Clark County Press, Neillsville,

June 22, 2005, Page 14

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

 

Clark County News

June 1914

 

Mrs. Sterns, on the North Side, has for sale and ready to transplant when the season advances, the following flower plants: Asters, five kinds, different colors; Pansies, six kinds, pure white and five other colors; Longfellow Daisies, rose colored; German Carnations of different colors; Peony roots, three different kinds.  Those who have bought Mrs. Stearns’ flowers in previous years know what thrifty fine plants she raises.

••••••••••

Miss Annabelle Hutton, formerly an assistant in the Neillsville High School, will be here to spend the weekend with Miss Mabel Cannon.  Next year, Miss Hutton goes to work with Prof. Snodgrass in the Barron County Training School at a salary of $1,000.

••••••••••

There will be a dance at Dan Sack’s Barn Saturday night.  Everyone is invited. There will also be a dance, that night, with good music at the Lincoln Hall.

 

Friday, June 11, you can dance at Wasserburger’s Hall.  It will provide good music and be managed well. Everybody come and enjoy the evening.

••••••••••

Matt Marx was recently granted a patent on a trace coupler for a harness, which makes this the third harness patent he has received. A draft horse shift for a hame was one and a buggy safety holdback was another of these useful inventions.  Mr. Marx and Herman Carl are now putting up a building in the rear of the harness shop in which they expect to manufacture the holdback.

••••••••••

Last week, a contract was let to Krasin Bros. of Marshfield for the complete rebuilding of the Neillsville Bank.  The old building, including the building south and formerly occupied by the Fair Store, will be torn down to the bottom of the basement wall and a new building erected.  It will be modern in every way and of beautiful design.  The super structure will be brick.

 

The telephone offices have been moved over the Commercial State Bank.  Dr. Creswell will move his office into the second story of the new Thos. Lowe building where the lower story of the building will also provide room for the Neillsville Bank to carry on their business until their new building is ready for use.

••••••••••

Horace Vande Berg and Miss Fern Alton, both of York, were married at Neillsville last Thursday, June 18. The bridal couple was attended by Edward Voigt and Miss Ida Vande Berg.  After the wedding ceremony, the bridal party and relatives of the bride and groom traveled to the home of the groom’s parents, John Vande Berg and wife where they partook of a bountiful repast.  At 8 p.m. the charivari party was on hand and there was music in the air.  Mr. and Mrs. Vande Berg expect to go to housekeeping in a few days on the groom’s farm.  We join their many friends in well wishes for a bright and happy future.

••••••••••

An East Pine Valley man believes in “killing two birds with one stone.”  We can say truthfully that he lives up to this old saying, for Sunday he was seen sitting on the bank of O’Neill Creek fishing and at the same time soaking his feet in the creek’s water, trying to get relief from his corns.

••••••••••

A lot of “hammering” is going on at the South Side of Neillsville, all to a good purpose. Four fine new houses are going up, in sight of one another; Mike Prock’s, Joe Zimmerman’s, G. L. Zimmerman’s and John Carter’s.  There are also many repairs and minor improvements being done on other houses.  Jesse Lowe has completed a screened porch on his residence, which will add greatly to the pleasure of the family during the hot summer days and nights.

••••••••••

The Cash Hardware Company has the 1914 Harley-Davidson motorcycle on display.  This year, it has startling exclusive improvements.  It features a step-starter, selective two-speed, double brake control, double control of free wheel, folding foot boards, full-floating seat and many other important improvements.  The step-starter starts the machine with the rider in the saddle and both wheels on the ground.  All of these features stood the test of months and months of hard road service.  If the motor accidentally stalls, you no longer have to set the machine up on the stand to re-start it.  A downward push on either of the pedals and the motor again begins to throb, ready to go.

 

June 1955

 

A deluge of rain, measured semi-officially at four inches in approximately 18 hours early last Sunday, sent Hay Creek on a rampage.  Its raging waters cut a new channel through at Rock Dam.

 

The new channel by-passes Rock Dam, which was built about 18 years ago by the county to form a recreational lake, and by-passes the highway bridge just below the dam.  It is 55 yards southwest of the dam.

