July 1910

Notes from the July 4th parade:

The Woodman’s Lodge’s Log Cabin float drawn by oxen was a notable feature in the parade.

On the Workman’s float there was a forge in operation, with workman making an anchor and shield.

Miss Ethel Ring represented the Goddess of Liberty most becomingly.

Marsh’s Bros float and also C. C. Sniteman Co.’s float were too large to pass the O’Neill Creek Bridge and had to join the procession on the South Side of the creek.

The Savings Bank had a fine display of dry goods.

For representation of a business in actual operation, Taplin & Son’s float, took the cake.

A.S. Leason & Son’s float, a windmill and tank with a fountain playing, attracted considerable attention.

The barrel organ from the Neillsville Brewery rendered some very classical selections.

The display of farm machinery showed how the agricultural interests of Clark County are developing.

C.C. Sniteman Co. had a drug store in actual operation on its float.

Bottling Works was in operation on the Neillsville Brewery float.

B. Danger’s Co. float represented the Ship of State, with Miss Elsie as Columbia and Guy Matheson as George Washington.

Hagenbach’s trained lions are nowhere to Ketel Emil’s cage of wild beasts.

•••••••••

Mr. C. Esselman returned Saturday from an enjoyable trip abroad.  He left in the spring and on his trip took in sights through Canada to Montreal to Portland, Me., thence to Halifax, Nova Scotia, the northeastern part of Ireland, Liverpool, London through Holland to Munster, Westphalia, Germany his old home where he found a brother and sister and many old acquaintances.  While there, he accompanied his brother and a few friends, visiting the Paris exposition, after which he returned to Westphalia, Oldenburg, Hanover to Bremen, where he soon took passage on the Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse to New York.  On his way back to Wisconsin, he stopped at Milwaukee where he took in the Carnival and after, called on relatives at Newburg and West Bend.  He returned to the prosperous village of Loyal fully satisfied that Clark County and especially the Town of Loyal ranked among the first in the raising of stock and crops and says he will be satisfied with the productions of the soil along the 26 Road.                                                   

•••••••••

We want ten teams and a lot of men to work on the railroad eight miles northeast of Greenwood in the Town of Beaver, Clark County, also some men to take contracts on stations work.  Apply to G. M. Willis, engineer in charge, at the N. C. Foster Lumber Co.                                                                                        

•••••••••

Walk Bros. new annex will soon be ready for occupancy and will give that enterprising firm room for expansion.  Dr. Frank will occupy the office being fitted up between the store and Dwight Roberts, and with the extension of the latter’s fruit store, that corner will be pretty well occupied.                                      

•••••••••

A special town meeting is to be held in the Town of Weston to appropriate money to build a bridge across Cawley Creek at Fred Reber’s mill; at the same time a vote will be taken on dividing the town.

•••••••••

Tioga, rarely to be found ion even the latest maps, will in all probability, before another year is ended, be as familiar to us as Augusta, Humbird or any of the surrounding towns, for by that time it will be a pretty lusty infant if everything goes well.  Tioga is situated on the Fairchild & Northeastern Railway, about ten miles from Fairchild and is situated in what will someday be the garden spot of northern Wisconsin.  Land agents are busy bringing in settlers and almost every day sees a considerable increase of population.  A contract is about to be let for the building of a hotel to cost $2,000 and no doubt before long other business houses will be built.  A wagon road, eight miles long is being built northward from Tioga and it will cross the Eau Claire River.                                                                 

•••••••••

A family equipped with two strong teams and neatly fitted-up covered wagons passed through here Saturday from Phillips, on their way to Kansas.                                                                          

•••••••••

William A. Galligan, of the firm of Galligan & Linster now operating a saw mill at a point six miles northwest of Neillsville, was in the city last Sunday.  His mill has a supply of logs sufficient to keep it running until September 1st.  Mr. Galligan states that there is a rush of land seekers in his area and the vicinity is being settled rapidly.

