Clark County Press, Neillsville,

July 4, 2007, Page 13

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

 

Compiled and contributed by Dee Zimmerman

 

 

Clark County News

July 1897

 

The citizens of Granton did not forget the National Independence Day.  The inhabitants, under the direction of the Woodman Lodge, have for several weeks been making great preparations and looking forward to the coming Fourth for a time when they might give a rousing celebration, which they did Monday, with a neatly arranged program.

 

George L. Jacques, of Neillsville, was secured to deliver the oration.  The Neillsville kids’ band was hired to dispense music for the parade and to entertain the throng, while the Augusta orchestra furnished music for the merry dancers.  A game of baseball was played between the Granton and Marshfield nines, which was very well played and was very interesting to the lovers of the game.  There were two dance halls in running order, where a fellow with limited means could enjoy himself for a short time.  Then, there were street amusements, and besides all this, a fellow and his loved one could get chuck up to the chin on lemonade, sodas and ice cream.

 

The woodmen were on hand at every corner and turn, to answer to your wants and to see that everyone enjoyed the day. No use talking any longer, the Granton people are great lovers of fun.

•••••••••

Some Neillsville people went into camp, Thursday, down on the French farm, along the bank of the Black River: Mr. and Mrs. Morrison; Mrs. Tom Lowe; Edna Gillman; Matie Morrison; Jennie Alexander; Genevieve Lowe; Ernest McIntyre; Emil Ketel; Frankie Stannard; Charley Gillman; Forest Brown and Mr. and Mrs. Stannard.

•••••••••

The glorious 4th brought quiet (quite) a crowd into the village of Unity and all were well pleased.  During the afternoon, there were races and dancing.  In the evening there were fireworks and more dancing, which was well attended.

•••••••••

William Hogue and Miss Inga Peterson, of Greenwood, traveled to Loyal, last week.  The gossips would have it that they went to call on the Rev. Knudson.  William says he is sorry to disappoint them, but they only went to take in the sights.

•••••••••

Loyal News –

 

Emmanuel Roberts and Miss Rosiline Gardner, both of the Town of York, were married at the Methodist parsonage, Saturday, July 10, 1897.

 

The Lawrence Brothers have purchased 20 feet of frontage of C. M. Taylor, just north of Emerson’s blacksmith shop, where they plan to erect a solid brick building.  Work will be commenced at once.  We will soon have the bank in the center of town.

 

William Brusso was struck by lightning, Friday afternoon, and quite seriously shocked.  Joe Van Sleet, who was at work on a road job, in front of Mr. Brusso’s place, drove into the barn as the rain commenced.  Mr. Brusso went in between the horses with some grass, to feed them, just as the bolt struck.  One of Van Sleet’s horses was killed and it was a narrow escape for William Brusso.

•••••••••

Humbird News –

 

The Taylor building, now owned by Mrs. Paine, is undergoing treatment with Drs. Carpenter and Painter.  The building will soon look like a new one.

 

A. L. Chafee is now moving into his new residence south of town.

 

Some of our swell young people have gone to Hixton for an outing.  The boys say they are going to have all kinds of spot and the girls claim they will catch fish; having trout for breakfast, sunfish for dinner with bullheads and suckers for supper. We think they will go without trout and sunfish for they have taken several young men along, bullheads.

•••••••••

The populace of the city is all stirred up with Alaskan gold fever.  Several letters, giving the flowing accounts of the rich gold finds in Alaska, written by parties who have been there, have been received here.

 

Hiram Hart and Gus Klopf have made up their minds to start to Alaska, this week with Charley Breed, Charley Gates, George Hunticker (Huntzicker) and Frank Hewett.  We wish you boys, luck and rich finds in the arctic gold regions.

•••••••••

Lute Marsh, Jeff Schuster and Chas. Lee left this city on their wheels, Sunday morning, for Phillips, where they will spend the week fishing.  Their wives will go to Phillips Monday, to look after their lords.

•••••••••

Mrs. Frank Klinke and Mrs. John Kubat, of Greenwood, were in this city Saturday.  They took the train to La Crosse, where they will visit relatives.

 

July 1937

 

The two northwest rooms in the old Boardman house, located at 6th and West Streets, now owned by John Moen, are being insulated and refinished. The rooms will be occupied by the Moen Radio and Appliance Co.  The south section of the building is the home of the Moen Monumental Co.

