Clark County Press, Neillsville, Wisconsin

March 26, 2014, Page 11

Contributed by "The Clark Co. Press"

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

Clark County News

 March 1929

 

A deal was consummated last week where by FM. J. Seidelman, well known farmer of the Town of York, and his brother-in-law F. A. Schultz of St. Paul, Minn., became owners of the Loyal Sales.  George Cleary, former owner of Loyal Sales, became owner of the M. J. Seidelman farm on County Trunk K, in the Town of York.

 

Mr. Schultz comes to Loyal highly recommended as an expert mechanic having had about 20 years garage experience.

 

Leon West retains his position as salesman for Chevrolet card and trucks.  Ben Sayles, well known as being a good mechanic, with several years experience, will be an employee.  The firm name of Loyal Sales has been changed to Seidelman and Schultz Chevrolet Co.  They will service all makes of cars.       

•••••••••

One of M. H. Zilisch’s goat kids, which he sold, attracted a good deal of interest one day last week at the express office, with its clever antics as it ran about the office.  Young goats develop very rapidly, becoming practically full-grown at less than a year old.                                                                                 

•••••••••

Mr. and Mrs. Alford Carpenter, Wisconsin pioneers, celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary Jan. 29, 1929, at their home in San Diego, Calif.

 

A clearing in the timber, a general store, a boarding house, Loyal, Wisconsin, in1874; it was in this town, nestled in the heart of Wisconsin logging country and buried in snow, that a young couple was married 55 years ago Jan. 25.  The bride, Miss Ida Ann Harding, was 19 years old.  The bridegroom, Alford Carpenter, a stalwart Wisconsin logger, was 27.

 

The years weighed lightly on this couple.  Mrs. Carpenter, although 74 years old, daily is carrying out her philosophy that one should use every minute in some constructive work.  A pile of recently finished patchwork quilt, the kind we have seen up in grandmother’s chest in the attic, is a demonstration of Mrs. Carpenter’s work.  Stacked neatly in the back porch, a pile of wood, freshly split every morning and carried in, is testimony of Mr. Carpenter’s ability at the age of 82.

 

“There wasn’t any minister at Loyal in 1874,” Mrs. Carpenter said.  “There was a big boarding house.  Old Fife Hartford ran it.  He was justice of the peace.  He was the one who married us.”

 

“And it was mighty cold, too,” Mr. Carpenter put in.  “As we were going home, the wolves howled.  At night they would come up to the cabin door.” “I met Alford in a cranberry marsh,” Mrs. Carpenter said, “We high school girls used to go out and pick berries.  Alford drove us there and back.  At night we would go to a dance.  Alford played an accordion.  Somebody else played a jewsharp.  Sometimes we would have a harmonica. After the dance we would drive back home in an oxcart.  The roads were too deep for horses.”

 

In the winter, Mr. Carpenter was a teamster for the logging companies.  In the spring, just before the logging drives, he would go out to camp with the men to be their cook.  The Carpenters had a 40-acre farm in the Town of Fremont, Clark County.

 

“We lived there after we were married,” Mrs. Carpenter said, “We had grain, cows, corn and potatoes.  There was nothing but trees when we moved on it.  The land all had to be cleared.”

 

“We would have timber bees.  We would cut the trees and then pile them up and set them on fire so we could use the land for farming.”

 

“The neighbors were few and far apart.  We didn’t see them often, but even then they were friendly, more than nowadays.

 

“When we returned home after being married, the loggers, there were 75 or more of them, gave us a great greeting.  What with the wolves howling and the men shouting, you could not hear a thing.”

 

Four of the Carpenter’s children are still living. 

 

The couple moved to California eight years ago.  Up to that time then were active on their farm.

 

“We’re real old Badgers,” Carpenter said, “Wisconsin Badgers.”  We were born in Wisconsin; we raised our family and educated them there.                                                                            

•••••••••

George N. Phillips, who lives on South Grand Avenue, was 90 years old Friday, March 8.  He has been a resident of Neillsville for many years.  He is one of the few surviving Civil War veterans in this locality and is still quite active.