 

The new channel is about 50 yards long and about 50 feet wide where it cut through a roadway, skirting the lake at this point.  Through this canyon was tumbling a raging torrent Monday morning, knifing its way to join the old creek bed just below the highway bridge.

 

The break came probably between five and six o’clock Sunday, hours after the 18-hour heavy rainfall ended.

 

It was between five and six in the morning that Ronald Lindemann of Davenport, Ia., was awakened in the cabin, which he was renting on the bluff just above the new confluence.  He said he looked out of the cabin window and noted that a channel about four feet wide had been cut across the road.

 

Mrs. Lindemann said she heard the roar of the water a little later, but believed it to be the noise of an unusually high wind.

 

Other weekend cottagers from Chicago, staying on the other side of the lake noted, about six a.m. that the lake level seemed to sink down rapidly.

 

The Hay Creek drains a large area of that portion of Clark County.  Much of it is a flat country, with plenty of wood-lands and swamps to slow up the drainage. Consequently, on Monday morning the run-off through the new channel remained high.  There was no way of telling, for that reason, just how deeply the channel had cut.

 

One of the recreational areas of Clark County, Rock Dam resorts were suffering from lack of Memorial holiday business because of the tremendous rainfall and the fact that the new channel cut through the road leading to one of the resort areas. The rainfall also took out several bridges thereabouts.

 

Among the bridges out were the one over Iron Run, west of Rock Dam; one at Windy Run, just south of Rock Dam; and a third, this one really a washout around a large culvert designed to contain the waters of Hay Creek located two miles south of Rock Dam.

 

The rainfall started Saturday morning. Throughout the day and into the night “it rained as hard as I have ever seen it,” said Mrs. Tom Krejci, wife of a tavern keeper a few miles southeast of Rock Dam.

 

The viciousness and force of the water, as it broke through was shown on the bank of the bluff just below the confluence of the old and new channels of Hay creek, at a point where the creek bed turns.  Watermarks were in evidence as much as 20 feet above the level of the creek Monday morning and that level was far higher than ordinary.  There was much evidence of washing and washouts along this stretch of the creek.

 

For once, the troublesome Eau Claire River had not caused concern and waste at Mead Dam.  There, the planking had removed the spillway long since, and the side gates had been opened in advance.  The lake level, on Monday morning, was considerably below normal, rather than above. The waters had at no time been high enough to threaten either the dam or the dyke.

••••••••••

The Catlin School, located east of Loyal, will be joined to the Loyal School District, according to the order decided upon Monday evening by the Clark County School Committee.  The order following a formal hearing, in which the electors of the district had opportunity to express themselves.

 

The meeting was not especially voluble, to the extent that there was opposition.  It took the form mainly of questions about the bus service.  Parents were concerned about the extent to which the bus service could be fitted to the comfort of the children.  Mr. Berry, the Loyal principal, was present.  He promised cooperation about the buses.

••••••••••

We’re sure that to have the new owner of the Christie Store and Feed Mill in active management and control, Christie will take another step ahead as a growing business location of rural Clark County.

 

Located at the crossroad of State Highway 73, which cuts north-to-south through the heart of Clark County and County Trunk H, east-to-west, Christie’s location is ideal for the serving of a large and prosperous farm area of Clark County.

 

The truth of this is indicated by the strides in business growth made by this community since the war.  New enterprises and buildings for business, manufacturing and recreation include: an outdoor theater, television sales and service business, an enlarged and active farm implement & lumber business, and a new and modern cheese factory.  It numbers, in addition, a general store, a feed mill, a second general store specializing in groceries, a convivial tavern, a school and two churches.

 

Christie businessmen are admirably well located to serve the people of a large area. We invite you to stop and do business in Christie, the growing crossroad of Clark County.

 

(Names of those businesses were: Cutts’ Store with groceries & general merchandise, Christie Store & Feed Mill; The Dakota Club Tavern, Ted Kuester, proprietor; Community Drive-Inn Theatre, operated by Mr. Wold & Family; Hediger Dairy; Sonderegger Radio & TV; Ben Schwellenbach Implement & Lumber Co. D.Z.)