•••••••••

Another wrestling match has been arranged between Fred Beell of Marshfield and Ed Adamson of Indianapolis for a purse of $500 and gate receipts, the match to be pulled off at Marshfield Wednesday evening, Aug.1st.  Both men have won a match and the contest will be close.  The strangle hold is barred.     

•••••••••

A.B. Marsh has now broken ground for his new feed store, which will be twenty-four by forty feet.  It will be located on the lot adjoining the building he now occupies.                                   

•••••••••

Paint Economy, Sherwin-Williams Mixed Paints are available at C.C. Sniteman Co.’s Mammoth Silver Front Drug Store.

•••••••••

For Sale - The Ernest Eilert farm comprising of 293 acres, two miles northeast of Neillsville, large clearing, good farm buildings and improvements.  It is one of the best stock farms in Clark County.  For price and terms enquire of Grow, Schuster & Co., Neillsville.

July 1955

Upward of 10,000 people sought relief from humid temperatures in the 90s over the holiday weekend as they flocked to the newly-developed bi-county bathing area on Lake Arbutus’ west bank.

At one time Sunday more than 250 cars were counted in the large parking area adjoining the beach, a part of the development made this year in a joint venture by Clark and Jackson Counties.

The beach is located not far from the mouth of Arnold Creek.  It provides a spacious swimming beach, picnic and parking areas, a bathhouse and a boat landing.  All of them were busy over the holiday.

•••••••••

Motor vehicles moving in and around Neillsville have been passing over frequent strands of black cable, which are stretched across pavements.  These cables run to recording devices fastened to utility poles at the side of the roads and streets.

The purpose of the devices is to measure the track.  Each vehicle passing over moves the counter and leaves its share of the traffic record.

These devices are placed by the State Highway Department.  They build the state’s statistical record, so that the highway department will have accurate information upon which to base traffic calculations.  The information eventually determines the policy in building and improving highways.                                

•••••••••

Realizing the value of religion in an atomic world, several Neillsville retail and service institutions are co-sponsoring a series of “Support the Church” advertisements.  The first of this series appears in this issue.  Others will be published each week for 26 consecutive weeks.

The series is nonsectarian.  It has been carefully worked out by the Kiester Advertising Service, which has set a high standard in church advertising.

The artwork is attractive, calling attention to inspirational messages on the general theme that churches are the greatest factor for the building of character and good citizenship.

The series has been well received in hundreds of communities throughout the nation and in Canada.  It has been a continuous feature in many newspapers for several years.

Several area businesses are sponsoring this effort.                                    

•••••••••

Marlene Aldinger, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Aldinger of Humbird, Rt. 1 was married July 2 to Earl Dayton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Dayton of Granton, Rt. 2.   The wedding took place in the Methodist Church at Neillsville with the Rev. Virgil Holmes officiating.

The young people will reside at 536 Grand Ave., Neillsville.  The groom is employed at the Roddis plant, Marshfield.

•••••••••

Forty to 45 years ago, a woman by the name of Mrs. Andy Christie chewed a Methodist minister up one side and down the other, for spelling her name “Christy.”  The dressing down she gave him was in front of the congregation.

It is a matter of conjecture what this same indignant Mrs. Andy Christie might do to the state highway department if she were alive today.

For the new highway signs at Christie are spelled: “Christy.”

And it’s in bold, block type for the entire motoring world to see.

The Mrs. Christie, who had the fortitude to tempt the disposition of her soul in the hereafter, was a member of the Christie family from which the community seven miles north of Neillsville takes its name.

According to Allen Forman, now 84 and with a memory of Christie dating back 78 years to the time he was a lad of six, Christie was named after Bob Christie.  He was one of the early-day lumbermen of southern Clark County.  And he owned property adjoining the present County Trunk H, and on both sides of the present location of Highway 73.

He and all the other Christies around there spelled his name with an “ie:” never with a “y.”  And so have all the people who have lived there for the past decades.  The post office, which stood on the southeast corner of property now owned by Henry Harder, had it spelled with an “ie.”  But that post office died with the coming of rural free delivery to that area.  That was a matter of a little more than 50 years ago.

