August 1868

Mr. Charles J. Cooper, who visited here a short time ago, has the following to say in the Badger State Banner of the 1^st installment about our town:

“We have been on a visit to Neillsville during the past week.  Having been absent about two years, we were considerably surprised when we got in sight of the village.  It has grown beyond our recollection.  There have been many improvements, some of which we will mention.  The first that caught our eye was the new residence of Mr. Robert Ross, which we think is the handsomest one we have seen in the two counties.  The next was the new residence of Mr. Daniel Gates, which is a very fine one.  Mr. Hewett has a very nice house near Mr. Gates.  Mr. Blakeslee is putting up a fine dwelling.  In the village, they have built a new schoolhouse and a parsonage, Mr. B. F. French has a desirable residence.  Mr. S. Widrig has a good house nearly completed.  Hewett, Woods & Co. have added a planing mill to their grist and saw mill, and will soon have a good shingle mill in operation.  Mr. Sterns has put up an engine just across the creek.  He has also erected a handsome residence near by.  There is one thing, which as temperance men, we cannot praise.  We refer to that new saloon on the corner near Dr. French’s new dwelling.  We cannot blame the Dr. for not liking to have such a thing in close proximity to him.  We are very sorry to see enterprise and capital laid out in that direction.  The temperance cause is somewhat on the decline there.  Aside from that, Neillsville is a flourishing little town, and a pleasant place to live in.”

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Mr. Kline, gentlemanly clerk at J. P. Thompson’s store and Mr. William Neverman, are making arrangements to build a brewery this fall a few rods east of Lloyd & Myers’ new barn.

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Hunters and sportsmen are having a fine time in the woods after deer.  Deer are found quite plentiful only a few miles from town.

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Lumbermen are already beginning to make preparations in the woods for logging next winter.

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It is the 18^th of August and with the exception of a few late fields of oats, the harvest in this county is all over.  The yield is lighter than was expected.  No frost yet to injure the corn, though the nights have been quite cool.

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The family of Mr. Solomon Johnson, living in the Town of Weston, is deeply afflicted over the loss of two young and dearly loved members, whose deaths were separated by only a few days.  The cause of death was diphtheria.  There were four children in the family and all were sick at the same time.  Some family members were too ill to attend the funerals.  We have learned the rest of the family is recovering from the illness.  Mr. Johnson has been in poor health all summer, and the mother, whose watchful care has been unceasing, is overcome with grief.  They are entitled to the commiseration of the public.

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Potatoes are selling in town at $2 per bushel and are scarce at that.  Blast the bugs!

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Weston Rapids is to have a school.  Mrs. G. I. Follett has been engaged as teacher and classes will commence next Monday.

(Weston Rapids was a short-lived village located about two miles north of Neillsville along the eastern bank of the Black River. D.Z.)

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Go to J. P. Thompsons to get your haying tools, house trimmings, paints, oils and such.  Thompson is also selling clothing at the extremely low price of $9 per suit.

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Hops are in prime condition in this part of the county.  Mr. Edward Tompkins, living at the mouth of Wedge’s Creek, set out ten acres last spring and it has done remarkably well.  Mr. Tompkins intends picking from the vines this season.  Mr. E. R. Hatch has about an acre, which he set out last spring and he says they will yield a large quantity this fall.  Mr. S. C. Boardman has ten acres about six miles east of town.  The vines are thrifty and give large promise, but will not be picked until another season.

(Hops are a twining vine of the mulberry family with 3 or 5 lobed leaves and inconspicuous flowers that are in cone-shaped catkins.  The ripe dried catkins of a hop are used to impart a bitter flavor to malt liquors. D. Z.)

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Rev. James Mair will positively open his school for the higher branches of education on the evening of Tuesday, September 1^st at seven o’clock, in the schoolhouse.  Those who intend taking advantage of the same had better join at once so as not to be behind in the class.

August 1948

Globe moved into a half-game lead in the Southern Clark County baseball league Sunday by ringing up a 5 to 3 victory over Grand View.

The Grand View team, which has been on the top of the league since the start of this season’s play, fell before the pitching of Herman Hagen.  Bernie Suel was the losing pitcher.

An intense moment came in the last half of the ninth when Globe nipped a Grand View rally, which could have tied up the ball game.  Grand View had two on bases, with two out.  Its pitcher, Suel, was at bat.  Hagen fanned him on three consecutive pitches.

Globe took the lead with a run in the first and Grand View tied it at 1-all in the second.  Grand View took the lead at 3-1 in the fifth; but Globe came from behind with a run in the sixth, one in the seventh and topped it off with two in the eighth.

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Mr. and Mrs. William Bradford have sold their farm on Pleasant Ridge to Glenn Short.

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First Sgt. Harley F. Jake, who has spent the last 22 months in the international trouble spot of Trieste has returned to the United States and is expected home on furlough sometime this week.  At the close of his present enlistment, in October, Sgt. Jake will have 14 years’ credit toward retirement.  He served several years with the local service company and was with the company throughout the Pacific campaigns during World War II.

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Owen’s Kidd’s Kids, one of the top semi-professional baseball teams of Wisconsin, was on tap for the Neillsville A’s under the lights here Wednesday night.  Sunday, Stetsonville is scheduled to play a league game here.  On next Thursday, August 19, the Athletics will travel to Black River Falls.

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A family reunion was held Sunday, August 8, at the home of Mrs. Louise Schlinsog, Town of York.  Many present were descendants of the late August and Pauline (Handke) Schlinsog.  Entertainment included concertina selections by Harold Garbisch.

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The 47-piece Clark County 4-H club band left Neillsville Monday morning by bus for the State Centennial exposition.  The band, resplendent in its new green and white uniforms, was to present three concerts before the grandstand this week.

