Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

March 15, 2000, Page 28

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

Good Old Days 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

Clark County News

 

March 1880

 

The closing exercises of Byron Lynch’s school takes place next Saturday evening at the white school house on the hill, west of the Black River, on Humbird road.

 

The school of District No. 5, Town of Sherman, held its closing exercises a week ago Thursday. Ezra Priest, the teacher, has earned credit for doing the winter term.

 

The hotels have been force to their utmost capacity in their effort to entertain the many visitors brought here by the term of the court and the sitting of the County Board.  Rossman especially is obliged to reckon rapidly to the needs.

 

The railroad through the northern part of our county will pass about five and a half miles north of the Longwood post office.  It is possible that there will be a depot where the turnpike or tote road is crossed.  If a depot is so placed, it would be great if Harry Mead and the other progressive pioneer princes of the north should start a village there.

 

The bidding for the construction of the Clark County poor-house was conducted at the County Clerk’s office following the board meeting last Monday.

 

Tuesday, Blakeslee submitted a proposition to the Clark County Board, to build all the buildings on the poor farm, dig a well, etc., and put it all in shape for occupancy. This would be done in consideration for the debts he owes the county.  Blakeslee’s proposition created quite a debate.  The total indebtedness is $5,200. Evans, one of the members, said the committee had figured up the expense and found the total cost of putting up all the buildings in good shape would come to very near $5,000.  After a vote, the proposition was declared accepted.

 

John Gwinn’s large store at Loyal caught fire on Tuesday morning and was burned to the ground.  Gwinn had built a fire in the heating stove, as usual, and then went to eat breakfast.  While he was gone, the ceiling by the chimney ignited and burned rapidly.  Peter Gwinn lost a considerable amount of property stored in the store cellar, as well as the merchandise that was on the main floor.

 

The Right Rev. E.R. Wells, S.T.D., Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Wisconsin, plans to visit in this area.  He will hold services in St. Luke’s Chapel in the high school building here in Neillsville, Tuesday evening, March 16, at 7:30 p.m.  All are cordially invited.

 

The Sternitzky boys, in the Lynn area, are busy at work making wooden buckets to be ready for maple sugar and syrup making.

 

To be sold cheap, or exchanged for other property, is a snug little 40 acre farm with 18 acres cleared.  It is located in the Town of York, near the Clark County Poor Farm. There is a highway on two sides of it and is located only six miles from Neillsville.  Inquire about it at Ring & Youman’s.

 

A new post office has been established in the Town of Washburn, Clark County, called Shortville.  It is on the route between the Pleasant Ridge post office and Nevin’s post office. There will be one regular mail delivery each week and that will be on Saturday.  Andrew Short has taken his oath as postmaster and the office will be in his house, near the junction of the road running south from Kurth’s corners the main east and west road. 

 

As soon as the deficiency appropriation bill passes Congress, we will have a semi-weekly mail service from Greenwood to Longwood until July 1st.  After that, there will be a three-days-a-week mail run from Neillsville to Longwood.

 

Cole & Pashelles’ business has large piles of staves on the lot opposite B. F. French’s residence.  More staves are being added each day so that they are numbered by hundreds of thousands.  (The B. F. French residence was located on the present site of the Neillsville Public Library. The stave mill would have been on the west side of Hewett Street.  D.Z.)

 

March 1935

 

Patrick Kenyon, who lives with his mother, Mrs. R. W. Kenyon, near the Black River, two miles north of Cawley Creek, made one of his monthly trips to Neillsville, Saturday to get groceries.  Kenyon transports about 200 pounds of groceries and meat on a small hand sled, traveling on the ice of Black River. Arriving near Neillsville, he uses skis to travel the remainder of the way to the stores for purchases. The trip takes about an hour and a half each way.

 

John and Joe Francel, along with John and Frank Champa, Jr., shoveled out the highway past Frank Kren’s farm on Friday. That stretch of road became impassable during the winter due to the enormous snow drifts. Prior to this, all traffic had to go through Frank Morgal’s pasture.

 

The Neillsville City Council agreed to accept an offer of $350 for the Ira Baldwin property on the city’s north side.  Will Hemp, City Clerk, who received the offer, did not disclose who the buyer was. The City of Neillsville acquired the property through taking care of Baldwin.

 

The residence of Carl Stange on Division Street has been purchased by Frank Knapp, a farmer living near Black River Falls.  Knapp plans to erect a filling station and grocery store on the property.  He will take possession soon, after holding an auction at his present home. Stange will continue to make his home in Neillsville.

