Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

November 24, 1999, Page 20

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clark County News

 

 

November 1909

 

One day last week a little girl, a stranger, made her appearance at the home of Herman Schlinsog’s, in the Heathville Community.  She was most joyfully welcomed into the Schlinsog home.

 

The Modern Woodsman Camp has instructed the managers of their hall, at York Center, to have the hall interior painted.  They have also purchased a new stove for their hall from Knoor-Rauch Hardware Co. of Granton.

 

A good number of the Disciple faith and their immediate friends took possession of the John Bruse home of Granton with a donation social for Wilson Mallory of Stevens Point last Friday evening.  Everyone enjoyed the visiting, music and ten o’clock lunch which was the evening’s program.  A donation of cash receipts amounted to $15.50.  That alone with a choice lot of Clark County potatoes, apples, honey, canned fruit and butter which were barreled, boxed and bagged up during the evening was sent to Mallory the next day.

 

John Aumann, who lives two miles north of Neillsville, on the west side of the Black River, took in $110 this year when he sold his sugar beet crop, grown on two acres.  C. W. Appleyard, Aumann’s neighbor, raised a small plot of sugar beets which yielded 28 tons per acre.

 

Judge Schoengarth took his mother, father and Gust Deutsch on an auto trip to Loyal, Withee, and Owen on Sunday.  He made the entire trip without any flat tires or other car problems. 

 

Stop at the Neillsville Bakery for fresh baked goods.  You can purchase 6 loaves of wheat bread for 25˘, or 3 loaves of rye bread for 25˘.  Joe Bast, Proprietor

 

A heavy rain Wednesday of last week and another rain on Friday and Saturday raised the Black River to flood stage, stopping all work on Dells Dam.  Several feet of splash boards on Hatfield pond raised the pond higher than it has ever been.

 

The President of the La Crosse Water Power Company, operating the Hatfield water power, has announced the aim of the company is to connect Winona, La Crosse, Sparta, Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, Menomonie, Hudson, St. Paul, and Minneapolis with a continuous inter-urban line.  The company is meeting some setbacks, Winona having turned down a 50 year franchise.  Several smaller cities have already granted franchises in this vicinity.

 

The big dam at the Dells is nearly completed which will give a pondage as large as the dam at Hatfield.  Next summer is generally believed a large reservoir dam will go in on East Fork and later one on Wedges Creek above Columbia.

 

The new restaurant, one door west of the Neillsville Bank, was opened last week with everything clean, bright and new.  A free lunch was served on Saturday, the place being thronged from 11:30 a.m. ‘til late in the afternoon.  Besides day and week boarders the proprietor wishes to announce that they furnish meals and lunches both hot and cold, do home baking of all sorts, and do catering for parties, banquets, etc.  A full line of baked goods and confectionery will always be on hand.

 

H. H. Eberhardt has been doing a “land office” business in pianos the past week.  He has sold one each to Wm. Korth of Grant, Emil Jahr of Grant, Ernest Hemp of Levis, the Gayety Theatre in Neillsville, besides two in Granton and one in Greenwood.  All of the sales are the famous Oakland piano manufactured by Hobart and Cable.

 

The Neillsville Overall factory has installed its own electric light system which also furnishes a day current to run the electric cutter.

 

Thursday, Nov. 25, is the day set apart by our state and nation for Thanksgiving.  Let the day be one of real thanksgiving, and do not let it pass idly only as a day of feasting.  There are none in this country of ours who have not something to be thankful for.  If fortune has not smiled upon you as you believe it should have, you perhaps ought to be grateful for health of yourself, and your family.  Looking back upon this past year, you should find some degree of satisfaction in it that gives you a reason to be thankful.

 

Let the day be one of real thanksgiving.

 

A carpet rag social will be held in the Shortville town hall on Dec. 3.  Proceeds will be given to the Shortville Sunday School.

 

Some of the Tioga people attended a dance at Mack Butler’s home Thursday night.  Roast pig was served along with other good food for supper. Everyone there reported a good time.

 

A. F. Bierman has sold his farm, northeast of the Clark County fairgrounds, known as the LaFlesh farm.  J. A. Phillips is the new owner of the property.  Bierman is moving to Milwaukee where he will fill a good clerical position.

 

W. J. Chandler brought in a beautiful bouquet of pansies which he picked from his garden here in Neillsville on the last day of November.

 

Chas. Wasserberger, Jr. and his sister, Katie, have opened a general store in their father’s building formerly occupied by H. Klein and later by Montieth and son.  They have brightened up the interior with paint and varnish.  The shelves are being stocked with a fresh stock of goods.  These young people have had considerable experience in the mercantile line and are well liked by all who have traded with them.  The new firm name is Chas. Wasserberger Company.

 

Lee Kidd, while out hunting Thursday had the misfortune to fall through the railroad bridge east of Granton.  He has been laid up since, with a badly bruised leg.  Think on this, Lee, you ought to be thankful it wasn’t worse.

 

November 1934

 

Clark County treasurer, J. H. Fradette, reports that on Nov. 1, 1934, Clark County will enter an additional 15, 760 acres with the Conservation Commission of the State of Wisconsin under the Forest Crop Act.  The acquired by Clark County by Tax Deed on July 14 and Oct. 30 of this year, and Clark County had previously 2,139 forties accepted by the commission on March 31, 1934.  Theis will bring the total acreage of Clark County’s Forest up to 101, 320 acres, or 2,533 forties.  The above lands are in the wild, uncultivated or “blueberry area” of the county, nearly 100 percent of the soil being of light, sandy origin, unfit for agriculture but suitable for he growing of a natural growth of trees.

