Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI April 25, 2001, Page 19 Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon. Index of "Oldies" Articles

The Good Old Days

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

Clark County News

 

April 1911

 

Arch Day and his wife left this week for Caledonia, Minnesota, where they will make their future home.  They are both well known pioneers of Clark County.  Having owned and maintained the hotel at Day’s Corners, they have made many friends who regret to see them depart our area.

 

There will be a barn dance held on Friday night, April 21, at Mrs. Susie Thoma’s farm.  The Globe band is putting on the get-together and will provide the music.

 

Albert Sternitzky, the Town of Lynn maple syrup man, sold a lot of maple syrup in our midst last week.  He had about 1,000 trees tapped this year and came through the process with 150 gallons of syrup.  He has been distributing the sweet product all the way from Marshfield to Alma Center.  Evidently 150 gallons of syrup will go a long ways if it is properly divided.

 

Mrs. Gus Haslow recently received severe burns in an accident.  Several people went to Colby last Sunday to donate pieces of skin taken from their arms to be grafted onto Mrs. Haslow’s burns. The donors were: Mrs. F. Raabe, Mrs. C. Giloy, Robert Haslow, Gust Haslow, Mrs. Wm. Haslow, and Mrs. Carl Voight, all of the Town of Sherman; Mr. and Mrs. August Witt, Albert Komis, Ed Haslow, Anna Witzke, Bessie Karrup and Lee Clouse, of Loyal; Wm. Scheel, Lulu Scheel, Roland Scheel and Sarah Clasic of Green Grove.

 

Pat Loy was at Loyal last Saturday to take orders for his patent silos.  He has placed nine orders for silos to be erected this summer.  Loy’s newly designed silo has every indication of being a success.

 

On Tuesday, Judge Schoengarth united in marriage two prominent young people of the Town of Grant, Emil Hubing and Miss Elsie Riedel.  The couple was attended by Miss Clara Hubing and Ernest Riedel.  They newly wedded couple left for a brief wedding trip before going to Athens, where the groom recently purchased a farm.

 

Last Wednesday, Herbert Lowe was trying out a new horse with hopes of buying it.  Lowe had the horse hitched to his wagon, and was driving down the street when suddenly, the horse took off running.  Lowe was thrown from the wagon at the O’Neill House corner, but luckily escaped injury.  The horse was finally rounded up by Ed Hubbard at his farm west of the Black River.

 

Woelffer’s Drug Store on Hewett Street, Neillsville, will have opening day for their new Soda Fountain on Saturday, April 15.  Opening specials will be Vin Fizz, 5c; Peach Bloom Phosphate, 5c; new Strawberry Sundae, 10c; and Marshmallow Walnut Sundae, 10c.  All the regular fruits and syrup flavorings are also available.

 

The baseball game played between Columbia and Dells Dam last Sunday was won by the Columbia team, the score being 12 to 3.  The Dells Dam boys did not make a score until the seventh inning.  Next Sunday, the Columbia boys will play at Dells Dam.

 

The Conner Retail Lumber Co., in Neillsville, has about 60,000 shingles on hand.  They wish to move these out quickly and will sell them at 25c per bunch, or 95c per thousand.  These shingles will be ideal to use in roofing a cheap building or a shed.  They also have a few more of those cheap second-hand doors left, size 2 ft. 6 in. by 7 ft.

 

April 1946

 

Al Wilson, manager of a local chain grocery, went to his first farm auction sale the other day.  In view of what happened, his friends marvel that he didn’t come back with a farm and an ample stock of personal property.

 

Wilson wanted to enter into the spirit of the sale.  So, when the auctioneer held up an item that had been customarily sold for 10 cents, Wilson slipped in his bid.

 

“Fifty cents,” he shouted with utter abandon.

 

The auctioneer closed the bidding so fast Wilson’s head swam.  He settled with the clerk and picked up his purchase.

 

“Whatcha got?” he was asked.

 

“A dandy scythe,” quoted Wilson, with sublime confidence.

 

And the dandy 50-cent “scythe” turned out to be a 10-cent brush hook!

 

When Julia Bergant of Willard and David Kile, Town of Butler, showed up last Thursday in Stanley, they were all set for a wedding.  The bride had on her wedding attire, a white satin gown with a net overskirt.  Her bridesmaid, a close friend, Margaret Biddle was also appropriately dressed for the occasion.  David Bergant, brother of the bride, the other attendant, was along to give Kile support.