In addition to the band, six Clark County 4-H club members were to take part in judging contests, two demonstration contests and there also was one state 4-H club chorus entry.

Accompanying the group were Mrs. Helen W. Jackson, county home agent and Mr. Polzin.

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Repair of the Sherwood dam spillway, which went out a few years ago, was started last week by several farmers of the Sherwood area.  They hauled rock and sand to the dam site last Sunday and anticipated an early start on the project.

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The Stables Garage is now open for business under new management.  All kinds of car repair work will be done.  George Mashin, Proprietor

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A first no-hit, no-run baseball game in this area was hung up Sunday afternoon by Toddy Wall and the Neillsville ‘Teen-Agers’.

In a seven-inning tilt, the ‘Teen-Agers’ slashed out a 17-0 triumph behind the baffling servings of young Wall.  The game, originally scheduled for nine innings, was called because of darkness.

Only 23 Lynn batters faced Wall during the seven frames.  Two got on base, both through errors by Wall’s mates.  Wall’s feat was the more remarkable because he did not issue a single walk.

The ‘Teen-Agers’ have played several games this year and recently gave a good accounting of themselves against the Marshfield Brewers of the Wisconsin Valley league.

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The next time Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Krause of Neillsville start readying a big ice box for the fish they plan to bring home, well, there won’t be so many wise cracks.

In a letter received Tuesday from Bayfield, Mrs. Krause informed her brother, Herman Hagedorn, that:

She caught a lake trout weighing 26 pounds, seven ounces; and on which she had won a $5 prize and stands a chance of winning $10 more; and on Sunday their total catch was 112 pounds; and on Saturday they caught 50 pounds of fish; and six fish weighed over 10 pounds each; and Harvey’s prize trout was a 15-pounder.

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An interesting tangle has developed in connection with the title to part of the Grand View School property in Pine Valley.  The school board, approaching the question of use or disposal of the Grand View property, discovers that it lacks a deed to the half-acre upon which the brick school stands.  It is probable that the consolidated district is entitled to continued possession of the property, but that right must be established upon something other than a deed.  The district holds a deed only to the north half-acre of the full acre of which the school site now consists.

The question of title to this property arose when at least two parties indicated a desire to acquire the property.  One was a Chicago woman, said to be a newspaper worker, who saw the grand view from the school site and who wished to acquire the property largely for the sake of the view.  The other would-be purchaser is the Town of Pine Valley, which would use the schoolhouse for town purposes.

In order to clarify the situation for a decision about the property, the school board retained A. L. Devos.  It was found quiet (quite) promptly that the district did not have a deed, but that it came into possession originally by means of a lease.  That lease was granted by Charles O. Meach of School District No.2, Town of Pine Valley, in 1867.  The consideration was $2 and the district was to hold the property so long as it was used for school purposes not exceeding 50 years.  The property thus leased was the south half-acre of the present site and the schoolhouse stands upon this portion of the site. 

The Meach lease expired in 1917, but there is no record that it had been renewed, or that anything especially was done about it.  During the 81 years that had passed since the lease was given, it had come to be generally accepted that the school property belonged to the school district.  The original owners had passed out of the picture.

The school site, consisting of one acre, is part of what was formerly known as the Kleckner farm.  The farm had been sold in recent years by J. L. Kleckner to Caleb Mallory, and by Mr. Mallory to Frank A. Fox of Osseo.

A simple way out was to get a deed from Mr. Fox, as it had first appeared, but Mr. Fox was not disposed to give a deed or even to take a reasonable consideration for whatever interest he held in the property.

The difficulty of dealing with Mr. Fox led to a complete search of the title.  It was then found that Mr. Fox was evidently out of luck entire with reference to the school property.  Obviously he could own only what Mr. Mallory could pass on to him and Mr. Mallory could pass only what Mr. Kleckner had and Mr. Kleckner could pass to Mr. Mallory only what had been deeded to him.

But Mr. Kleckner never did have title to the schoolhouse property.  When the deed was given to him on July 31, 1929, the schoolhouse property was specifically accepted from the transfer.  He got the rest of the farm, but not the schoolhouse site.  Therefore it has become a matter of indifference to the school district as to the attitude of Mr. Fox.

The deed to Mr. Kleckner was given by Arno Ehrlich and Ida Ehrlich, his wife.  It was evident from the nature of the deed that they considered the school site as the property of the district, as it doubtless was.  It was clearly their assumption also just a few years previously, when the school district acquired title to the half-acre lying north of the schoolhouse.  At that time the district, having held the original half-acre for 60 years, felt the need to additional land for a playground.  So the district purchased the land, figuring that it did not need to do anything more about the original half-acre.  The Ehrlichs’ also looked at it the same way.

The future of the property is under consideration by the school board and by its advisory committee on building.  Having enjoyed undisputed possession of the original half-acre for 81 years and for 31 years beyond the 50-uear maximum of the original lease, the district is doubtless in position in any event to continue to use the property for experimental work of the agricultural department of the high school, with the building used as a workshop and for storage.

A preliminary inquiry indicates that the property of the Hiawatha School, now a part of the consolidated district, is in much the same situation.  That property originally came into possession of the district by lease.

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The community of Globe was represented with a baseball team in the early 1900s.  The above photo was taken of team members in the 1946-47 era.  Left to right, first row: Ellie Winkel, Arnie Buchholz and Jerry Schoenherr; second row: Harold Murphy, Richard Buchholz, Harold Prock, Bob Mitte and George Thoma; third row: first man unidentified and Leo Henchen.  (Photo courtesy of Gordon Thoma’s family collection D.Z.)

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