 

The Neillsville City Council has granted A. C. Wagner the right to move his wholesale beer warehouse from his home to the building formerly occupied by the Woelffer Music Store.

 

The Town of Grant’s newly discovered heavy weight, Lawrence Drescher, an 18 year old youth who stands six feet, one inch, and weights 182 pounds, made a spectacular debut in the boxing ring. Boxing on Friday night, watching Drescher cuff the daylights out of big Bernard Sipher of the Merrillan CCC camp, was a very exciting match to watch.

 

Although the scrap was Drescher’s first appearance in a fight ring, he handled himself surprisingly well.  Near the close of the first round Sipher was knocked down, but the gong saved him.  In the second round, Drescher battled his man all over the ring, knocking him down twice, and again the gong saved his opponent from a knock-out.  Drescher tore into Sipher as the third round opened and before the round was half over, he had planted a right-handed hit on Sipher’s jaw that kept him down for the count, earning him a knock-out.

 

Donnie Gall, of Neillsville, the 126-pounder, who like Drescher, had never boxed until a month ago, made a sensational fight against Gilmore Layton, 128 pounds, of Wisconsin Rapids. Gall ripped into Layton as the fight opened and he never was in danger during any part of the three rounds.  Layton, who has been fighting for a long time, looked on the match as a set up, but Gall’s confidence in the ring proved to him that it wasn’t.  Gall won by a wide margin and he received a big ovation from the spectators. Although he won the fight, he felt totally exhausted when it was over, showing his need for long and careful training before he can take the game seriously.

 

The Roland’s canning factory which has been idle for several years will operate this year. Seven hundred acres of peas will be signed up, according to present plans. This, with the Inderrieden Company acreage, will total 2,500 acres of beans and peas to be canned in this locality this year.

 

The Clark County Board, on Tuesday voted to make a County trunk highway of the road running east from Hoesly’s corner, thence north by the County Farm and east to County Trunk K.  (That is what is now known as County Road C.)

 

The Clark County Board, by a vote of 28 to 23, has abolished the present County Relief System, effective April 1, being cut loose from all federal relief.

 

The board’s action also brings to a close all work relief, the recently created rehabilitation department in this county, and a Merrillan relief plan which is handled by this county’s relief system, because Jackson County didn’t go on the federal relief system.  The drought relief department will wind up its affairs about May 15.

 

The County Board’s action in throwing out the county relief system will have a widespread effect throughout the county, leaving 80 relief work projects up in the air. There will be a large number of office workers and human relief workers out of employment.  Under the present setup, the federal government through the relief department is permitted to pay the interest on home loans of families on relief.  There are said to be about 80 such loans in the county. The opposition to the relief system seemed to center around the lack of administration by the county.  The State and Federal Governments made the decisions on the local affairs with the county having no knowledge of what was to be done.

 

Twenty carloads of seed oats were shipped from Clark County last year. Another three carloads are ready to be shipped out and between 12,000 and 15,000 bushels of oats have been listed for sale in Clark County this spring. W. J. Landry, county agent, has stated that Clark County is one of the “best off” in the state. There is also a surplus of seed potatoes.

 

Specials on used machinery at Lakosky Implement Store in Loyal are: 5, 10-20 McCormick Deering tractors; 2, 15-30 McCormick Deering tractors: 11, other overhauled tractors; 2 tractor-pulling breaker plows; 4, used seeders; 4, horse-pulling discs; 2, tandem tractor discs; 3 sets of good used double harnesses.  Also, for sale, 21 head of good farm draft horses and several well matched teams of horses.

 

Saturday, March 16, one span of large mules will be auctioned off for cash at Horswill’s Barn, Neillsville Production Credit Association, owners.

 

For sale, cheap, a narrow gauge Model T Ford with ski runners.  See Arnold Yankee.

 

For sale, a 160 acre farm, with new buildings, located south of Chili, only $4,000.  Pay one-fourth down, the balance at 3% interest.  Inquire for more details at the Press office.

 

The Donald & Fern Rowe family farm, located in the Town of York,

has been in the Rowe family for four generations.  It became a Century Farm in 1992.

 

The Rowe farm was originally purchased by Walter and Hannah Graves.  Sadie, their daughter, married Walter Rowe in 1898, when the young couple took over the farming operation.  The above photo was taken in 1953.  This scene typifies the average farm in that era.  Each farm had a building to house chickens, another for hogs, or sheep, a granary, small machine shed besides the barn and possibly other little outbuildings.  A new barn was built when a fire destroyed the old barn in 1969.

 

 


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