Clark County Press, Neillsville, Wisconsin

February 24, 2010, Page 26

Contributed by "The Clark Co. Press"

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

Clark County News

February 1910

 

 This week the First National Bank of Neillsville received from the Bureau of Engraving at Washington $30,000 in five, ten and twenty dollar bills of The First National Bank of Neillsville. These have been countersigned by President Cornelius and Cashier Ainsworth and are now good money. These are known as national bank bills. To secure their redemption at any time, the bank had to deposit in the United States Treasury $30,000 in U. S. Bonds. The bills are crisp, clean and of beautiful design.  On the face of the $20 is a picture of Hugh McCulloch, U. S. Secretary of the Treasury under Pres. Lincoln; on the $10 is a cut of Pres. McKinley and the $5 is a cut of Pres. Benj. Harrison. They come from Washington in blocks of four bills on a sheet and are cut up at the bank into single bills.  It should be quite an advertisement for Neillsville to have these bills in circulation.

•••••••••

S. L. Charles is working in L. D. Ruddock’s blacksmith shop on an invention for driving an automobile on ski runners.  It is a most ingenious machine and looks as if it will work.                 

•••••••••

Two loads of Neillsville people, young and old drove down to R. B. French’s in Levis Saturday night. There was a hearty welcome in the big farmhouse, several hours of good time, an excellent supper and a pleasant sleigh ride going and coming.  No pleasanter place can be found in the whole country for a social gathering than there.  All enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. French to the fullest extent.                   

•••••••••

It is reported that a crew of 50 men have been put to work clearing the right of way on the Spencer to Owen cut-off of the Soo Line railroad.

•••••••••

Vint Lee, butter maker at Pleasant Ridge Creamery and Geo. Beeckler at Sidney creamery attended the Butter Makers’ Convention at Fond du Lac. They report a pleasant and profitable meeting.

•••••••••

Mr. Charles Dahnert and Miss Amelia Dahl were married at the German Lutheran parsonage Feb. 8, 1910, by Rev. H. Brandt officiating.

 

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. C. Dahnert of Levis and the bride is also of the same town, being the daughter of August Dahl. They are worthy young people well fitted by reason of the industry to make a home for themselves and their way in the world.  At present the groom is employed at the Gurgle saw mill at August Dahl’s farm.

•••••••••

Everybody within reach of the Presbyterian Church at Dells Dam is invited to attend the services on Thursday and Friday evenings as well as Sunday afternoon. Each evening there will be a lively song service for nearly half an hour followed by a short sermon.  On Sunday afternoon the usual order of service will be followed.

•••••••••

Bill Cook of the Town of Hewett helped his brother, Lon move his granary last week. They moved it with a block and line, pulled by one team of horses.

•••••••••

The Press editor is indebted to R. B. French for a big sack full of rustproof seed beans. Unless we join the meat strike and have to eat those beans, they will be planted about the 15th of May, unless that date should fall in the wrong phase of the moon.  We also have some cabbage and lettuce seed from Germany and some seed beans from Levis.  Before spring we expect to have enough seeds set in so as to have a fair sized garden path.

•••••••••

The office rooms in the second story of the First National Bank are nearing completion and soon the big task undertaken by the builder, George Trogner, will be complete. Under Mr. Trogner’s watchful eye the building has gone up from the concrete footings of the foundation to the topmost cornice.  At the same time he has carried on the building of the Cornelius residence, itself a large undertaking and has done that as skillfully as the bank building.

•••••••••

Marcus Hoesly last week built a mile of wire fence, setting the posts with a post auger. It was through the woods and under the snow that Mr. Hoesly found there was no frost in the ground.      

•••••••••

Abie Turner in the Town of York got quite a scare last Friday afternoon.  It was pretty cold and Abie knew there were no flies around to bother anything so when he observed a horse and cutter coming down the road with fly nets on the horse he thought surely that was a case for him to check out, as Abie is the constable.  So Abie made for the road at a speed that wasn’t slow, as no crazy man would be allowed on those streets if Abie knew it, but imagine his surprise when he came near enough as his heart was going thump, thump, thump, to see that it was only Jim Owens with an advertisement for Emery Bruley’s big clothing sale, that was flapping on the rig.

