June 1882

John Wolff and Otto Twig have sold the Walters place to Fred Wolff.  Their plan is to return to Sheboygan unless they can find a suitable place to purchase here for a meat market.

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Decoration Day has come and gone and is numbered with the things of the past. There are no bones of any battle-scarred soldier that rests in our little church yard, hence the day was not particularly observed here.  Had there been an observance, gladly would loyal hearts and strong hands have strewn the mounds of earth with choicest flowers? That silent language would have ascended heavenward in volumes of praise for the sleeping dead.

The graveyards of our lands are few that do not contain in their dust, some of our fallen heroes. The living soldiers of today are the living bulwarks of the nation and will be honored to keep the dust of their fallen brothers inviolate.

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Mr. and Mrs. Peter Olson, ages of 81 and 78, of Greenwood, celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary at the residence of their son, Elias Peterson.  Mr. Olson was born in Norway, in 1801, and came to this country of his adoption nine years ago.  The anniversary occurred June 2.  Elias Peterson exhibited the wine glass used on this occasion.  He informed us that the same glass was used 50 years ago in Norway at the marriage ceremony of his parents.  There were about 100 present at the anniversary celebration, which included four children, 18 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

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The people of Pleasant Ridge are really in earnest about having a basket picnic celebration on July Fourth.  They will have a good speaker, recitations, songs, “Texas Rangers,” baseball, swings, croquet and races.  A cordial invitation is extended to all, the people of Neillsville especially.  What more beneficial, pleasurable or patriotic thing can we do than accept that invitation.  The husbands, wives and babies, sweetheart and swain may go and enjoy an old-time celebration in the cool shady woods of Pleasant Ridge.

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Everything in the town of Sherwood is booming this week.  Mr. Miller and Mr. Meddaugh are making 80 rods of turnpike.  There is no time to waste; they are getting ready for logging hardwood to the new sawmill.

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Things are booming in the Town of Loyal.  W. H. Hilton has a new frame barn in the process of completion.  J. Castner and J. Arms have each raised a frame barn.  C. Flood will be raising a premium barn soon, to be 46’ x 66’ with under-ground stables.  W. Dutcher, of the Town of Beaver, has a new barn.  Besides these frame barns, several new log barns were erected this spring.

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Scott Colburn has purchased a new 80 horse-power engine for his gristmill.  He expects to receive it in about two weeks.  The new engine will give him double the power of the one now in use.  He will shut down his mill on July 1^st to make the change in engines.  Farmers who have grinding to do should note this and get their work done in June.

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There was a pleasant meeting of two old soldiers who had not seen each other since before the war.  Lewis Wilson, who was raised in the Town of Harrison, Grant County, and Richard Lester, of the adjoining town of Potosi had been school-mates.

Wilson was in the 10^th Wisconsin and served three years and nine months of the war.  He participated at the battles of Stone River, Chickamauga and Kenesaw Mountain.  He was wounded at the last place of battle and now draws a pension of $18 per month.  Lester served four years and a-half in the 7^th Wisconsin and was at the battle of South Mountain, Gainesville, Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Antietam, Wilderness, Petersburg, Weldon Railroad, Hatcher’s Run, Five Forks, and was present at Appomattox when Lee surrendered.  They stepped into a notary’s office yesterday, at the same time to execute their pension vouchers. Each was asked whether he knew anybody in town who could be a witness for him with both answering negatively.  After their names were spoken, they at once recognized each other as former schoolmates.  Both intend to make Clark County their home.

June 1932

Construction of six underground terminal stations for the new Wisconsin Telephone Company’s cable line through Neillsville is being pushed.  Officials in chare of the project are in hopes that not more than a week will be required to lay the line through Main Street.  The pavement will be ditched from Fifth Street to Sixth Street where the cable runs west out of the city.  The manholes are eight feet deep and the cable trench for the conduit is three feet deep.  J. A. Brown, general foreman and district supervisor, states that the cables may not be laid this year due to the unsettled business situation.