•••••••••

In a mumblety peg contest, held last week at the playground, Richard Maxon, seven years old, was crowned the undefeated champion with Leo Neville, the consolation winner.  If any old timers think they can hand Richard a defeat, they are advised to scour the rust off their jackknives and do a considerable amount of practicing first.

 

Mumblety peg is an individual game of skill, which was more popular a few years back and needs to be reinstated.  Richard, however, has excellent control over his knife and is an old warrior at the game.

 

The playground will continue this week, under the same supervision.  Unless the WPA will sponsor it from then on, the supervision will have to be discontinued indefinitely.  Parents are urged to send their children regularly.  Both locations are very cool, and the children are not allowed to become overheated during their game times.

 

Special attention is drawn to the tennis classes from 2 to 2:45 p.m.  Both adults and children are invited.  Neillsville has three fine tennis courts.  Why not take advantage of them?  Playground hours will continue to be from 9 to 11 a.m., at the North Side School and from 2 to 4 p.m. at the park.

•••••••••

The following Clark County young men left July 12, for the CCC Camp Mercer at Manitowish: Walter Babulski, Thorp, R. 3; Rotert C. Vaumann, Neillsville; Douglas M. Braithwait, Owen, R. 1; Orin C. Johnson, Curtiss; William G. Klovas, Thorp, R. 3; Stanley Skowronski, Thorp R. 3; Elmer E. Ullman, Neillsville; William H. Wilson, Thorp, R. 3.

•••••••••

The first ripe tomato of the season has been brought to our attention; it ripened July 6 in the garden at the Dr. F. E. Sillick home.  The tomato was plucked the following day, by the veterinarian, to substantiate his tomato stories of the past.  No doubt it will taste like a tomato instead of a cucumber or green melon, this being one of the fruits that refuses to be itself under forced conditions and aside from its use as a garnish, has little to value to appease the appetite unless home grown.

•••••••••

Friday, Gerald Hart, who is employed in the Kuester meat market, injured the muscles in his chest while lifting a quarter of beef.  It was thought also that one of his ribs was cracked.  His brother, Vern Hart, of Humbird, worked in his place for a few days.

•••••••••

One of the latest types of Russ counter freezers has been installed in the Kearns Drug Store.  It will be in operation this week.  This ice cream machine will be used to make all the latest ice cream specialties and frozen confections.  The machine is a beautiful design and a fine compliment to the Kearns’ soda fountain.

•••••••••

The old sheds on the Mrs. John Leopold property, on West and 7th streets, are being torn down.  This improvement, in addition to the face lifting recently given the old Boardman house, next door, lends beauty and neatness to the former unsightly block.  The sheds, however, were not in a run down condition as the entire Leopold property is kept in ship-shape, yet they obstructed the view and otherwise detracted from the appearance of the street.  Hundreds of citizens might well follow suit, take stock of their outbuildings and eliminate every barn, shed and chicken coop not in use or doing only part time duty.

•••••••••

The O & N Lumber Co. has purchased, from Geo. E. Crothers, the tract of land known as Temby or Cornelius Park. They will soon begin building a model home in the park.

 

An effort is being made to save some of the fine trees that had to be removed to make from for the house.  These trees are being dug out and moved bodily to the Hawthorn Hills golf course grounds and transplanted there.  Every effort will be made to keep them alive.

 

Work on the foundation of the home will start soon.

•••••••••

A ton and a half of Montgomery Ward catalogs were distributed from the Neillsville post office this week. The catalogs required 9 cents postage and weighed four and a half pounds, each.

•••••••••

Milton Page, Park Sample and Mrs. Floyd Flynn are working in the Register of Deeds’ office for the Clark Electric Cooperative, looking up titles to property so that easements for the transmission lines can be obtained. Fourteen hundred titles have been investigated already.  It is expected that more than 3,000 will have to be looked up.

•••••••••

The tournament Sunday, between Neillsville and Owen, which marked the formal opening of the local golf course, under its new ownership, was won 19 to 17 by the Owen golfers.  The match brought out an excellent crowd with 11 foursomes participating in the tournament.  A number of foursomes not in the tournament also rounded the course during the day.  With interest growing in the course, the committee in charge of its maintenance is optimistic over the outlook and is confident many more will be playing as the season progresses.