 

The state will pay to Clark County on these lands so entered $1.60 per forty to the township in which they are located; another $1.60 to the school district in which they are located and to the county 80 cents per forty.  These several payments are in lieu of taxes, as lands of the county are not subject to taxation.  These monies are to be a part of the General fund of these various units and as the county have created and set up a County forest Reserve by referendum vote, the state will pay an additional $4 per forty to the county as a unit. With these two payments Clark County will receive from the State of Wisconsin a total of $20,264 on account of this entry of 2,533 forty acre tracts.

 

This money for these payments is obtained from the forestry fund of the state made available by an amendment of the constitution of the state, which provides for a tax of one-tenth of one mill to be levied on all taxable property within the state.  Clark County’s contribution to this fund for 1933 was $3,714 based on an assessed valuation of $37,140,000.  The $3,714 was paid to the state treasurer by J. H. Fradette, Clark County Treasurer in March, 1934.

 

Thus the delinquent tax lands which were carried on the tax rolls of the county for years as a liability, through the taking by the county of tax deeds to them, and entering them in forest crop, have been changed into a valuable asset, as the county would have to contribute its share of the one-tenth of a mill tax whether it had lands in forest crop or not. 

 

The Nov. 1, 1933 and Nov. 1, 1934 had the following entry totals in number of forties in following townships: Sherwood – 185; Washburn – 138; Levis – 88; Dewhurst – 247; Hewett – 332; Mentor – 190; Seif – 159; South Foster 390; Mead – 93; Butler – 285; a total of 101,320 acres.

 

The City of Neillsville has arranged to purchase a tract of seven and a half acres on the north side from what was formerly known as the Wick Lynch place, to fit up as a small park.

 

Located near the Lloyd farm, the tract lies adjoining the cemetery, being on the south side of the street and as well adapted for a park.  There is a spring out of which a small stream flows through a little valley where a dam may be easily built and form a nice little pond. There are a number of trees on the land.  Some of the lots which make up the tract will make desirable building sites after the park is developed. 

 

It’s planned to use relief labor in fitting up the park.  (That would have been the WPA program workers. D. Z.)

 

There will be a free dance held at Hake’s barn on Sunday night.  In case of cold weather, the dance will be held in the tavern.  Tuesday, Nov. 6, Lela Schmidt and Her Dutch Girls will provide dancing music at the Silver Dome. They are seven radio and stage artists from WTMJ.

 

The Neillsville Otto A. Haugen post of the American Legion dined on rabbits Tuesday night. Thirty-four rabbits were bagged in the hunt staged by the legion members on Sunday night. Glen Haven, adjutant, supervised the cooking.  All the nimrods agreed that he did a super job as cook. The hunting party hunted during the morning in Hewettville and in the afternoon northwest of Globe.  

 

Clark County’s new born Progressive party proved it hardy by knowing out all but the hardiest of its adversaries in the recent election.  Only James Fradette, County Treasurer, and John Peterson, candidate for District Attorney, remain as sole survivors of the power Democratic hordes that swooped down from nowhere two years ago and took possession of affairs in Clark County.  The Republicans had only a fable member of their clan, Sheriff Herman Olson, who must be credited with an asset from the other parties.

 

Clark County has purchased two gravel pits, one in the Town of Little Black, Taylor County, and the other one in the Town of Colby, purchase being requested by the highway committee for County use.

 

The Taylor County tract of 1.75 acres was bought from Adam Wauziniak for $525 and the Colby tract of w.5 acres from John Baumgartner for $1,400.

 

The committee also purchased one-quarter acre of right-away from August Dux near Globe where a concrete culvert will replace a stone arch.

 

The Dux hill on Highway G has been cut down three and a half feet as well as graveling the highway. The work was done with farm labor in payment of drought relief.

 

Plans are under way for a big backstop at the rifle range to handle new seven mile ammunition.

 

The army is now using the new M-Hi ammunition which shoots seven miles in comparison to the old ammunition which had a distance of two and a half miles. Capt. Ben Brown of the local Service Co., A., is taking steps to enlarge the back stop at the rifle range to comply with the safety regulations adopted by the U.S. Government.

 

Bids have been asked for raising the back drop to 25 feet with an additional 20 feet on each end, the job requiring the movement of approximately 3,000 yards of dirt.

 

The present road to the shale pit is to be moved 10 rods north and brush along the governments land is to be removed.

 

The state faced the alternative of either purchasing 250 acres of land back of the targets or raising and enlarging the back stop, the latter course being deemed the most practical and cheapest.

 

(The Co., A 3rd Infantry shooting range land is located long the Shale Pit road north side of Neillsville.  At one time the company’s rifle Marksmen fired at the target range along the Black River with the bunkered back drop being located 200 yards west of Sherman Creek. Sherman Creek was named after the Sherman family who had a home near the Shale pit area in the 1800’s.  Evidences of its existence remain though hidden by overgrowth of trees, brush and other vegetation. D.Z.)

 

(Thanks to Norman Lynch for the information, Lynch was a member of the local Guard unit, signing up when he was 14 or 15 years old.)

 

Ray’s South Side Food Mart as it appeared while in business along Division Street, in Neillsville circa 1940.  The building has been remodeled through the years and now is the site of the Olympia Family Restaurant.

 

 


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