 

Then, as every thing was ready for the wedding, it was discovered that the ceremony could not proceed there at all.  The trouble was that the marriage license had been issued in Clark County and was not good in Chippewa County.

 

But the dismay was temporary.  David Kile recalled that he had some food friends in Thorp, the H. C. Conklin’s, who would help him.  So he loaded up the preacher, Rev. James Bryan, into the car and hurried to Thorp.  Of course, he caught the Conklin’s in their work-day attire and being surprised, were utterly unprepared.  However, it didn’t take them long to arrange things.  Presently, the young couple became man and wife the same as though the wedding had been performed at Stanley.

 

A wedding supper was served to the bridal party at the home of the groom’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Kile, Town of Butler.

 

For the wedding, both the groom and best man wore their army uniforms. They had been corporals in the army prior to their discharge.

 

The bride wore a tiara and full length wedding veil with her wedding dress.  Also, she carried a bouquet of white carnations and red roses with ribbon streamers.  Miss Biddle, the bridesmaid, wore a blue dress with fitted bodice and peplum.  Both girls wore pearl necklaces.

 

A little Holstein calf wandered into Neillsville to see the sights last Tuesday night. He adventure came to an abrupt end in the yawning hole which was the basement of the old hotel, across from the city hall.

 

The adventuresome calf was taking in the strange sights.  The city civilization was very different from the placid barn scenes he had watched from his barnyard pen.  He wandered serenely along West Sixth Street, heading for the heart of the city.

 

But, disaster befell the calf as he reached the corner of West Street, with only a block to go where he would have been on Main Street.  Three boys sighted the calf from two blocks away. 

 

With whoops and hollers, Richard Wallace, Theron Gergen and Bud Handke struck out in the pursuit of the calf. The calf made a valiant effort to elude his pursuers.  He headed southward on West Street, zigzagging from one side to the other, with the three boys breathing hard on his heels.

 

Once, just before the calf made a couple of rounds of the Congregational Church building, Bud Handke grabbed him midriff.  But the calf wasn’t ready to give up.  Shaking off Handke’s grasp, the calf circled the church and struck out eastward on Highway 10, toward the city’s main corner.  He passed the dairy plant and the electric store.

 

Then the calf made his error.  Attempting to cross up the boys, he turned sharply at the corner of the electric ship. There, the calf fell plunk into the old hotel basement.

 

Then, Theron Gergen fell upon him and the adventurous calf was captured.  The boys helped the calf out of the basement, borrowed a belt from Byril Galbreath and stated to lead the now docile calf away.  They soon discarded the belt in favor of a length of rope offered by Patrolman Drescher, night policeman.

 

The calf was retired to the Gergen barn, there to chew upon a cud and reflect on the wonders – and terrors – of city life.

 

The Neillsville City Council granted several building project permits at Tuesday evening’s meeting.

 

The Bloomer Egg Co. was granted a permit to construct a single story building on Seventh Street, in the vacant area just west of its present location. The building will be 30x50, with construction of cinder block; a fireproof building, without a basement.  This building will house the Egg Co., when it loses its lease on the Hemp building, east of the new building site.

 

Paul Volkmann was granted a permit to develop his auto court just south of Division Street.  For that purpose, he will move six cabins from the Zilk Court on the north side of Division Street.  Cement foundations will be set for the cabins to (be) placed on.  A garage building will be altered into a bath room and lavatory, near the cabins.  The location of the development is just south of the Hauge filling station at the end of South Hewett Street.  Work on the project has begun, with a crew of men preparing the site.

 

The sale and removal of the cottages from the Zilk site is in preparation for the further development of the Zilk station.  For this improvement, the plans are in their preliminary state and application has not yet been made for a permit.  The plan is, however, to construct to the east, a wing similar to that now on the west side, thus giving more room with architectural balance.  The space now occupied by the Zilk auto court will be used for drives and parking area.

 

Al Clumpner was given a permit to construct a residence on Hill Street. 

 

Frank Viergutz was given a permit to move a building into the city, to place it on Emery Street and to make improvements on it. 

 

Odin Wang was granted similar permission to move a building into the city and locate it on a site on First Street.