Documentary evidence down through the years, excepting one road map put out, as memory serves, lists the community as “Christie.”

But we believe that we know how the state highway department will feel when the misspelling is brought to its attention.  Being in the business wherein the pitfalls of misspelling of proper names are a common occupational hazard, we feel a little sorry for the aforesaid state highway department.

A visit with Mr. Forman, who retains a keen memory of early days despite is advanced age, brought out a few items, which will interest people of the Neillsville-Christie area.

The first general store at Christie was built by Edwin Hatch on property just south of the present location of the LaVerne Cutts store.  The land at that time was owned by Steve Jones, whose property now largely constitutes the farm of Fred Buchholz.

Mr. Hatch sold the store to Edwin Jr., and he sold to Samuel Smiley, who moved it across the highway.  That original Christie general store now houses the feed mill portion of the Christie Feed Store, which recently went into the hands of Alvin Wold. 

In the early days, too, the Chadwick name was as well known as now, and Tom Chadwick, the grandfather of Millard, was a rugged pioneer settler of the area.

On occasion, Mr. Forman recalled, Tom Chadwick, feeling a sense of importance not born of water would make a majestic sweep of his arm and declare for all to hear:

“We, Bob Christie and I, have got more money than those ponies can haul up the turnpike!”

Originally, on the west side of Highway 73, the property between Hediger’s corner and George Schaefer’s corner was owned by Loren Gates and George Morse.  The distance was placed at 160 rods by Mr. Forman, who said that Mr. Gates owned the south 80 rods and Mr. Morse the north 80 rods.                                   

•••••••••

In the early morning light last Sunday the first of the Vet’s Village 12 units was removed, marking the beginning of a probable slow death to that development on Hill Street, near the new Memorial Hospital.  The first unit was being hauled away to Camp Higichari, the Boy Scout Camp on Lake Arbutus.  There it will be used as a barracks.  It is being provided to the camp by the city.  Volunteers helping with the move were: Dick Albrecht, Elmer F. Buddenhagen, Jack Albrecht, Joe Zilk, Jr., Louis Zschernitz, Arthur Meyer, Francis Laatsch, Albert (Pete) Smith and Jack Tibbett.

•••••••••

Wheels have started grinding fast toward the completion of a gymnasium-auditorium unit for the Granton School district.  The hope of those closely connected with the project is that the new structure may be ready for use by late November or early December.

The go-ahead was given only last Thursday, when electors of the school district approved a referendum authorizing the school board to borrow, or bond, $45,000 for the project.  The vote was a top-heavy 114 to 36 approval.

•••••••••

Dr. Sarah Rosekrans was in charge of the service Sunday morning at the First Congregational Church, Neillsville, in the absence of the pastor, The Rev. Frank Harcey, who was on vacation.

Selecting five of the outstanding hymns of all times, Dr. Sarah brought a message of music that was well-received and highly appreciated.  With poise, dignity and beautiful rhetoric, Dr. Sarah carried her audience with her musical journey for the period of early Bible times down to the present.

With many years of extensive studies and training in Music for a background, Dr. Sarah was well qualified to handle her subject and did so magnificently.  Her prayer for peace was a sermon in itself.  Following the request by President Eisenhower that all churches join in a prayer for success of the “Big Four” meeting at Geneva, Dr. Sarah gave major thought in her prayer to the unfortunate peoples of the world and asked The Master of Light for guidance at Geneva.

The beautiful hymns selected by the speaker were: “God Bless Our Native land,” “Rock of Ages,” “Dear Lord and Father of mankind,” “Silent Night,” and “Rise up Ye Men of Old.”  Led by Dr. Sarah, the congregation joined in singing the hymns, which she had so ably chosen for her musical message.  The service was a highlight of the year in the church.

Dr. Sarah Rosekrans along with her husband, Dr. Milton, served as physicians in the Neillsville community for several years.  She was the daughter of a Congregational minister, and started singing hymns, solo in church as a pre-schooler.  DZ)

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