••••••••••

The 50th anniversary of Zion Evangelical and Reformed Church will be celebrated Sunday, June 19.  A worship service at 10:30 a.m. will be conducted by Rev. B. M. Fresenborg, of Random Lake, who served the church from 1941 to 1951.  Rev. Otto Vriesen of Hamburg, Minn. will conduct the service at 2:30 p.m.  Memorials will be dedicated.  Rev. Vriesen served Zion Church from 1921 to 1926.  A dinner will be served at noon.

 

The congregation was organized January 15, 1905, under the name of “Deutsch-Evangelisch-Reformierte Zions Gemeinde” in the city of Greenwood.  Charter members were Christ Kippenhan, C. H. Hoffman, Christian A. Braun, A. H. Noetzel, Louis C. Kleinschmidt, Edward Buker, August H. Baumann, Carl Kleinschmidt, J. C. Baumann and Otto A. Prellwitz.  Rev. John Schmalz served the congregation until 1908; then Rev. Otto J. F. Saewert from 1908 until 1916; Rev. F. Hall from 1916 until 1921; Rev. Otto J. Vriesen from 1921 to 1926; Rev. Erwin G. Pfeiffer from 1926 to 1941; Rev. B. M. Fresenborg from 1941 to 1951.

 

In the fall of 1951, it was decided to reconstitute the three congregations in this area, as one charge.  As a result, services were discontinued at Salem Church and the members merged with the West Side and Zion churches.  Rev. Charles Koch, the present pastor, took up the work of the merged churches on January 1, 1952.

 

During the present pastorate, new furnaces were installed in both church and parsonage.  The church has been completely redecorated and renovated with new Memorial art glass windows installed.  A new memorial electric organ was purchased.  Much of this work has been done in anticipation of the 50th anniversary.

 

Zion Church now has a membership of 116 communicants and 31 baptized children.

 

Members of the anniversary committee are: Mrs. Harold Horn, Mrs. Charles Ludwig, Gilbert Meyer, Mrs. Daniel Olson, Robert Scheider, Mrs. Adolph Wessel and Rev. Charles Koch.

 

Present officers of the congregation are: Ted Abel and Lenord Braatz, elders; Edward Braun, Lorris Dusso, Arthur Hendrickson, deacons and Rev. C. Koch, pastor.

••••••••••

Henry Thomsen, who to many people in the Neillsville area has been “Mr. Penney, himself,” will retire as manager of the J. C. Penney Co. store here July 1.

 

He will be succeeded by Edward Diehl, currently assistant manager of the Wisconsin Rapids store and has been with the J. C. Penney Co. since 1943.

 

Influential in business circles here, Mr. Thomsen is the only manger that the J. C. Penney Company has had in Neillsville.  This accounts for the close association of his name with Mr. Penney’s and in fact he has been called “Mr. Penney” so much that he answers as readily to that as to his own name.

 

Mr. Thomsen came to Neillsville in July 1938, a few weeks before the opening of the local store.  He aided in preparing for the opening and under his management, the store has found fine reception among the people, enjoying a steady growth in business.

 

 

A J. C. Penney’s store came to Neillsville in 1938, locating in the Hewett & Woods’ building on the northwest corner of the Fifth and Hewett Streets intersection.  Henry Thomsen was the store manager for a number of years, retiring in 1955.  (Photo courtesy of Bill Roberts’ family collection)

••••••••••

A large addition will be made this summer to the plant of John Wuethrich Creamery Co., near Greenwood.  The new structure will be 42 feet wide and 150 feet long, being an extension north of the present main plant.  The material will be cement block with brick facing.

 

The new structure will make possible a continuous flow of production and shipment.  It will house the print section, where the bulk butter is printed out into cubes of pounds and quarter pounds.  It will provide storage for about 250,000 pounds of butter.

 

The butter will be handled on skids by a lift truck.  The handling will be on a straight line from the present churn room to the print room, then to the storage room and lastly to the shipping room at the north end.  Provision has been made for large trucks to back into the north end of the new structure, to be loaded there, out of the weather.

 

Upon the completion of this new structure, Wuethrich’s will have replaced all parts of the older plant and will be operating in a new plan in a modern and efficient way.

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