Clark County Press, Neillsville,

December 26, 2007, Page 12

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

 

Compiled and contributed by Dee Zimmerman

 

 

Clark County News

December 1917

 

Saturday evening, some one stole A. W. Hales’ new Ford car parked in front of the opera house, where it had been placed during the show.  It was a brand new car and up to date.  No trace of it has been found.  It is possibly the work of home talent who wanted a joy ride, taking this means of having it.  If such is the case, some one will run amuck with Sheriff Hewett before a great while and take their joy riding on one of the iron beds in the county jail.

•••••••••

Sunday’s Milwaukee Journal contained a glowing tribute to Carl Rabenstein of this city, being in the nature of a biographical sketch.  It was in the nature of a biographical sketch and a story of his patriotic endeavors in the sale of Liberty Bonds and other endeavors.  The article was accompanied by a picture of Mr. Rabenstein, together with those of his two sons, who are now members of the United States Army. The tribute was a splendid one and was much appreciated by Mr. Rabenstein’s friends.

•••••••••

Chas. Cornelius has bought the Wm. Wagner hotel at Granton and unless he disposes of it within a few days, he expects that he will be forced to enter the hotel business as a sideline and be host at the establishment.

•••••••••

County Clerk Ole Anderson is superintending a job of logging, which Oscar Youker is doing in the courthouse yard.  A number of the shade trees are being cut out as there is too much shade for a good lawn.  The wood will be used to keep the courthouse warm this winter and help cut in the high cost of heating.

•••••••••

For sale: a 100-acre farm, 3 ½ miles north of Neillsville, with a brand new cement basement barn, silo, bearing fruit trees, and good house with cellar.  The cost is $500 cash, with a balance to suit buyer.  See Chas. Scholte, Neillsville.

•••••••••

Cash Ide has sold his fine farm in the Town of York to a Mr. Elmhorst, a gentleman who comes from Illinois and has moved onto the place.  All the stock, machinery, and such, was passed on to the new owner.  Mr. Ide moved to Maple Works, last Monday.

 

Mr. Ide retires from the strenuous activities of farm life after a long and a successful career, during which he accumulated means amply sufficient to enable him to spend the balance of his years as he chooses.  For some 30 years he has been a prominent citizen of the Town of York and has represented it on the county board as well as in other capacities.  Twenty years ago, he took a canvass of York and recalls that there were 200 voters.  He states that of those voters, 50 are left.  Thirteen years ago, he visited his old home in New York.

•••••••••

There were sixty-three thousand deer hunters in the state of Wisconsin, this year, that figure was given out by the conservation commission as the total of deer tags.

 

Upwards of 160,000 hunting licenses have been issued.  This year, for the first time, the expedient was tried of requiring deer hunters to purchase an extra tag in addition to their hunting license, which cost 10 cents.  Obviously only those intending to hunt paid attention to the extra tag.

 

Trapping licenses were also issued for the first time this year.  Their total at present is 30,000, which is a great surprise to the commission, with the early estimate being set at only 5,000.  Most of the licenses have been going to trappers of muskrat and mink, living along river and lake shores.  Others however, are going to all parts of the state for the use of trappers of every variety of Wisconsin’s long list of fur-bears (fur-bearers).

•••••••••

The big new garage on Fifth Street, between Hewett and Court streets, is a better looking affair than was the old Reddan House that used to occupy that site.  The new garage will be named the Knorr Ford agency of Neillsville.

•••••••••

Last Monday, M. Hoesly’s team of horses ran away and during the operation the residents of Fifth Street thought that there was a young cyclone loose among them.  The team ran amuck through back yards, stopping for nothing.  Emil Glopf had taken refuge in a small out building, which was in the path of the team and they ran into it, tipping it over, Glopf and all.  When the cyclone has passed, Glopf emerged from the wreckage considerably messed up and with the bewildered expression on his farce (face), which indicated that for a time, he had thought a Zeppelin had bombarded the first line trenches.

•••••••••

The House of Representatives has passed the Prohibition Amendment measure, which had already passed the Senate.  Ratification by three-fourth quarters of the states will put the country on a dry basis.