 

February 1940

 

Twenty Clark County youths were among CCC enrollees recently inducted into the company at Camp Perkinstown, in Taylor County.  The camp exists at present of 208 enrollees, of which 200 are from Clark and Taylor counties.

 

Those inducted into the company to replace those lost by discharge are:

 

Lawrence A. Copeland of Dorchester, Joseph P. Elpert of Withee, William J. Engelbretson of Greenwood, Kenneth A. Frank and Louis J. Frank of Curtiss, Albert L. Grade of Granton, Orville H. Griep of Willard, Matthew Johnson of Greenwood, Orin C. Johnson of Curtiss, John. T. Leach of Greenwood, Everett S. Lindow of Chili, Byrl W. Montgomery of Granton, Joe S. Piwoni of Thorp, Reuben P. Pueschner of Dorchester, Adam Skowronski of Thorp, Earl E. Stafford of Greenwood, William H. Wilson of Thorp and Donald L. Winn and Myron M. Zielke of Granton.

•••••••••

Tuesday, January 30, marked the 40th wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Sniteman.  Looking down Main Street from their home on South Hewett Tuesday, Mr. and Mrs. Sniteman realized even more vividly the great change brought about during the intervening years.  It was 40 degrees below zero on their wedding day.  The hack in which they were driven to the home of Rev. Cresswell was the only vehicle out and all windows in the business section were solidly frozen. They left on the evening train for St. Paul but hardly left the hotel during their stay of several days because of the extremely cold weather.

•••••••••

Clark County has gained complete possession of the title to Wildcat Mound. Taking deed to the forty upon which the northeastern portion rests, the county now controls the four forties upon which practically all the mound is found and is also controls unbroken areas east, west and south. The northern boundary is marked by County Trunk Road B, which affords access to the mound.

 

With this title perfected, Clark County now owns its first complete mound, and has thus the beginning of what is likely to become a public monument of highly distinguishing characteristic of esteem. While some mounds are seen in this part of Wisconsin, many of the mounds, if not most of them, are in areas privately owned.  Clark County owns no other mounds of major importance.

 

The significance of the acquisition of Wildcat is the greater, unique and distinctiveness of all the mounds in this part of the state.  It has varied topography, a peculiarly ornamental rock, interesting spurs, remarkable overhangs, a great cliff along its southern side and a tremendous view from its top.  It is no wild prophecy to suppose with the passing years, Wildcat will become the popular picnic spot of this region and for its commanding views.

•••••••••

Pouring of center and south abutments and south wings for the new $35,000 bridge over O’Neill Creek was expected to be started today. Footings for the abutments were poured last week.  At the same time, excavation for the footings on the north side of the creek is being carried on with power shovel and occasional use of blasting powder.  The dirt removed is being used as a fill along the north bank of the creek, west of the bridge site.

•••••••••

It is not news that this winter has been a mild one for Clark County; but it is news that this has been the mildest one in the last quarter of a century.

 

We can take the experienced work of Oluf Olson, Sr., for that.  For Mr. Olson has been the janitor at the courthouse for 22 of the last 25 years.  And he judges with accuracy the comparative severity of the winters by the amount of wood the big, old boilers at the courthouse consume.

 

At present and baring any subsequent extended sub-zero weather, Mr. Olson looks for a winter at least “10 cords milder” than any in his long experience and more than 30 cords milder than the average.

 

“We’ll probably use about 120 cords of the three-foot body hardwood this year,” he estimated recently. “On the average year we will burn 150 cords or more; but back in 1918, and on one other occasion since I have been here, we burned only 130 cords.”

 

During the longest and hardest winters of the last quarter of a century from 175 to nearly 200 cords of wood has been required to keep the courthouse comfortable, he said.

