Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

August 27, 2003, Page 15

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

 

Clark County News

August 1898

 

A very pleasant party of friends is camping on the Black River, two miles south of Greenwood.  The group consists of Messrs. Chas. Adamson, Ed Hirsch, Clare Hunt and Misses Emma Hendren, Carrie Shanks, Beatrice McMillan and Mrs. Hendren.  They call it “Camp Dew Drop Inn.”

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Workmen have been busy, this week, tearing down a portion of the brick building back of the Neillsville Bank.  It is to be thoroughly remodeled, with new front, etc.  It will add much to the appearance of that part of town. It is part of the property recently acquired by the Commercial State Bank.

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George Smith and A. E. Kay, son and son-in-law of Gus Smith, arrived here Thursday, having come through on their bicycles from Chicago.  They started Sunday, later running into bad weather and muddy roads too soft for any use this side of Marshfield, so rode the rest of the way on the railroad track to Neillsville. 

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The Greenwood-Merrill extension of the Foster road is progressing rapidly.  About 10 miles of the road will be built this fall.

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A number of people from the Levis area drove out seeking blackberries early Tuesday morning. They went with Will McAdams and his brown jug.

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Mr. and Mrs. Kiger and child arrived in Neillsville Friday, from Hicksville, Ohio.  Mr. Kiger is one of the firm of Kerr Bros. and Company, which bought the Neillsville Furniture factory some weeks ago.  On the day of his arrival, he had a crew of men at work, at the factory, getting it ready for business.

 

Mr. Kiger has, with his family, moved into one of Emery Bruley’s houses until larger quarters are obtainable.  The removal here in the near future of 30 or more families ought to hustle somebody into putting up a few extra residences.

 

The cheery sound of the furniture factory whistle greeted the ears of our citizens for the first time in many moons, on Monday at 6 o’clock.  Although the furniture factory has not yet started up, the whistle heralds the return of prosperity to our city.

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For over 40 years, the late Antone Arpin jealously guarded a fine tract of pine timberland situated in Township 24, Range 3 East.  The timber standing upon it was saved from the woodsman’s axe for over two score years, while all around it the lands were cut over.  The old gentleman would not sell it and allowed no one to cut a tree upon it.  Last week, however a deed for the tract was presented to Register Mitchell to be recorded. The deed was from Mrs. Mary Cholvin, sole heir at law of the late Antone Arpin.  The deed was given to James Doughty of the Bray & Choate Lumber Co., of Oshkosh.  The 200 acres were sold for $200 per acre, or $40,000 for the tract. The deed carried $40 in revenue stamps.

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Road petitions are being circulated, asking the town boards of Levis, and of the town of Alma, to straighten the Dells Dam road.  It is along the section line west from Levis Mound to the right of way of the Marshfield branch, thence parallel with the tract to intersect the road running north and south by E. Olson’s farm. The road, as now traveled, strikes through the sand along the foot of Bruce Mound, while it is claimed the new route through the lower lands would give a solid roadbed nearly all the way. This would seem to be a much needed improvement and it is stated that both Jackson and Clark counties are anxious to make the change.

••••••••••

Mr. and Mrs. Jeudevine and children, of Loyal, visited in Neillsville on Saturday.  On returning home, their team of horses became frightened and ran away, throwing everyone out of the buggy.  Fortunately, none were seriously injured although they were considerably bruised.

••••••••••

Carter Warring has a crew of men at work remodeling the building occupied, until recently by O. P. Wells.  He is placing his laundry machinery in position.  The machines are being over-hauled and put in first class shape.  He will have the plant in operation some time next week.

••••••••••

The flagpole, on the county courthouse, has been lengthened 12 feet. This makes the pole a total of 28 feet.  A new flag, 14x28 ft., has been purchased and floats gracefully in the breeze, from the staff. The flagpole is the highest point in the city with the largest flag.

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The Upham Company, of Marshfield, has engineers surveying a four-mile spur to their logging railroad in the Town of Fremont.

