Bio: Frank & Mary Artac, Greenwood, Clark Co., Wisconsin

Contact: Stan

----Source: Artac Family Album

Surnames: Artac,Schield, Jackson, Hoffman, Noetzel

My dad Frank Artac was an electrician & plumber in Greenwood. In his memoirs he wrote that "At 26 years of age he took an electrical course. In 1938 he started electrical work from his dad's farm." (northwest of Willard). I know that he said that at that time the power plant was in operation in Marshfield. They were starting to run the power lines to the rural areas and he learned electricity in preparation of the power lines coming to Greenwood and Willard.
I am not sure that the REA and Clark Electric are one and the same. Maybe it was Northern States Power that was their competitor.

He was unusual, taxidermy study by night, electricity study by day. I don't know what year he started the plumbing. I do have many of his licenses but never sat down and sorted them. For an eighth grade graduate he held State of Wisconsin licenses for Master Plumber and Master Electrician plus held license for septic. It was not unusual for him to have to drive to Madison to take the classes and tests.
 
We did not have indoor plumbing til the late 1950's. He was too busy plumbing everyone else's homes. I remember the outhouse and copper tub in the kitchen for baths. I always remember electricity but also remember the stove with the wood burner on one side and electric on the other. I guess we were kind of progressive.
 
Mary
 

ARTAC APPLIANCE--School St., Greenwood, Wisconsin
By Mary

My father, Frank John Artac, opened his first Appliance & Hardware Store where the Farmer's and Merchant's Bank now stands in Greenwood, Clark Co., Wisconsin. He was not only an enterprising businessman, but a licensed plumber and electrician as well. Later on, he purchased John Snedic's Gas Station on the other side of the street and relocated. The Herman Hoffman Garage, Robert Jackson Plymouth Auto Sales, Adolph Jackson's Kaiser/Frasen Garage, Rich and Chet Schield's Service Station and August Noetzel's Gas Station had all operated businesses there in the past.

The store did well for many years but faced with the competition of merchandise sales from larger towns, eventually became a mear shadow of what it once had been. The community's need for plumbing and electrical skills remained consistent and that vocation remained lucrative for him until he died in 1998.

THE FRANK & MARY ARTAC FAMILY FARM

The Farm of Frank and Mary (Gosar) Artac as it looked in 1955.

This family farm is located on the southwest corner of county roads G & O, three miles west of Greenwood, Wisconsin in Warner township. The area has always been referred to as, "The West Side" because it is west of the Black River. The Warner Immanel Evangelical and Reformed Church and its two cemeteries are just to the north of the property. My dad also owned the land on the northwest corner. Olson, the previous owner, owned all four corners. My brother Bernard now owns the northeast corner. Dad bought the land before going off to fight for our country during WWII. While in the service, he sent money to his brother, Ludwig, so he could make the payments for it.

Most of our neighbors were German farmers. We were the exception in the community because we were Slovenians and my dad did not do dairy farming. He raised beef, hogs, chickens, and crops such as corn, oats and hay. This was done in addition to his electrical business and store.

In those years the religious and ethnic groups did not socialize very much. But because my dad was a businessman, plumber & electrician, we mingled with everyone. He was always drumming up business. I don't think there was a church in the area that we did not go to their fish fries, pancake breakfasts or suppers, etc.

This is how the Artac farm looked in 1980