 

December 1952

 

A new book, “The dub of South Burlap,” tells the story of an old-time family who failed in Clark County and tried to retrieve its fortunes in the West.  This book was written by Brandon Satterlee, son of M. F. Satterlee, who was an editor in Neillsville more than 60 years ago.  It was published by Exposition Press of New York.  The author and the publishers have given The Clark County Press the right to use excerpts from the book, which is copyrighted.  These excerpts, selected as being, from the local standpoint, the cream of the book, will be published in another edition.

 

The elder Satterlee ran his course, in Neillsville, with failure at the end of it.  He had experienced the climate and business conditions of Clark County and saw them through jaundiced eye.  He made a brief trip to the Golden West and regarded it as a land of promise.  So he pulled up stakes and went out to Puget Sound, starting a newspaper and booming a town.  He very soon bumped into troubles there also, with disasters even greater than those which befell him here.

 

Mr. Satterlee had much the same attitude as many who do not win material success in Clerk (Clark) County.  They see the local difficulties and ascribe to them their failure.  What they fail properly to appraise is their own capacity and accomplishment.  By and large it takes about the same qualities to succeed one place as another.  The degree of success will vary with the local opportunity, but failure is seldom turned success by a change in environment.  Usually the person failing one locality could make success in another only if he could leave himself behind.

 

This does not mean that “Old Sat,” as he was known, was an utter failure in his life.  His failure was financial rather than personal.  He lacked money sense, but he had an engaging and interesting personality, which gave him an optimistic view of life, what ever his vicissitudes. 

•••••••••

Loyal Industries is at work this week in an effort to raise $30,000.  “Representatives of this organization are canvassing the business district in an effort to raise this money as capital for the St. Croix Corporation and thus to insure a new industry for the city.  The money will be represented by preferred stock.

 

The decision to proceed with the money-raising effort was reached at a meeting of Loyal people, held Saturday evening in the municipal building.  About 50 were in attendance.  The St. Croix Corporation was represented by William Johnson, one of the three Johnson brothers who are behind the industry.

 

At a meeting a report was made by Merle Hales, Loyal banker, on the financial standing of the St. Croix Corporation.  This report was favorable, indicating that the Johnsons pursue careful business methods, and that they have a considerable volume of business, with a backing of orders.  Their need, it appeared, is for more capital in the form of cash, as they are carrying a heavy inventory.  To make good this need is the purpose of selling the preferred stock.

 

If and when it locates in Loyal, the St. Croix Corporation will manufacture a few specialties, chiefly fishing rods and nets.  One of their products is a glass-casting rod.  They also make cane rods and fishing nets.  Their estimate is that they will employ about 30 people the year around, with up to 50 in the winter.  One of the advantages of this industry is that its employment can be expanded in the winter, thus offering work to persons engaged in farm work in the open season.

 

The location in prospect for the industry is the large garage building at the west end of Loyal’s main street, a building now in use by Zupanc Motors, and about to be released by that concern.  This building offers about 9,500 square feet of floor space as compared with the 10,000 square feet for which the Johnsons originally asked. The building is an exact fit for all practical purposes.

 

The dealing with Loyal Industries is part of the effort of the Johnsons to fit their business into the needs and resources of small communities.  Their business was started in the Twin Cities about five years ago and ran into the difficulties inherent in such a location.  So the Johnsons are seeking to establish small units in localities less subject to complications.  They have units in operation in Colby, Unity and Rib Lake.  In addition to fishing supplies, they make snow fence.

 

The Men behind Loyal Industries are in there pitching, in the earnest purpose to find an Industry, which will contribute to the prosperity of their city.

 

(The St. Croix Corporation company did set up operations in the Loyal main street location, manufacturing fishing poles, for a year or two.  Eventually, the business owners made a decision to combine all of the small operations into one facility, relocating near Phillips, Wis. D.Z.)

