Clark County Press, Neillsville, Wisconsin

July 19, 2017, Page 9

Contributed by "The Clark Co. Press"

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

Clark County News

July 1882

 

Mr. Ashley Peters is replacing and lengthening the bride across Yellow River east of the Cole schoolhouse and is making a good job of it.  So, it should be that all our contractors were trying to finish their road jobs.

 

The Town of Sherman is bound to thrive.  A new Town hall will be built this summer at the corners by Cole’s schoolhouse, and a large amount of money has been expended for making new roads and repairing old ones.  Kayhardt evidently is a good chairman.

 

(The Cole’s Corner community was at the intersection of Cole’s Corner Road and County Road Y, between Spencer and Loyal.  At one time it had a town hall, schoolhouse, and cheese factory. DZ)

•••••••••

Our city was pretty well deserted on the 4th, many citizens going into the country to attend the various picnics and celebration s, which were held in neighboring towns.  In fact, the day was the quietest of any one experienced this season.  A grove, near the fairgrounds, outside the city limits, was the scene of a picnic given by Ernest Leidholdt, and was pretty general patronized by our German friends of this city, and neighborhood.  A good time was reported by those in attendance.                              

•••••••••

A picnic under the supervision of the “Sons of Herman” will be given in the grove north of Fred Mick’s residence on the North Side, next Sunday afternoon.                                       

•••••••••

E. H. Markey has commenced work on the foundation of a new residence, which he is building in Hewett’s new addition to the city of Neillsville.  The site selected by Mr. Markey is a very desirable one, and the residence he is building will be a great improvement to that part of the city.

•••••••••

Wm. Wolbert, living near Humbird, who has just completed burning a tar pit or kiln, has drawn off over 600 gallons of tar, and will have about 500 bushels of charcoal of superior quality, said to be almost equal to stone coal for mechanical uses.  Mr. Wolbert uses the knots and pitchy roots in old pine chippings, and will make a small fortune from his new industry.   

 

 (On the First Land Owner’s map of Mentor Township it shows that Mr. Wolbert homesteaded 80 acres in Section 22. DMK)                                         

•••••••••

The pump for the well at the fairground has been received, and will be tested as soon as a windmill power can be procured.  The well is 176 feet deep, passing through three veins of water and now contains 33 feet of water.

•••••••••

Last Saturday, Dr. W. C. Crandall sold his splendid drug store, and stock to Messrs. J. J. and C.A. Youmans, citizens of our county, and all will regret to learn that he contemplates leaving a field in which his usefulness is so well known.  The cause of the contemplated change is the continued ill health of the party first named, who hopes to be benefited by a change of climate.  Just what locality is to be favored with his citizenship is not determined.  His intention at present being to settle somewhere in Colorado or Texas.  As a businessman, and physician, Dr. Crandall will be greatly missed.                        

•••••••••

Dr. Morley is now the happy possessor of a youthful parrot.  When the bird grows up and learns to “cuss” its owner and saw the legs off from all the furniture that comes within its reach, it may still be a comfort to him, provided the Doctor is well enough versed in “cuss words” to out-swear the bird.

•••••••••

“Harvesting” in the courthouse park has commenced.  The grass has been cut, and stacked.

•••••••••

A frost visited this section of the country Monday night.  All green vegetation, however, is out of the way of its blighting kiss, except tomato plants, beans, and the editor of The Press.

•••••••••

Loyal News:

The sawmill of John Graves & Son has shut down after haying.

 

There was a picnic at the Dodgeville schoolhouse at the closing for a month’s vacation.  The attendance was large, and a good time generally the result.  The school is taught by Mr. Ezra Priest, who by the way, is one of the best teachers in the county.  Everything was pleasant.  A good dinner was served, and both old and young appeared to enjoy it.

