Good Old Days  

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

Clark County News

1892

Ground was broken yesterday, June 1^st, for the Unitarian Church basement, corner of Fifth and Clay Streets. 

The Neillsville City Council had a busy evening on May 28.  Amendment was made on a proposed ordinance by adding, “That any saloon keeper so desiring to keep open after ten o’clock p.m. shall pay into the city treasury five dollars per month to help defray the expense of night police,” was lost.  The north half of Hewett Street is being repaired; and Furlong’s hill will be reduced, as will be decided by the council.  Two electric lights will be installed: one at or near the culvert crossing the south half of Hewett Street, and one at or near the lower bridge across O’Neill Creek.

The Street Commissioner has asked the city for bids on the erection of bridges in accordance with plans selected by the committee.  A probable cost of abutments and super-structures of bridges across O’Neill Creek and Black River will be reported on, at the next council meeting.

The boiler at Hoseley’s saw mill in West Weston exploded Monday forenoon shortly after starting up, doing considerable damage to the mill.  No one was injured severely, except Gus, who was knocked off the carriage and under a bench.  The engineer received a scalp wound.

Heavy rains this week created some flooding in the area, the Black River being the highest since the flood eleven years ago.  Logs by scores of thousands went plunging downstream, as well as old tree roots and stumps.  Two or three families living on the flats north of O’Neill Creek west of Grand Avenue Bridge were driven from their homes.  An old unused well under Gates, Standard & Co.’s had a sinking spell on account of rains and swallowed a barrel of molasses and a few other things to build up its cistern.  The big rain also flooded the Hintzicker (Huntzicker) saloon for a short time, and nobody seemed to be dry.  Baker Oswald stood in the water knee deep or less, baking bread. It was a funny situation for a dusty baker man.

Charles Lee has set up a fine soda foundation business in the city, of Dwight Roberts fame. 

June 1917

F. L. Reinhardt has leased the Merchants Hotel barn, to be remodeled into a modern garage.  The firm will be known as Central Garage as the Reinhardt & Naedler business has been dissolved.  Reinhardt retains the Chevrolet and Oldsmobile agency, as well as the Harley-Davidson motorcycle agency.

Last week the newly incorporated village of Curtiss held its election and is now on the map.  Fred Machlett was elected president and B. B. Green will represent the village on the County Board of Supervisors.

Dr. K. W. Doege, president of the Marshfield Clinic, has received his call from the government.  All of the clinic doctors volunteered their services in the medical Corps some months ago.

Alfred Carl and Clara Weiting were married May 16, 1917, at the home of the bride’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Weiting, Town of Pine Valley.  Rev. Reiff of Granton officiated with Irving Carl, the groom’s brother, as groomsman and Ida Weiting, the bride’s sister, as bridesmaid.  The young couple will carry on the Carl farm at the Mound and his parents will move to their home in Neillsville.

C. Rabenstein is making preparations to start work in the Neillsville Overall Factory, utilizing the machines for manufacturing women’s garments, adding one or two new machines for special work.

Mrs. Helen C. Wilkerson, of Chicago, will be superintendent of operations with experience in designing and manufacturing of ladies’ garments.

Free lemonade will be served at the Community Store, in Neillsville, during the hot summer months, if you purchase a dozen Lead Blown Crystal Table Tumblers at seven cents each.  With each tumbler purchase, you will receive one large juicy lemon free – so, free lemonade.

Neillsville’s baseball team won their opening fame of the season by beating the Marshfield team 11 to 7.  They will take on the Greenwood team for a game at the fairgrounds next Sunday.  Dresden’s two cars will run free from the city to the grounds for those wanting to watch the ballgame.

June 1937

Southern Clark County lost one of its pioneers this past week, Rinaldo (Nal) L. French, age 80.

French was born in Monroe, Wis. and came here with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. H. B. French when he was ten years old.  He grew up on a farm south of Neillsville and as a young man, worked in the logging industry.

In his early life, all timber was felled with axes and he was considered one of the best choppers along the river.  He was also one of the last down-river tote teamsters.  Before the railroad came to Neillsville in 188l, many of the supplies came from Hatfield, Black River Falls and La Crosse by way of wagons.  French did the arduous work of a teamster for several winters.  He worked five years for Daniel Gates.

Later French carried on his farm work in South Pine Valley, and did chopping and clearing for neighbors in the winter.

All is not apples that look rosy – as Art Kunze found out.  Kunze has always liked a good apple and his whole family likes good apples.

So it was not strange that he should buy a case of them last week when a peddler appeared at his home and offered him a bargain in swell eating apples.  After the family indulged their appetite for apples Kunze carried the remainder down cellar where they would keep better.

A few days later, one of his children went to the cellar to bring up a container of apples, and also carried up a large mail order catalog reportedly found in the apple box.  Upon investigating, Kunze was surprised to find the entire bottom half of the box was filled with old catalogs and paper.