 

August 1943

 

As a further protection against misuse of gasoline ration coupons, motorists must make necessary endorsement on all coupons as soon as any new ration books are issued to them. The announcement was made by Phil H. Griffin, La Crosse district director of the Office of Price Administration.

 

Endorsements make it possible t o distinguish the coupons that have been properly used from those that have been obtained by theft, counterfeiting and illegal purchase and put into unlawful use by black market operators, Griffin said.  Individuals who endorse these coupons will thus help OPA to see that gasoline is distributed and used in a fair and equitable manner.

••••••••••

Corporal Cecil Moeller is back home for a visit with relatives.  He is the first returning soldier to land in this section in a parachute, so far as is known.  He jumped from a height of 10,000 feet at Marshfield on Sunday evening, July 25.

 

Corporal Moeller granted a furlough, set out from his station at Fort Bragg, N. C. and went to Washington D. C.  He secured permission to make the trip northward in a large government plane headed for Minneapolis.  That plane made no stop at Marshfield, or elsewhere; it went right through.  But the Corporal was granted permission to jump at Marshfield, that being the nearest location of a recognized airport.  For the jump, Corporal Moeller was provided with a government parachute, upon which he had put a deposit.

••••••••••

Clark County bought War bonds, in July, in the amount of $111,141.25, according to reports made to James A. Musil, county executive chairman.  The total was slightly under the quota.

••••••••••

Miss Esther Ferguson, Town of Washburn, who taught at the Mayflower School last year, will teach this year at Riverside, by an arrangement just concluded.

 

Margaret Beeckler, who taught last year at Riverside, is under contract with the Merry Vale School, Town of York.

 

Miss Elsie Zank, of Pine Valley, has accepted a position to teach upper grades at Pepin, Wis.  She taught last year at Sunnynook School, Town of York.

••••••••••

Lieut. Lowell Dodte Schoengarth, of Neillsville, became a benedict, last Saturday. In a large wedding with imposing ceremony, in Luther Memorial Church at Madison, he took as his bride Virginia Jane Johnson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Johnson, 210 N. Butler Street, Madison.  Both young people are graduates of the University of Wisconsin.  After a wedding trip of several days in northern Wisconsin, they will reside at Rockford, Ill., the groom being commander of Co. B. 28th Medical Training Battalion, at Camp Grant.

••••••••••

Three hundred motor vehicles were laid up and out of use in Clark County at the end of July, according to the information of Leo Foster, chief clerk of the rationing board of Clark County.  This statement of shortage speaks for the fire (tire?) situation which is developing in the United States, and which, according to the best information available to Foster, will become exceedingly acute in the next 60 to 90 days. The fact is according to information received, that the United States has been using up its available rubber since Pearl Harbor.  The point is being now reached where the shortage will be felt sharply and unpleasantly by the American public.

 

In the six months ending July 31, 1943, the local rationing board authorized 2,146 tire purchases for passenger automobiles in Clark County.  This was the allotment for some 7,000 automobiles.  But the best information obtainable is that the wear on those 7,000 automobiles was about the equivalent of 7,000 tires.  Therefore the renewal of tires in the county was only about 30 per cent of the wear on passenger vehicles.  In other words, the passenger cars of the county are wearing out tires three times faster than the tires can be procured.

••••••••••

The urgent need for pulpwood will be brought home to this community. The drive for it has been placed in the hands of the newspapers of the United States, which have a substantial stake because of their use of paper.  The need for pulpwood is now urgent because of the vast quantities used for the war.

 

The patriotic urge is enhanced by the good price at which pulpwood may now be moved, the price reflecting the shortage at the mills.  The market conditions indicate that this is the accepted time to get out pulpwood and to sell it.

 

In view of the fact that this an agricultural community, and that pulpwood is harvested in this area by farmers, it is obvious that a few weeks will elapse before the work can be started.  As soon as corn has been cared for, however, it may be anticipated that farmers with trees suitable for pulp will take advantage of the opportunity.