 

Mr. Cullen Ayer, the lumberman from Unity, was in town yesterday, and recorded his mark, buying a belt and two hacks.                                                                                            

•••••••••

Last Thursday evening, some party unknown fired two pistol shots at Henry McGrath while he was looking for cows near his place of residence, in the Town of Colby.  The first ball fired passed through his hat, and the second lodged in his arm, making an ugly flesh wound, but one not considered dangerous.  The caliber of the ball extracted was .22.  The shooting was evidently done intentionally, but no one has any suspicion as to who the attempted assassin is.

 

July 1952

 

A bag of strawberries was paid to William A. Campman as a lawyer’s fee in the early days.  The berries were mushy, and the juice ran out of the bottom of the bag.  Once he was paid a pumpkin, and once, some old horseradish root.

 

The kind of payment sounds odd in contrast with the cash of today, but half a century ago, payments of that sort were common.  Not many years ago even editors were expected to take wood and maple syrup.

 

Recollections of the early days have been brought to memory of Mr. Campman by his turn of a half-century as a lawyer.  It was 50 years ago that he graduated from the law school of the university, and launched upon his career.  Last weekend, he was honored by membership in the Half Century Club of the university.  He and his classmates were given Golden Jubilee certificates.

 

Mr. Campman’s interest as a lawyer has been, and is, very largely in the title of real estate.  To most layment, and to many lawyers, this is a deadly and dull activity.  Nothing is less exciting to most persons than a description of a piece of real estate.  But Mr. Campman sees in descriptions more the mechanics of transfer.  He sees human nature at work, often carelessly and erroneously.  As a realty lawyer, he becomes a sort of a detective of the records, finding descriptions, and lack of them, the evidence of human efficiency or the reverse of it.  He has spent much of his active life in straightening the mix-ups, which have been due to human failures.  It has been interesting to Mr. Campman that although in early days many persons filed to have their land recorded, he could secure a certified copy of the government patent without any trouble.  In the 48 years of sending to Washington for government patents, and he has sent for a thousand or more, only five times has he been unable to get certified copies without any trouble.

 

In the early days, land wasn’t recorded as diligently as now.  Sometimes people wanted it only for the timber and didn’t care about the land.  One instance, he remembers, concerned 40 acres, part of which is now the city of Owen, and for which he had trouble getting the patent.  His attorneys and Mr. Grow, who was in the office with Mr. Campman at the time, had to go to Ohio, and Kentucky to get releases from the persons originally entering the land.  The land had been transferred, but the government claimed the transfer had been forged, so it wouldn’t issue a patent until there was a release from the original estate.  This was obtained, but it cost about $2,000.

 

Mr. Campman planned to be a lawyer when he was very young, and he didn’t let anything stop him.  He didn’t have a father’s help because his father died a month before his birth.  He came with his mother to Neillsville when he was very young.  He came as a small child to Hatfield on the train, and by stagecoach came along the river road past the big spring, and Dells Dam, which was a logging dam.  He remembers traveling this road on blueberrying expeditions going with the team and wagon.  The Campman’s came to, Neillsville to be with his grandfather, Frank Plischke, who was working on the construction of buildings in Neillsville.  Among those buildings were the Courthouse and the Penney Store building.

 

When he graduated from the Neillsville High School in 1896, he went to work for O’Neill and marsh, attorneys who had their offices across the street from their present office.  After he had worked for a while, he entered the University of Wisconsin.  Shortly after the Spanish American War began, he became a member of Co. A, part of the Third Wisconsin Regiment.  After the war was over, he went back to school, working to pay his way.  He was secretary to the two deans of the university law school, and this paid his tuition, and a little more.  He has saved some of his pay as an army corporal at $17 per month.

 

Mr. Campman graduated from the university in 1902.  He came back to Neillsville and worked as court reporter for James O’Neill, who had become Judge O’Neill.  Two years later, he entered the firm of Charles F. Grow, and J. F. Schuster, who were in the title and abstract business, and he has been in the same office ever since.

