, built of pressed brick, finished inside with beautiful hardwood floors, doors and trim, plastered with adamant, furnished with delightfully large bay windows, decorative porches and other features.  The basement has cement floors, brick partitions, with substantial doors, built-in shelving and other finishing.  This home is one that the Vanderbilts of New York might agree to live in and they would feel proud to do so.

 

(Adamant is a very hard imaginary mineral known for its impenetrable hardness and was used for plastering the walls.  The Lloyd home is located along Lloyd Street, intersecting with 15th Street.

 

This beautiful Victorian style home is presently owned by Ray and Mary Jo Meier, who have laboriously restored this gem back to its elegance of the late 1800s. D.Z.)

 

Next Sunday evening, a mass meeting will be held at the Presbyterian Church.  A discussion of “Good Citizenship” will be addressed by the Rev. Foster, Rev. Hill and Messrs. Morrison and O’Neill. There will be no Unitarian service that evening, so we urge the congregation of that church to join in the meeting.  As a community, let us develop a more compact unity of purpose along the moral lines.  This meeting wants to promote that type of unity.

 

Another two-step and round-dance practice party will be held on Monday evening at the Opera House.  The awkwardness of the two-step dance is wearing off and getting easier, as well as more fun to do.

 

The heirs of the later Abner Kirby are negotiating the sale of the Kirby House to the Pabst Brewing Company at Milwaukee.

 

Oscar Eisentraut of the Town of Grant is wearing a broken arm in a sling.  He was injured at Wren’s saw mill when he was rolling a log, from the top of the pile with a cant hook. The log tipped upward with a sudden blow, wrenching his arm, dislocating his wrist and breaking a bone in his forearm.  Dr. Berry attended to his arm, setting it in fine shape.

 

February 1941

 

Evacuation of approximately 15 cord of rock beneath the old first floor vaults of the county clerk and county treasurer offices in the Clark County courthouse was proceeding this week.  The work is being done to provide basement vault space for storing valuable stencils and machinery used in the tax list now being made up by the WPA.

 

In order to remove the estimated cords of rock which formed the foundation of the floor of the Clerk’s and treasurer’s vaults, it was necessary to punch a hole through the south side of the courthouse in order to remove large and small rocks by hand.

 

While the new vault space is being constructed, the WPA tax description work is being carried on in the committee room.  It was recently provided for by remodeling the store rooms of the clerk’s and treasurer’s offices.

 

The names of the Neillsville streets back in its time as a village were somewhat different.

 

There was a time when Hewett Street was East Street and Smartweed Avenue was something more than an alley, back in 1881.

 

An early map showing the layout of the city, at that time, reveals but few streets in Neillsville that retain today the names they were known by back then.

 

Just why the alley which runs by the Zimmerman block was called “Smartweed Avenue” is not entirely clear; yet that was its name.  The suggestion has been made that Satterlee and Wells, proprietors of the old Neillsville Times, might have had some influence, for their newspaper plant was located on the alley.

 

Although it extended north and south through the city, the present Hewett Street was known as East Street. The supposition is that it formed the eastern boundary of the city, or village, at the time it was named.  But, in 1881, Court and State Streets were located east of it.

 

When the name of East Street was changed to Hewett, it entailed the revision of some street names by necessity.  In 1881, Seventh, or Snake Street, was known as Hewett Street.  The road running along the Condensery apparently was associated with O’Neill Creek, too, for instead of Eighth Street, it was known as Water Street.

 

At that time Clay Street extended from a single block, between Fourth and Fifth Streets.  But, Fifth Street at that time carried the name of Third Street.

 

The name of practically every street north of O’Neill Creek has been changed since 1881.  The one exception is Grand Avenue, which has apparently borne that name since it was first laid. But, the present 10th Street was known as Prospect and the present Prospect was then River Street.  The few others in the first ward at that time were named rather than numbered.  Two exceptions were Eighth which is now 15th Street, and Ninth which is now 17th Street.

 

The assets of the Greenwood Canning Company, organized over 20 years ago, will be sold and the corporation will be dissolved. A recent meeting of its stockholders came to the decision after a discussion of its options.  The plant has not operated since 1938.

 

Negotiations for the sale of the machinery and real estate of the company are now being carried on.  It is expected that an amount sufficient in meeting outstanding obligations will be realized from the sale.

