Clark County Press, Neillsville,

June 13, 2007, Page 21

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

 

Compiled and contributed by Dee Zimmerman

 

 

Clark County News

June 1917

 

William Neverman was born in Mechlenberg on June 14, 1834, and died at Waupaca on May 20, 1917.  He came to America in 1852 and located at Milwaukee, engaging in the shipbuilding trade.  In 1857, he came to Clark County, and for a greater part of his time, engaged in the carpenter business.  He also took up farming, on land west of the city.

On Nov. 24, 1965 (1865), he was united in marriage to Sophia Sontag and seven children were born to them.

He enlisted in Co. J., 14th Wis. Vol. Inf at Black River Falls.  He was mustered in as a private and was mustered out as a second lieutenant, having a most excellent war record.  He was wounded in the Battle of Shiloh.  He served four years, lacking ten days, in the army.

Together with Mr. Sontag, he formed the firm of Neverman & Sontag, and together they built the brewery in this city, operating it for many years.  Later he engaged in the ice business, but the greater part of his life was devoted to the carpenter trade.  Many old landmarks, yet standing in this vicinity, are examples of his craftsmanship.

Mrs. Neverman died on June 17, 1889.  Mr. Neverman went to the state of Washington, living there from 1903 until 1915.  He was one of Clark County’s true pioneers for he bravely underwent the hardships and privations, which the early settlers all endured.  He was patriotic and a loyal citizen at all times, living a life, which was replete with kindness and charity.  Building his home was the starting point, followed by many settlers who came later to build homes in the wilderness and he was one of the best known of the pioneers of the county.

Neverman is survived by the following children: Mrs. Geo. Hardison of Bellingham, Wash.; Carl Neverman of Portland, Ore.; Otto Neverman of Neillsville; Mrs. H. Gustavason of Blanchard, Idaho; Mrs. Wm. Hannah of Neillsville; and Mrs. C. Hunt of Neillsville.

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Work on Eau Claire’s new $100,000 auditorium and armory will begin very soon, with contracts having been let.  Geo. Awsum, of Chicago, is the architect for the building.  He was also the architect for the Neillsville Library and the C. C. Sniteman home.

•••••••••

Ed Holverson was in Eau Claire last week and brought back another Maxwell touring car.  Youmans and Holverson have sold three Maxwell cars recently, purchasers being: J. R. Sturdevant, Louis Buddenhagen and A. H. Holverson.

•••••••••

Saturday afternoon, the stockholders of the Farmers Cooperative Elevator Co., at Owen, voted to give an option on the lumber yard to The Owen Lumber Co., and it is understood, that since that time the Owen Co. has completed the deal and bought the yard.

•••••••••

Carl Staps, president of the Juneau Salmon Canning Co., of Juneau, Alaska, spent a few days here last week with Carl Rabenstein.  Carl Rabenstein is a director of the canning company.

•••••••••

The Fourth of July is coming around again, the day, which means so much to the people of the United States.  It was this day on which our great grand fathers procured for us the liberty of all following generations, and which ever after has been held in he highest degree of devotion of all truehearted citizens.  In keeping the sacred traditions of those who bestowed upon us the liberty of this country, along with the most excellent achievements of the honest working people, the community of Columbia has decided to celebrate this epochal moment in a respectable manner.  Now, therefore, the Board of Directors of the M.W.A. hall at Columbia have arranged to give a concert dance in the evening of the Fourth and have hired a competent musician for that event.  The directors, as a body, wish to submit an earnest invitation to all too kindly attend and have a good time.  Let happiness win in these gloomy days of war. That is one step to victory.

•••••••••

The Levis Tigers baseball team played against Shortville, with the latter being the winner of the day with a score of 12-1.  We have not yet had all of our players together for practice.  But when we can get our Levis team together, we will be in shape and then will show what we can do later on.

•••••••••

Emil Schoenfeld, proprietor of the York Center Cheese factory, is about the busiest man in the Town of York.  He is making cheese day and night, in order to handle the amount of milk being received at his factory, each day.  Last Monday, he made 71 blocks of cheese.