 

The most important lesson, which has come to Mr. Campman in 50 years of realty practice, is the vital need of recording instruments. Time after time, clients have been in trouble because of failure to record a deed. Papers are burned or lost, and if they are not on record, the road is paved for expense in clearing title, sometimes even title and possession are at stake.  In the case of mortgages, there is the danger that a mortgage, not on record, shall lose its priority, with resultant loss or money.  The only safe way, Mr. Campman emphasizes, is to place upon record instruments affecting property.  Then accidents to papers are of minor importance; then, also the public has notice, through the records, of the status of the property and is warned against any transaction, which is not consistent with the property’s legal notice.

 

(Campman’s grandfather, Frank Plischke, as a construction worker, would have worked on building the second Clark County Courthouse and the Hewett & Woods building on the northwest corner of Hewett and 5th Street intersection.

 

How observant are you as you walk along the 500 block of Hewett Street?  If you were to look up, near the top of the facade of the Hewett & Woods building you would see the letters H&W, and below that, the numbers 1872, the date the building was built, set on a stone block within the bricks.  In the mid-1870s, that building was referred to as “The Brick Store,” as it was the first and only brick building in Clark County.)

 

Clark County’s second courthouse was built in 1879 for the cost of $35,000.  It replaced a frame courthouse building built on Courthouse Square in 1854 at a cost of $1,800.  Frank Plischke, grandfather of William (Bill) Campman, was one of the men who worked on constructing the second courthouse.

 

•••••••••

Now Open for Your Enjoyment – Jerry’s Resort.  Jerry’s resort is ideally located in the heart of Clark County, Wisconsin.  From Greenwood go south 2 miles to Highway 98, then east on 98 one mile, south 3 miles, and east to the lake.

 

The resort is in it infancy.  The lake covers about 60 acres, and is spring fed.  For rest, relaxation, and a good time, come to Jerry’s Resort.  Serving Refreshments and Lunches.

 

Gerald F. Neuenfeldt, Owner.

 

(The resort was short lived, as some time in the late 1950s, high flood waters took out the dam, which had held the lake in place.  The dam, west of Cawley Creek, wasn’t rebuilt.  The resort was located off Fairground Road, eastward one-fourth mile on the dead-end, Resort Road. CZ)                                                                     

•••••••••

A house that has been unoccupied for 25 years is going to be lived in again.  That place is known as the Korman house, located on the northeast corner of Hewett and Ninth Streets.  Through a series of transactions involving a number of heirs, the house has been acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Arden Hinklemann.  The house is in very good condition, considering the long period of vacancy.  Mrs. Hinklemann says it does need papering, and painting, but the varnished woodwork is still nice.  A good scrubbing is about all the woodwork will need.  However, in all that time of standing idle, the house has accumulated some dirt.  The Hinkelmanns are now working on the house to get it ready to occupy.  This means quite some scrubbing because the house does have ten rooms.  Mr. and Mrs. Hinklemann also plan some remodeling to make the place more convenient and modern.

 

The house was the home of Mary Korman who died December 7, 1951.  While she was living, she wished no one to live in the house.  She and her husband had bought the place about 55 years ago.  It was then a one-story house, and the Korman’s built on to make the ten rooms.  Here the Korman’s and their family lived until Mr. Korman died.  Mrs. Korman stayed on in the house for 6 to 7 years after her husband’s death with her son Jake.  Then, she went to live with her daughter, Susie Thoma, for a number of years.  When Mrs. Korman became bedridden, she and her daughter moved to the home of Mrs. Korman’s granddaughter, Mrs. Claude Ayers, where she died.  Mrs. Korman had never wanted to sell or rent her house.  It had been her home, and there she had raised her family.  So as long as she lived, the house stayed just the way she had left it.

 

The Korman’s were among the early business leaders of Neillsville.  The husband, H. E. Korman, ran a profitable wagon works in the present Ray Paulson building.

 

(The Korman Wagon Works building was located on the northeast side of O’Neill Creek, 815 Hewett Street. DZ)

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