 

The canning company was organized in the post-World War I period with capital of $56,000 invested by a group of Greenwood businessmen.  It operated successfully for a number of years; but a series of poor growing years in the early 1930s, coupled with a declining market plunged the company into financial straits.

 

Officials of the corporations are: Arthur Schwarze, Charles Ludwig, Arthur Buker, George Speich, John Wuethrich, Charles Hoehne and Fred W. Huntzicker. 

 

Five of eight volunteers who will fill Clark County’s February Selective Service quota were selected at a meeting of the local board in Loyal.

 

The men are: Glen L. Wright, Granton; Lawrence Drescher, Neillsville; Archie Radke, Greenwood; Jerome Bertz and Oscar Fricke, both of Loyal.

 

The remaining three men will be selected within a day or two.

 

About 50 members of the local Haugen American Legion post of Neillsville have registered under the preparedness registration move of the National Legion.  Registrations will be continued through Saturday at the office of John M. Peterson for all ex-servicemen, whether Legionnaires or not. 

 

Of the early registrants Commander Roehrborn said, eight indicated that they would be available for duty anywhere in the United States should the need arise.  The others indicated they would be available for home duty. Among the registrants of the Haugen post were a toolmaker, a lathe operator and an aviation instructor. Registration is voluntary.

 

Workers this week were dismantling machinery and equipment in the J. B. Inderrieden Co. plant in Neillsville, marking the close of the canning plant. The machinery is being trucked to Hampshire, Ill., where it will be reassembled for use in one (of) their company’s plants.

 

The Inderrieden plant started operating here in 1929 and made its last pea pack in 1938.  During its peak operation it contracted 1,200 acres of peas and about 700 acres of beans.

 

Friday and Saturday of this week will be “Dollar Days” in Neillsville.  Merchants will offer their remaining winter stocks at bargain prices in preparation for displaying their spring merchandise.

 

The Dollar Day Sale participating stores will be as follows:

 

Quality Market, J. C. Penney Co., Schultz Bros. Co., Eva’s Fashion Shoppe, Berger & Quinlan, A & P Tea Co., Seif & Svetlik, Gamble Store Agency, Fullerton Lumber Co., Zimmerman Bros., Coast-to-Coast Store, Roehrborn’s Store, O & N Lumber Co., Deep Rock Service Station, Unger Shoe Store, Parrish 5c & 10c Store, Bollom’s Market, Villa Service and Neillsville Bakery.

 

Some specials at Berger & Quinlan are: Young men’s two-tone jackets, fleece lined $1 each; Men’s fancy patterned dress shirts, $1 each; Men’s wool/rayon dress sox, 5 pairs $1; Men’s “Big Ed” overalls, $1.

 

Fullerton Lumber Co. offers: varnish, qt. $1; one roll  roofing paper, $1; 25 lbs. nails, $1; 20 oz. Enamel, 9c; wallpaper paste, lb. 9c.

 

Gamble Store, Friday & Saturday specials: Large size tire pump, $1; 2 gallons pure Penn oil, less container, $1; No. 2 cans of peas, corn, tomatoes, pork & beans, 12 cans, $1; 6 volt, 6 month guarantee Car Battery, with trade-in, $1.88

 

Eva’s Fashion Shoppe has only 24 Ladies’ dress hats left; value up to $2.95 each, now 2 for $1.

 

Schultz Bros. Co. will have Sugar Wafer & Cream, Sandwich Cookies for 10c lb.; Ladies’ new wash dresses, guaranteed fast color, if a dress does fade, we will give you one free to replace it, only 49c, 69c, or 98c each.  Sweetheart soap, 4 bars 17c; 1 lb. box Chocolate Covered cherries, 15c

 

In celebration of Frank E. Brown’s 25th year in the jewelry store business, he will offer a silver Anniversary special: 42 piece Rosanne Wallace, tarnish-proof, Silver Plate silverware, in a beautiful walnut storage chest, which formerly sold for $24.95, now only $19.95.

 

Zilk Villa Buick & Service Station Specials are: 5 quart oil change using Isovis motor oil, $1; 1936 Studebaker, runs good, $25; 1938 Chevrolet, Master DeLuxe Tudor, only 16,000 miles, $395.

Guy, Beth and Doll Youmans with their hackney ponies standing in front of the house on the southwest corner of State and Fourth Streets intersection in Neillsville.  (Photo from Rita Youmans’ collection)

 

 


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