•••••••••

Monday forenoon as John Moen and Art Kunze of Neillsville were at work shingling Dr. Rath’s house in Granton, the staging gave way, with both men falling to the ground.  Mr. Moen had two ribs fractured and Mr. Kunze had one arm broken and several teeth loosened.  Mr. Kunze will be laid up for some time.  Mr. Moen is able to be about but will not work for a while.                                                                                       

•••••••••

Monday morning, bright and early, Tom Bruley took possession of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which he had moved from its winter quarters on the O’Neill House lot, back to its summer location on the Balch Hardware Corner.  Tom’s appearance at the old stand is one of the first signs of spring and ranks along with the first robin and the small boys playing marbles.  Tom has spent time this winter in the hospital in La Crosse, but is feeling much better and ready to dispense ice cream, confectionery, soft drinks, peanuts and such to any or all passing by.

•••••••••

Bob French of Levis recalls some of the old Black River log-drivers and their remarkable feats. Johnny Levis was long conceded to be the champion, though “Black Bill” Seymour of the same town was nearly his equal and especially in long jumps from one log to another.

 

Ed Bruley and George Miller are said to be the only two Neillsville men who ever rode a log from Ross Eddy to the mouth of the Cunningham Creek without getting dumped into the river.

 

Will Hogue of Greenwood was also a noted log driver. He still lives at Greenwood and was a candidate last year for sheriff.  Jim Stafford, the founder of Staffordsville, went through the Mormon Riddles at Hatfield twice in one day on a log, without falling off.  That was where the Hatfield Dam is now located.

 

Doubtless there were many other expert log drives in those old days up and down Black River.

•••••••••

Wisconsin Weather Bureau states that Wisconsin had an unusually cold February, with 1917 being the coldest within the last 39 years. 

 

There was more than the usual amount of snowfall so far this year in the state in the month of February, especially in the North Central counties, where in localities the snow reached a depth from 40 to 56 inches.

 

March 1954

 

Pine Valley Brand Sweet Cream Butter, Double A Grade, made at the Neillsville Milk Products Co-op, can be purchased at all area grocery stores.                                                                                      

•••••••••

A pleasant atmosphere is a big factor in the enjoyment of food. Good food tastes better when it is attractively and well-served in pleasant surroundings.

 

That is one reason why the Silver Dome’s Fireplace is a popular dine-out spot, attracting people from far and near for diners throughout the week.

 

The added attraction on Saturday nights is a three-piece orchestra which furnishes delightful music for diners.  This orchestra, headed by Bill Gorke, is truly professional and adds greatly to the eating pleasure of those who select the Fireplace as their dine-out place Saturday evening.  They play from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m., adding more than just a little to the enjoyment of a night out.

 

There is no extra charge for the entertainment.  Dinners are served at the regular rates, and there is no minimum and no cover charge.                                                                                                     

•••••••••

Conrad George Frantz, whose life spanned nearly a century of Clark County history and development, died at his home on Grand Avenue, Neillsville March 5.

 

Mr. Frantz, age 97, once was unusually active and had remained mentally keen and active until the time of his death. In his lifetime, he saw and helped the transition, which brought Clark County from a lumbering county to one of the great dairy counties of the state and nation.  He saw Stage routes replaced by concrete and bituminous roads; horses replaced by automobiles; and he saw tractors doing the work, which years before, he himself had done with the help of oxen.

 

The father of Ben Frantz, longtime county clerk of the circuit court, Mr. Frantz for many years held the distinction of being the oldest living native of Clark County.  His claim went back to the date of his birth, December 11, 1856, in a log house on the homestead farm of his parents, George and Barbara (Sontag) Frantz, in the Town of Pine Valley.

 

During the early years at home, Mr. Frantz helped his father and brothers to clear the farm.  A little later, while still much of boy; he drove logs for Chauncey Blakeslee, pioneer lumberman on Cunningham Creek, near the Frantz homestead.

 

At the age of 20, Mr. Frantz struck out on his own.  With a background of six years experience at that time, he naturally turned to lumbering for a living. For a few years, then, he worked in the woods and on the river during log drives, rising to foreman.  During these 10 years spent in the lumber camps and on the river, Mr. Frantz located his farm in the Town of Pine Valley, near Ross’ Eddy.  It consisted of 120 acres still covered with timber and without buildings.  On this land he built first a log house with the help of his wife, the former Christine Wiesner, whom he married August 17, 1880.  Immediately after the house was built he started the work of clearing the farm with the help of an oxen team.  Later another 80 acres was added, making the farm one of 200 acres.