•••••••••

Father Peter J. Leketas is coming to Neillsville as the priest of St. Mary’s parish.  He is expected here Thursday.  He comes from Cadott.  He will relieve Father Peter Zic, who has been caring for the parish, pending a permanent appointment.  Father Zic took over when illness forced Father Michael Kelnhofer to give up his work.

•••••••••

Hills for the city kids to slide upon was the most important question before the Neillsville City Council, Tuesday evening.

 

The city fathers did talk about some other things, like work on the new water plant, but any kid will tell you that such a matter sinks into insignificance when compared to a hill to slide on.

 

The kink in this hill business, it appeared, was the danger involved in using hills like that of Oak Street on the South Side.  Mayor Foster showed concern about the possibility that under conditions there obtaining some youngster might be seriously hurt.  The main point was concern for the kids.

 

The members of the council discussed various hills, which might be made available with the minimum of danger.

 

It has been decided that one of the hills for sledding would be on the old brick yard, or the “Rose Bowl,” which is located between Oak and Park Streets on the west side, near Second Street.

•••••••••

The ninetieth birthday of J. D. Elmendorf of Thorp was celebrated in Neillsville on December 4.  Fifteen relatives gathered with his granddaughter, Bonnie Patrick, in her cabin on Division Street.

 

At the age of 90, Mr. Elmendorf has an active mind, and recalls many events of the early history of Clark County.

 

Mr. Elmendorf was born December 4, 1862, in Hebron, Jefferson County, Wisconsin.  He came to Unity at the age of 14 and got a job on the dam at Hemlock, which was then the first dam in the series owned by the Black River Improvement Company.  This dam backed up a large pool of water, which was released for the drives, carrying the logs with it.  This method of getting the logs down to Onalaska and La Crosse was used until about the end of the nineteenth century.

 

In the spring of 1881, Mr. Elmendorf drove a stage from Greenwood to Spencer for Chet Stow, then prominent in the county.  He also hauled mail from Loyal to Spencer.

 

In 1885 Mr. Elmendorf purchased 80 acres of land in the Town of Thorp, half a mile west of the city of Thorp on what was then the turnpike but what is now Highway 29.  He paid $9 per acre for this land.  He built a house on this farm in 1887, which is still standing.  He farmed there for 40 years, until 1927; then rented the land for 14 years and finally sold it in 1951.

 

Mr. Elmendorf was in Neillsville on July 4, 1881, when the first train came over the trestle west of the city.

 

Mr. Elmendorf drove a team of oxen for Nyron Withee when steel and ties were laid for the railroad in Thorp, and pulled stumps in preparation for laying the main street of Withee.

 

Mr. Elmendorf was married in 1887 to Eliza Alger.  She died in 1918.  There were six children, of whom four are still living, as follows: Maude, Mrs. Frank Schultze, Thorp; Harold Seattle, Wash.; Cletus, Auburn, Wash; Bernard, Woodinville, Wash.

•••••••••

An empty jail is the unique Christmas present, which Clarence Gorsegner, district attorney, hopes to give Sheriff and Mrs. Frank Dobes.  With the help of various jurisdictions and with a good boost from the people of Clark County, he believes that he can make this present pan out.  In that case, Mr. and Mrs. Dobes will be able to celebrate upon a family basis and will not be obliged to feed persons who are behind the bars.

 

The thinning out was on the way early this week.  The jail held five Monday, but was down to one by Tuesday night.

 

Now the kink in all that is whether the rest of the population will behave and leave the jail pleasantly empty.  Mr. Gorsegner asks the cooperation of everybody to this end.  He really wants to give Sheriff and Mrs. Dobes that empty jail for Christmas and this can be done if everybody works at it.

 

It may surprise the people of Clark County to know that an empty jail is really a boon to the sheriff.  He is paid for feeding prisoners, but he can’t get rich at it.  He and Mrs. Dobes much prefer that all the people of Clark County eat their Christmas dinner in the bosom of their family.

•••••••••

 

The IOOF building as it appeared in 1961, with the Gluch Shoe Store and WCCN Radio businesses as occupants, was on West Fifth St., between Hewett and West Streets.

 

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