•••••••••

The Bruley elevator has a large carload of binder twine on order, to be here soon.  The prices will be right. They also have a bargain price on flour.

June 1947

The Congregational Church has purchased the property on South Hewett Street long occupied by the late Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Sniteman, for their minister’s residence.  This is the second home south of the library on South Hewett Street.  The decision to buy the house was reached at the church meeting held Sunday morning, following the morning worship.

•••••••••

John Wuethrich of Greenwood, well-known dairyman, was one of four Wisconsin men honored for achievements in dairying and rural leadership at a session of the Farm and Home week, sponsored by the University of Wisconsin at Madison, last week.  Mr. Wuethrich is active in the state and national Farm and Home association, and an office holder in both groups.

The others receiving honors were: Roman Muskavitch of Shawano, W. D. James of Fort Atkinson and J. F. Shea of Pickett.  Mrs. Raymond Sayre of Ackworth, Iowa, also received honors.

•••••••••

Saturday, June 14, dance at the Lake Side Inn on the south shore of Rock Dam Lake.  There will be music by Eddie Oniszcuk and his band.

There will be a Free Wedding Dance at the Neillsville Armory on Saturday, June 14, in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Everett Dux.

A Wedding Dance, in honor of Virginia Smith and Ed Brown, will be held at Merry Ol’ Gardens, south of Withee, on Saturday, June 14.  Music will be provided by the Sturtz Swing Kings Band.

•••••••••

Sugar stocks in Neillsville were being built up again, this week, after a brisk turnover last mid-week, following the end of rationing.

Local merchants reported that the end of sugar rationing brought a rush of housewives and other family members, to make their first ration-free purchases since the sweet stuff was put under controls.

The lifting of the ration controls, however, did not affect price controls, which remain until October 31.

From brisk, to a run, was the way retailers reported local activity on the morning after controls were dumped.  Because of their low stocks, however, they were forced to limit purchases to spread their supplies further.

Mostly, these limitations were 10 pounds, although some were higher.  Some families, however, attempted to make more than one purchase at a store, and the memories of managers and clerks were hard put to spread the sugar among as many families as possible.

One retailer reported his 1,800 pound stock was sold out in the first five hours.  Another manger said that his 500 pound stock was but “a drop in the bucket.”

And so it went.

An effect of the ending sugar rationing was to move cube sugar and brown sugar from local shelves.  Some of it, largely the cube sugar, had moved slowly, during rationing because few people had enough stamps to permit the purchase of such specialties.

Although the end of rationing quickly saw a depletion of their stocks, local retailers are sure that the demand for sugar will decrease and that soon the purchases will be on an even keel.

•••••••••

Gladys French Beeckler was interred Monday, in the Neillsville Cemetery.  Her death marks the passing of the only local member in the current generation of the French family, which has been part of local history for 98 years.

Mrs. Beeckler died upon the ancestral acres, in the Town of Levis.  It was land, which had long been in the French family, part of the tract, which the four French brothers had settled upon almost a century ago.  B. F. French went to that land in 1849, when he sought his fortunes in what were then the wilds of Crawford County.

Doc French and his three brothers, James, Joseph and Robert B., helped to create Clark County.  Doc French was the first treasurer of the county and the first master of the local Masonic lodge.  While he and his family eventually left the Levis land and moved into Neillsville, the other brothers remained on the land, including the grandfather of Gladys French Beeckler, Robert B. French.  Her father, the present Robert French, only son of Robert B. French, succeeded to the family tradition and farm.

Gladys represented the fourth generation of the French family to live upon the land in Levis.  She ended her life there, as did Capt. John French, father of the four French brothers, a soldier of the War of 1812, who came to Clark County to be with his sons in his last years.