Kunze would like very much to meet the peddler again.  He says the catalogs are of good quality paper, but he has more use at this time for apples than paper.  At any rate he doesn’t like buying catalogs at Delicious prices!

Rural school graduates from all over Clark County will gather at the fair grounds Saturday at 1:30 p.m. for the Eighth Grade Commencement exercises to be held under the direction of Laurence Millard, superintendent.

Alice Wendt, of Longwood School, Owen, has set a record attained by very few school children in the state.  She is graduating from eighth grade this June with a perfect attendance record for every school year of the eight years she attended the Longwood School.  She lives two miles from school.

The Clark County Rural Electrification Co-operative met at Greenwood Friday and voted to join other nearby cooperatives in building an $850,000 power plant and transmission line to furnish electric current to members of the group.

Under the proposed plan, the power house, equipped with five diesel engines of 750 horsepower each, will be situated in Chippewa County, feeding power to REA Co-ops of Clark, Taylor, Buffalo, Trempealeau, Dunn, St. Croix, Pierce and Jackson Counties.

Big dance at Hake’s Barn on Saturday night: music by Mickies Entertainers, located two miles east and south of Neillsville.  Free dance at the Riverside Sunday nite, six mile south and west of Neillsville.

 June 1947

June 14, Dance at Merry Ol’Gardens north of Greenwood: Music by Sturtz Swing Kings; Wedding of Virginia Smith & Ed Brown.

A summer playground program will start on June 13^th under the direction of Coach Alfred Hovey for all city school age boys and girls.

Meeting to arrange for the summer schedule and to determine games to be played will be held 10 a.m. at Northside School playgrounds and 2 p.m. at the Southside School playground.

Coach Hovey also announced that a practice will be held at 2 p.m., June 12 at the fairground for candidates for the American Legion Junior baseball team.  All youths up to 18 years of age are eligible.

Sniteman’s treasure went to the junk pile this week.  A 60-year accumulation of paper, bottles, etc. made up twenty-five loads to be hauled to the city dump.  Eight ton of waste paper was sent the paper mill in Wisconsin Rapids. 

The Neillsville Community knew C. C. Sniteman as a man of generosity and public spirit.  He was proud of his business and proud of his public relations.  He worked hard and did not hesitate to put his earnings into things that were intended to help build the community.  He was certainly no miser.

So it will come as a surprise to the Neillsville community to learn that he was also among the most saving of men.  He threw practically nothing away.  It was not that he felt miserably; it was just that he might need the things some time or other.  So he chucked them away in the basement or upstairs, an assortment of treasures.

He saved paper of every sort; even newspapers went into the piles of valuables.  Used twine was obviously of value, as it was taken off in (of) packages and put into barrels.  Two barrels of it were used to bundle up the paper sent to the paper mill.

Bottles were logical treasure.  He bought them and had them washed.  Then they were put into boxes and cartons and piled up in the basement to the ceiling.  They made the greater part of nine truckloads. 

When Sniteman saved bottles, he intended to use them.  To him at the time it seemed as though bottles would certainly be permanent treasure, always of use to a manufacturing druggist who made cough syrup and liniments.  The bottles Sniteman saved for more than half a century became out of date.  The space they occupied was more valuable than the bottles – so they were hauled to the dump.

Bottles out of style?--Most of those old bottles were made to look big and hold little.  They were tall and square, with lots of glass.  In those days it was thought to be good salesmanship to sell a big bottle.  The label did not tell the quantity, as it does today.

When Sniteman saved wall paper, he of course, had no idea wall paper would undergo a change in styles.  There were at least 500 rolls of 18-inch border tucked away in storage and now that no one would buy 18-inch border, it had gone out of style.  Similarly certain dark and ornate patterns for side walls were outdated.  The once high esteem wallpaper made up two truckloads.

Among the relics were two helmets of the Army Medical Corps, once worn by Sniteman.  There were several old style phonographs, including one or more Edison, of cylinder type, and one of a large disc model which had never been un-packed and originally listed to sell at $175.  Such phonographs now have little value.

The final clean-up of Sniteman’s old treasures was done to remove a serious fire hazard.  All that old stuff was just depreciating, becoming more worthless, month by month.

(Now, after reading of Sniteman’s treasures ending up in the city dump, are “treasure seekers” feeling a little sick?  I am!  What a difference 50 years made in values of antiques and collectibles!)

The Haugen-Richmond Post #73, American Legion Junior Baseball Team of 1946 or 1947 in Neillsville.  First Row, left to right: Frank Wasserberger, Gordy Hahn, Wally Erickson, Dick Tibbett, Todd Wall and Marvin “Pooch” Meihak.  Second Row: Chuck Swenson, Glen Lezotte, Bud Handke, Bob Eggeman and Rollie Jenni.  Third row: Coach Al Hovey, bat boy (Unidentified), Al Bradberry, Karl Peterson, and Jim Vincent.  (Photo courtesy of Dick Tibbett, Svetlik Ford Garage co-sponsored the team with Legion Post #73)