 

Lewis Shaw was given a permit to make an addition to his home at 237 W. Seventh Street.

 

O. K. Ripplinger was granted a permit to build a home on West Fourth Street.

 

Arthur Barton was granted a permit to improve a building which he has moved to a site on North Hewett near the Barney Haas place.  The building, already on the site, was the old Christie garage.  It was moved into the city without a permit.  In granting the building permit, the council gave instructions that the building should be set back a proper distance from the street line.

 

The Ed Allen farm, west of Neillsville on US Highway 10, has been sold to Mr. and Mrs. John Hanson of Loda, Ill.  Possession will be given on October 1.  The Allens will continue living on the farm until that date.

 

The Hansons are renting a farm in Illinois and will complete their rental term before coming to the Allen place.  They bought 18 head of young stock from the Allens, but their dairy heard consisting mainly of Guernseys, will be brought up from Illinois.  They have been following a breeding program, in connection with which they have had help from the University of Illinois.

 

The Hansons will continue an extended tradition attached to this particular farm.  The farm has long been in the hands of Scandinavians.  Hansons are Swedes as are the Allens.  The Allens have been on the farm for 32 years.  They bought from Ole Orvald, who was a Norwegian.  He had held the farm deed for eight years, having bought it from his mother-in-law, Mrs. Seamonson.  This carries the property back to 1902, with it being continuously in Scandinavian ownership.

 

The farm consists of 155 acres, with a large house, barn and a full set of outbuildings.

 

The first “close call” of the air age, as seen by the new Neillsville municipal airport, occurred last week.  But no one was aware of it until the plane was safely on the airport runway.

 

Arthur Epding, piloting a two-seater monoplane, skinned a little too close to the tree tops when coming in for a landing.  As he passed over the tree tops, there was a hollow-sounding “bump.”  This noise is sometimes caused by wind against the canvas wing covering, so no particular notice was taken of it at the time.

 

But after Epding landed the plane and got out of the cockpit, he discovered a hole in the bottom canvas on the wing.  A hole was torn by the top of a tree as he skimmed it in the landing.

 

Mrs. Betty (Kuhl) Spiegel of Neillsville is sore and stiff these days, but her troubles are not a circumspect to what they might easily have been.

 

Monday afternoon, Mrs. Spiegel was thrown from the cab of her husband’s milk truck.   It happened when the truck over-turned on the Hewett Street Bridge over O’Neill Creek.

 

Mrs. Spiegel was riding with her husband, Edgar, from their north side home when the accident happened.  Descending the Hewett Street hill on Highway 73, Mr. Spiegel applied the brakes and pulled in behind a car just starting to go across the bridge.

 

The tie-rod, which had become loose, came out of its connection as he steered the truck toward the side of the roadbed. The truck hit the west curbing at the entrance of the bridge.  Contact with the bridge apparently kicked the front wheels in the opposite direction and the truck swerved sharply across the highway. 

 

As the truck swerved, the right cab door flew open and Mrs. Spiegel was thrown out to the pavement.

 

“I saw her go,” Spiegel explained later, “and I made a grab at her; but just couldn’t get hold of her.”

 

The truck jumped the curb on the east side of the bridge and slammed into the steel guard rail.  It then bounced back and toppled over on the side.

 

Mrs. Spiegel was lying on her back near the center of the pavement, with her legs by the upper rear of the mild truck box.  Screams pierced the air as the box landed across her legs. 

 

Almost as soon as the truck toppled, Mr. Spiegel climbed out of the truck. With the help of Herbert Nichols of Black River Falls and Harold Gault of Neillsville, they lifted the truck body enough so that Mrs. Spiegel could pull herself from beneath it.  Her legs were bruised but x-rays revealed no further injury.

 

The Division and Hewett Street intersection as it appeared on Neillsville’s south side in the 1940s.  In the background, on the south side of Division Street, are the Hauge filling station, and the White Horse Inn on the right.  The photo was taken from the Zilk Villa corner.  In the foreground, Verland (Bozo) Crockett sits in his unique vehicle.  Crockett was disabled due to having polio when a youngster, left with only the mobility of one arm.  Two of the Zilk brothers, Joe, Jr. and Glen, put their heads together, then designed and built the small car equipped with hand controls, enabling Crockett to independently drive around the city.  (Photo courtesy of the Ray Strebing family photo collection)