 

In this community, arrangements will be in charge of Al Covell, who has consented to act as the county chairman of the project.  Covell is the Clark County Forester and may be addressed at Neillsville.  Those having trees, which are available for cutting this winter, may consult him with reference to shipping and marketing conditions.

 

Further announcements will be made later. Covell advises that there is considerable pulpwood hereabouts, which is suitable for present cutting.

••••••••••

Art Pipkorn, of Unity, and his heavy team moved 6,000 pounds at least ten feet in front of the grandstand at the Clark County fair on Monday. Thus, he won first place in the horse pulling contest, heavy class.  There were three doing that job of pulling and all three of them worked together, Art Pipkorn and his two good horses, who understood their driver and whose driver understood them.  Their driver wasted no loud language and he did not jump around.  Nor did the horses jump any more than Art Pipkorn.  They just settled into the traces easy like, both together, until they got everything going even and then how they pulled!

 

Art Pipkorn is an old woodsman, by long experience. When he had won first money at the Clark County fair this year, he said it was his last.  It was quite a few years ago that he was young and it takes something out of a fellow to move 6,000 pounds, even though he is quiet about it and has the help of two good and faithful animals who can pull and cannot talk.

 

The crowd, a good grand stand of it, was with Pipkorn on his farewell appearance. They liked his quiet way and the fine understanding, which got results from the animals with kind appreciation of them.  It was his fine horsemanship, which was referred to, more than any other, when Senator Wiley talked about cooperation among humans in the war effort like the teamwork of the animals in the pulling contest.

 

This pulling contest was a real feature of the show, with many watching from the first pull in the forenoon and with a crowd gathering in the grand stand in the afternoon.

 

In the heavy class, second place went to Pete Cole of Ridgeland and third to Henry Wydeven of Spencer.

 

In the middle class first place was taken by Ralph Williams of Westboro and second by Harold Kahl of Ridgeland.

 

In the lightweight, first place went to Bill Rosenthal of Mondovi; second to Eugene Nolan of Greenwood; third to Stanley Kahl of Ridgeland.

••••••••••

A German brown trout, measuring 22 inches long, was caught, last Friday, in Wood Creek by Gale Hiles.  He caught the big trout on a dry fly made by his father Otto Hiles.  The catch was made in the late evening, just before 11 p.m.

 

Gale Hiles also took three other German browns, each measuring more than 12 inches.

••••••••••

The Holy Family Church, of Willard, will hold its annual bazaar on August 29.  A chicken dinner will be served.  The cost for the meal will be 60 cents for each adult and 30 cents for each child.

••••••••••

Victory gardeners won acclaim at the Kiwanis club Monday evening, when awards were made in the club’s garden contest.  First place, with a war stamp of $5 went to Albert Sollberger. Second place, with award of $3, went to Martin Zilisch. Third, with award of $2, went to Frank Simek.  Sollberger and Zilisch were present as guests of the club and received their awards in person.  Simek is expected to attend at a later session.

 

In announcing the termination of the contest, Fred Prange, chairman of the committee told how the committee making the rounds last Friday afternoon, found a surprising level of quality in the local gardens.  Prange said he has judged in other areas with few gardens like those of Neillsville.

••••••••••

Cranberry harvest workers are wanted on Wisconsin marshes, starting September 15, for men to rake berries and handle the crop.  Extra gas ration coupons are available to harvest workers.  All workers will be assigned to marshes located nearest to their homes.  Experienced rakers should contact marshes where they were last employed.  Housing and board are available at some marshes.  Register or apply to the Clark County Agricultural Agent, at the courthouse, Neillsville.

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In the late 1800’s, Dells Dam was instrumental in controlling the Black River, enabling the lumber barons harvesting timber in Clark County to send the freshly cut logs downstream to the markets located near the Mississippi River.  (Photo courtesy of the Sontag Collection)

 

 


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