 

The courthouse is the only building in Neillsville in which the old standard three-foot wood is used; although there was the time not many years ago when several buildings were burning it exclusively.  They included the high school, The Press office and the W. J. Marsh building, among others.

 

“We still have many farmers around who turn in wood,” he said,  “But even should the courthouse be forced to some other source of supplying heat in the future, it will continue to burn the three-foot wood for at least a year after the need for a change becomes apparent.

 

The reason?  The basement of the courthouse is piled high with wood; over 150 cords of it.  The neat piles reach up almost to the ceiling, 13 feet above the floor, and the piles of wood are from three to four rows deep in places, forming narrow corridors to the boiler and the storage vault.

 

As each set of wood piles is depleted, green wood is brought in to replace it, and it is left there to dry and age in preparation for the next onslaught of winter.

•••••••••

H. H. Van Gorden & Sons Feed Mill Special this Week:

 

Country Girl Flour, 49 lb bag, $1.33

 

Wanted to trade, 1 bushel of apples for every 85 lbs. of Oats

•••••••••

The Massive new Five Mile Bridge over Black River, in the Town of Levis, is expected to be open to traffic within the next week or 10 days, according to township officials.

 

Steel workers this week drove the last rivets in the 75 ton structure and laying of the floor was to be started immediately. Work on the floor is being done under supervision of the township.

 

Elmer Buddenhagen and other town officials: Ed Shramek, Ernest Ulrich, Frank Dobes, John Johnson, Mike Johnson and William Bradford, who says he will cut the binders’ twine ribbon, will be on hand for the official opening of the 200 foot span of the new bridge.

 

The bridge foundations are the same ones, which carried the weight of the old Five Mile, or Lynch Bridge for many years before it was washed out by the flood of September 1938.  The foundations have been rebuilt and repaired to carry the load of the new bridge.

 

The roadbed will be made up of 15,000 two by four planks, providing a wooden mat four inches thick. The bridge will cost slightly over $13,000.  Half of the cost is being borne by the county and half by the township.

 

The collapse of the old bridge, 17 months ago, split school district No. 1 of Levis in two. Through-out the period from September 1938, until the close of school last spring children residing on the west side of the river were transported over 20 miles daily to and from the Riverside School, which is located one-half mile east of the bridge.

 

No transportation was provided by the school district for the current school year and children living on the west side of the river attended school in other districts during the opening weeks, with the district paying tuition.  Since the river has been covered over with ice, however, many children have returned to the Riverside School, crossing the river on ice.

•••••••••

WPA crews this week were setting up camp on the Former CCC site at Lake Arbutus in preparation for rough fish removal on the lake.  The site has been established as the district headquarters for rough fish removal in this WPA district. From 20 to 60 men are expected to be employed on the project.                     

•••••••••

Clark County’s books showed a profit of $26,989.02 last year.

 

It wasn’t profit in the sense of a businessman or a farmer thinks of the word, for there is no such thing as “profit” in government.

 

However, it was a profit in that revenues of the county exceeded expenditures by that amount, according to County Clerk Calvin Mills.  Of that total, $18,943.13 represented revenues over and above those anticipated when the budget of 1939 was drawn up.

 

Instead of going out and buying a new dress for the wife, as an individual might when his books show a profit of virtually $27,000, the county will place the money in the general fund, which has been building up for the time when such a reserve is needed to cover tax deeds and tax certificates, amounting to from $325,000 to $350,000, which they county has been forced to accumulate.

•••••••••

Seif & Byse Sales Co. your Ford Dealer of Neillsville brings the Cream of the Used Car Crop:

 

’35 Ford Coach, with a radio, $275; ’38 Ford 4-door De Luxe, with radio $525; ’36 Plymouth 4-door Sedan, $300

•••••••••

There will be a Free Dance at the Rainbow in Hatfield, Thursday, Feb. 22.

 

 

 

Seif & Byse Ford Company was in business as early as the 1920s, even offering wrecker service at that time.  Notice the narrow dirt road, which is now a highway.

 

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 Please contact us if you have pictures of the old money mentioned in this article.

 

 


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