 

A local mixed golf tournament will be held at the Neillsville Country Club course, Sunday.  All golfers are invited.  A greens fee, of 50 cents each, will be charged.

•••••••••

The Public Service Commission has issued orders governing the maintenance and operation of the Hay Creek Dam, in the Town of Sherwood.  This dam was built as a WPA project by Clark County.

•••••••••

Celebrate the 4th at Hake’s Barn, Saturday night July 3.  There will be dancing from Sunset to Sunrise with music by Rhode’s Orchestra.

•••••••••

Mr. and Mrs. Ed Williams and two sons, of Wisconsin Rapids and Mr. and Mrs. Papke, of Pittsville have been guests of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Williams, in the Town of York.  The Williams family attended the Gospel services held at the County Farm, Sunday afternoon.

•••••••••

Harlow J. Youmans, a former resident of Neillsville, died at his summer home near Mifflin, Wis., June 23, aged 93 years.

 

Mr. Youmans grew to manhood near Lodi, Wis., and enlisted there as a soldier in the Civil War, in August, 1862.

 

At the siege of Vicksburg, Private Youmans was wounded in the right arm, but he recovered and remained in service to the end of the war.

 

His company took part in the capture of the Arkansas post, spent the winter at Young’s Point and Milliken’s Bend, in Louisiana and in the spring, proceeded south with the battles of Grand Gulf, Port Gibson, Yazoo Swamps, Carrion Crow, Sabine Crossroads, Pleasant Hill, Black River, Spanish Wort, Fort Blakely and finally, Vicksburg.

 

It was at the battle of Vicksburg that Youmans was wounded.  He refused chloroform while the surgeons dug the ounce ball and fragments of cloth from the wound.

 

After the war was over, Mr. Youmans studied pharmacy and about 1880, he and his family moved to Neillsville, where he established a drug store.

 

He also bought a forty acre farm, now part of Maple Glen farm, south of the city, and built a house, the present Crothers home.

 

Mr. Youmans continued in business here about ten years and then moved to Platteville, where he continued in the drug business with his son, Lisle, for the rest of his life.  Another son, Jay Youmans was a noted musician.

 

The late C. A. Youmans, who practiced law in Neillsville, was a brother and the father of G. C. Youmans now residing in Missouri.

 

A military funeral by the American Legion Post was held at Platteville, Saturday.

 

Penned by a Patriot

 

Many great hymn writers are known for the verses they wrote out of the myriad experiences of a life of faith.  This American favorite, often called the country’s unofficial national anthem, was the first hymn written by Samuel Francis Smith, in 1832.

 

The celebrated composer, Lowell Mason had given Smith a stack of European music books with the suggestion that the young man, who spoke several languages, might find some hymn worthy of translation and inclusion in a new hymnal Mason was compiling.

 

One day, turning over leaves of one of the music books, Smith saw the tune, which is now known as “America.”  He liked the spirited movement of it, not knowing it at the time to be “God Save the King,” Glancing at the German words and seeing that they were patriotic, he instantly felt the impulse to write a patriotic hymn of his own, adapted to the tune.  Picking up a scrap of waste paper, which lay near by, he wrote at once, within half an hour, the hymn, “America”, or “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” as it is now known everywhere.

 

Mason was delighted with the verses, and at the next Independence Day celebration in Boston, he led his children’s choir from the Park Street Congregational Church in the first public performance of Smith’s Anthem:

 

“My country ‘tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing:

Land where my fathers died, Land of the pilgrims’ pride, from ev’ry mountainside,

Let freedom ring.”

 

(Above is the first verse, of four, in the notable hymn. D.Z.)

•••••••••

 

 

The Marsh Department Store’s float was prominent in the July 4th parades held each year along Neillsville’s main street in the late 1800s and early 1900s. 

(Photo courtesy of Bill Roberts)

 

€€€€€€€€€€€

 

 


© Every submission is protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.

 

Show your appreciation of this freely provided information by not copying it to any other site without our permission.

 

Become a Clark County History Buff

 

Report Broken Links

A site created and maintained by the Clark County History Buffs
and supported by your generous donations.

 

Webmasters: Leon Konieczny, Tanya Paschke,

Janet & Stan Schwarze, James W. Sternitzky,

Crystal Wendt & Al Wessel

 

CLARK CO. WI HISTORY HOME PAGE