Gladys Beeckler spent her entire life upon the French land.  She missed being born there, even though her parents were living upon the ancestral acres at the time.  Her mother, a Rodman, went the Rodman home located near the present fair grounds, to be with her mother when the baby was born.  Soon thereafter, the baby and the mother went back to their home in Levis.  The date of her birth was January 131, 1892.  She was educated in the nearby country school, and later in Neillsville High School.

Gladys succeeded to the family’s lively interest in public affairs.  She became clerk of the Riverside School, having an important part in the reconstruction of the school building.  She was a member of the Clark County Health Committee. She succeeded her mother as a correspondent of The Clark County Press, an important neighborly service.  She was a member of the Happy Hour Club and of the Royal Neighbors.

Gladys French was married in the same home where she died.  Her marriage took place December 21, 1910.  Her husband was George Beeckler.  Except for Gladys, there were no other children in that French family.  Hence it was for Mr. Beeckler to take the place of a son and to succeed to the family traditions and responsibilities, as the burden of age gradually closed in on Mr. French.  Mr. Beeckler has lived and worked in line with the tradition, taking his living from the land and contributing to the community by service as town chairman.  He and Gladys’ parents survive in the old family home.

With the passing of Gladys, the descent of the French line will be solely through the offspring of B. F. French, there being no surviving children in the lines of Robert, Joseph and James French.  B. F. French had four daughters and two sons, and there are male descendants in the present generation to carry on the family name.

Final rites for Gladys were held at Zion Reformed Church, in charge of the Georgas Funeral Home.  The Rev. N. J. Dechant officiated.  The funeral was notable for the large attendance, which overtaxed the capacity of the building.  Pall-bearers were Guy Schultz, Herman Embke, Elmer and Herbert Filitz, George Bryan and Alvin Wendt.

•••••••••

A couple of horses have made Wilmer (Bill) Meyer swear off fishing.

It happened this way:

Bill went fishing, Tuesday afternoon, in Black River at the mouth of the Cunningham Creek.  He parked his car in Otto Miller’s pasture, and noticed a couple of horses there, as he walked down to the river.

He didn’t count on horses being inquisitive.  But when he returned, he found that they had:

Stepped on the running board of the car and smashed it; opened a door in some manner; and ripped the covering off the front seats, then started eating the seat stuffing.

They did all of that in only 45 minutes.

•••••••••

For your July 4th Holiday enjoyment, come to the Adler Theatre, in Neillsville, where you can see David O. Selznich’s Technicolor Movie, “Duel in the Sun,” with a cast of 2,500.  The leading acting stars will be Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck, Joseph Cotton, Lionel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Herbert Marshall, Walter Huston and Charles Bickford.  There will be two matinees on July 4th, at 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.  A matinee will be at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.  Evening showings will be at 7:00 and 9:30 p.m.

••••••••••

The Neillsville American Legion is sponsoring a 3-day July 4th celebration.

On July 4th, there will be various water sports on O’Neill Creek, in the evening.  These events will consist of motor boat races, canoe races, water polo, log rolling and a battle of Tip-a-canoe.  At the fair grounds, there will be a baseball game, starting at 2:30 p.m., between Loyal and Neillsville.  Music for July 4th will be furnished by the Neillsville High School band and the German Band.  In the evening, there will be free movies of wild life and evening fireworks, followed by a dance at the Armory.

Saturday, there will be a display of wild life, secured from the state game farm at Poynette.  Saturday afternoon, there will be a baseball game between Neillsville and Chili and a dance in the evening at the Silver Dome.

On Sunday afternoon, there will be a baseball game between Neillsville and Curtiss, free movies again in the evening, and dance at the Armory at night.

The members of the American Legion hope that the public will appreciate the celebration and that there will be net proceeds.  If their hopes are realized, the funds will be used for further improvements of the new Legion building.  The members are beginning to see something for their efforts, for the large upstairs hall has been completed and it seems to them to be something extra nice.  Now they propose to do two rooms on the first floor and to paint the outside of the building.

 •••••••••

A circa 1940 view of Hewett Street’s 500 block the east side (Photo courtesy of the Musil family collection)

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