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The “Ure Eat Shoppe,” at the corner of Hewett and Fifth Streets, opened for business last Saturday.  They served a free lunch from 11:30 a.m. until 8 p.m.  Nearly 200 people were served during that time.  The modern equipment is very convenient and attractive, making the serving of food easier.  Tuesday noon, the Kiwanis club members were treated to a free chicken dinner that was greatly appreciated by all.

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Jack Kearns knocked all Pinecrest golf course records into a cocked hat on Sunday when he cantered around the field with a 36.  Fred Balch, who accompanied him, trotted in with a score of 40.  Kearns does all of his shooting with irons, which other members of the course declare is an unfair practice and unlawful under the seizure and foreclosure act of 1492.  The former golf course record was 39, jointly held by Ernest Snyder, F. O. Balch and Kearns.

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John Durst, who lives in the Town of Hewett, expects to start sailing Saturday, June 4, on a trip to Germany.  Durst has stuck pretty close to his farm work all of his life and feels the need of a vacation which he has earned.  Durst expects to remain in Germany for about six months.

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About a dozen different parties in this area are shipping live frogs out of Neillsville to the Chicago market.  A number of crates of frogs go out each day by railway express.  Those living near Neillsville, who are engaged in the frog industry, have netted quite a sum of money in the past few years.

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Work on the fire lanes, suspended for several weeks, was started again on Monday morning. There are nine men working under the foremanship of F. Lane of Stoughton.  The work in the Town of Hewett was resumed where it had been left off when the project was halted. The swamps and low lands are in better condition for work than in the early spring.

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A handsome booklet entitled “Places to Go,” has been issued by the Standard Oil Co.   Lake Arbutus receives mention among the 524 outstanding points of interest in the Mid-West and Mountains states.  The pamphlet speaks of Lake Arbutus as the “beautiful back-water of the great Hatfield Power Dam on Black River. The gorge below the dam is a wonderful spectacle.”

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Wm. F. Beyer, manager of the Farmers Bulk Oil station and Farmers Union Feed warehouse, in Neillsville, has resigned his position.  His resignation will take effect as soon as a successor can be secured. Beyer has been a Farmers Union leader since the business’s organization in this locality.  The business has had a remarkable growth.

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Automobile thieves stole a coupe car belonging to Al Sollberger that was only a few feet from the house where Sollberger sat visiting.  Friday evening, Sollberger’s car was parked in the back yard of R. Sauerberg’s farm, near Sydney.  The Sollberger family had gone to the Sauerberg farm to spend the evening.  When they left at 10:30 p.m., to get into their car, they found it had been stolen.  The thieves had pushed the car out to the road before starting the motor.

Leo Miller, undersheriff, and John Matson, responded to Sollberger’s telephone call about the missing car.  No clues were found, although all roads in the vicinity were searched.  Fairchild authorities were notified, but reports wee that no car of that description had been seen.  Miller was of the opinion that tramps had come up from the nearby railroad tracks in search of a place to sleep and in finding the car, decided to take it.

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Two canaries deserted their homes in John Irvine’s office at the courthouse last week.  One of the birds was captured in the Naedler garage, after word was received that it was there.  Laura Wildish took the bird cage to the garage and the bird flew into the cage as soon as he saw it.  The other bird has been seen on the North Side, but efforts to capture it have failed.

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A very pretty wedding took place at the home of Rev. Longenecker on June 8, at 2:30 p.m.  Miss Eunice Grosnick, oldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Grosnick, of Neillsville, became the bride of Rex Krejci from the Town of York.  The bride wore a pretty gown with a long veil in a cap effect and carried a bouquet of white peonies and yellow roses.