 

In 1905 Mr. Frantz built a 12-room house of stone and lumber, which still stands.  The stone came from a quarry across the river and he hauled the stone to the site over the river’s ice in the winter.

 

Mr. Frantz advanced with the times and was the first to own a steam engine in Clark County.

 

A member of the first Clark County Highway Committee, Mr. Frantz also had a hand in the concrete bridge, which spans Black River on Grand Avenue, near the city’s water purification plant.  He was a member of the county board for 16 years and chairman of the Town of Pine Valley for a similar length of time.  He was active in the city’s militia company here, the old “Suaves,” and later a member of the successor to this famous old organization, the “Company A”.

 

Surviving are two daughters, Mrs. Bessie Roethe of Fennimore and Mr. Victor (Gladys) Heland, Jefferson; three sons, Judge F. Frantz, Fennimore, Ben H. Frantz and Robert F. Frantz of Neillsville, and a brother, Rudolph Frantz of Neillsville.

 

(The George Frantz farm was located one mile south and ½ mile east of Neillsville, along what now is Maple Road. DZ)

•••••••••

A truckload of Antigo Potatoes will be parked at the rear of the Farmers Store, Neillsville, Saturday, March 13, 2 p.m. with Russet Burbanks 100-lb. bag $1.15 & Red Pontiacs 100-lb. bag $1.15 or No. 2s for &75’, growers prices.

•••••••••

The Gorman Cooperative Dairy Co. sold their milk truck recently to Robert Bogdonovich, who expects to haul milk for them beginning March 16.  The milk route is 40 miles long.             

•••••••••

The dairy surplus problem was tackled on the community level last Saturday when 746 pints of milk were served by the Grace Lutheran Church Ladies Aid Society at Nasonville.  The society served lunch that day for the Marshfield Produce Association’s annual meeting.  There was plenty of milk available; but not a drop of coffee.  In addition the society served an extra slice of cheese.                                                                                

•••••••••

Minnette’s Lockers, at the rear of The Sweet Shop in Neillsville has Opening Specials, Friday Only!  Hamburger, 3 lbs. 90’; Vanilla Ice Cream a gal. $1.50, 2 ½ gal. $3.50                                 

•••••••••

W & H Pontiac Motors has 8 new Pontiacs: 2-doors, 4-doors, 2-Tones, in beautiful colors.  Bring in Your Car and Trade for a New Pontiac.

 

This weekend’s Special - 1946 Ford V-8, good clean car for only $250 - Located at 133 E. 6th St. Neillsville.

•••••••••

Saturday was a hefty “payday” here as Clark County drew checks totaling approximately $400,000.

 

Those on the receiving end were the high school districts, which received their county high school tuition and transportation moneys for the school year 1952-53. In all, checks for $280,885.95 were drawn for tuition; $48,321.89 for transportation.  Among the others were townships and villages for county aid bridges.

 

The remaining amount, approximately $30,000, was distributed among many more minor accounts.

•••••••••

Order High Quality Chicks from Gaier Hatchery!  Honegger Leghorn Baby Chicks $17.50 per hundred; White Plymouth Rocks, $17.95 per hundred.  At 200 W. 5th Street                                             

•••••••••

Company C, 808th Medium Tank Battalion, a reserve Army unit, moved to its new location in the V.F.W. hall here last week.  At this meeting two new enlistees were sworn in by Capt. Floyd A. Riley of Wausau.  They are: Alfred Boushon of Chili, and Robert J. Langreck of Neillsville.  Capt. Mike Krultz, Jr., commanding officer, will discuss assignment to this unit and answer questions pertinent to reserve affairs at his office in the courthouse.

•••••••••

Only $1,770 buys a new 1954 Ford Tractor, delivered on your farm!

 

Hydraulic system, live-Action with Hy-Trol; Extra power with great new Ford “Red Tiger” engine.  New hydraulically operated Live Power Take-off.

 

Ask for a demonstration now at Svetlik Motor Co.                                         

•••••••••

Farm Auction. March 18, located 2 ½ miles east of Neillsville on Hwy 10.  C. J. Schlegelmilch, owner; Christensen Sales Co., Abbotsford, Clerk.

 

 

An early 1900s view of Dr. Rath’s residence, which included his business office on the right,

 Southwestern corner, it was located along County Road K, in the village of Granton

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