The bride’s sister, Miss Irene Grosnick, was bridesmaid and wore a dress of peach colored georgette crepe.  She carried a bouquet of pink peonies and ferns.  The groom was dressed in a dark brown suit, accompanied by his cousin, Clifford Parrett, who was dressed in a navy blue suit.  After the ceremony, the wedding couple returned to the bride’s parents’ home where a five o’clock dinner was served to the relatives.

In the evening, a shower and free wedding dance was held in Barton’s barn, with a large attendance.

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Wisconsin citizens bought and registered exactly 13, 443 new cars with the auto license division of the state department during the first five months of this year.  The division registered 3, 123 cars last month alone.  A little more than half the new cars are owned by residents of Wisconsin’s 25 largest cities.

New cars registered with the auto license division, so far this year, include more than 30 makes.  Leader in the sales race of cars is Chevrolet with a total of 4,827.  Other leaders are: Ford, 1,363; Plymouth, 1,017; Buick, 782; Pontiac, 720; Nash, 556; Willys, 481; Oldsmobile 437 and Studebaker, 429.

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On June 25, two young couples will be married on the main street of Thorp at 10 a.m.  Under the auspices of the Cash Club, of that city, this is part of a market day program.  The couples are being married free, with wedding rings furnished free and many other gifts will be presented to the couples.

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The dull market for wool apparently has discouraged local buyers and the wool pool is functioning to furnish an outlet for this year’s clip.  On Thursday, 10,000 pounds of wool was assembled at Greenwood under the direction of the Wisconsin Cooperative Wool Growers association.  There were about 40 woolgrowers being represented.  Although the price of wool is low, it is probably on a par with any other line of farm produce.

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The new federal tax of 1 cent a gallon on gasoline ad 4 cents a gallon on lubricating oil goes into effect this week, Tuesday.  Neillsville and its tributary trade area will begin contributing more than $1,000 additional tax money into government channels every month, according to estimates furnished by whole sale oil dealers here.

The new tax, when added to the 4 cent state gasoline tax already in effect, brings this community’s monthly tax on this one item to approximately $4,500 or about $50,000 a year.  That is more than twice the amount of money that the local school district raises to support the Neillsville school system.

The amount of gasoline sold in May from Neillsville, totaled about 99,200 gallons and lubricating oil was 2,570 gallons.  Wholesalers were busy Monday as retailers rushed to stock up with gasoline and oil to hve as much as possible on hand before the tax went into effect.

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Gus Krause, Neillsville’s city poor commissioner is meeting with much success in finding employment for those needing jobs.  Some people are employed by city friends.  Several are employed on the concrete surfacing job on Highway 12 and others are working on the fire lane project.

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Arrangements have been completed by a representative of Russell Bros. Co. circus.  The three-ring circus will be here this week.  The circus will make its appearance in Neillsville on Sunday, July 10, one day only, afternoon and night.

The city of tents will be pitched on the pasture opposite the water works plant on North Grand Avenue.

The circus will arrive early Sunday, via a fleet of 40 trucks and cars.

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Dr. and Mrs. F. W. Schweinler, announce the marriage of their daughter, Ione Elizabeth, to Earl L. Bruhn, which took place in the Little Brown Church at Nashua, Iowa.  The wedding ceremony was performed by the Rev. Wm. Kent, pastor of that church, on May 31, at 1:30 p.m.

The bride, the oldest daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Schweinler, grew up in Neillsville.  She graduated from the Neillsville High School in the class of 1929 and has since been employed as a telephone operator by the Wisconsin Bell Co. of Green Bay.  The groom is the oldest son of Mrs. Adeline Bruhn of Marshfield.  He attended Junior High at Marion, South Carolina and Vocational School at Marshfield.  He is a machinist at the B & F Machine Shop in Neillsville, where he and Martin Feuerstein have been in partnership for the past four years.

The young couple will take up housekeeping and be at home to their friends by July 1.  The Bruhns’ large circle of friends extends them congratulations.

The gates of the Hatfield Dam, as they appeared in about 1940

(Photo courtesy of the Ray Zipfel family collection)