Clark County Press, Neillsville, Wisconsin

January 18, 2017 Page 9

Contributed by "The Clark Co. Press"

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Index of "Oldies" Articles 

 

Compiled by Dee Zimmerman

 

Clark County News

January 1937

 

Roy Montgomery of Neillsville, regional manager of Maytag Washing Machines, led all other representatives in Wisconsin during 1936, it is reported by the company of Newton, Iowa.  Mr. Montgomery sold 1,780 machines, which equals 35 carloads or one trainload.  Mr. Montgomery says that the company enjoyed a busy year and is looking forward to even greater business in 1937.

 

(That was the era of the new Maytag wringer washing machines.  Also, 1936 was the year that our family was able to buy its first Maytag wringer washer, after having sold about 200 turkeys a week before Thanksgiving.  It was mom’s Christmas gift.  Before that, she washed laundry by using a scrub board in a tub of water.  The Maytag wringer washers were widely used until entry of the automatic washing machines, slowly appearing in the early 1950s. DZ)

•••••••••

“Blue Monday” became a reality at the Clover Farm Store Monday morning.  Last week the Prochazka Market had on display in the north window, a row of bluing bottles, one of the specials of the week.  The bottles stood close to the large plate glass, and Saturday night the contents froze.  The result Monday morning can be better imagined than explained.  The thawing fluid spread over quite an area, most of it finding its way to the sidewalk beneath the window.

 

(A small amount of bluing was added to each tub of rinse water when doing laundry of white shirts, blouses, and sheets, to prevent yellowing of the fabric, especially in the winter months.  Hanging clothes on lines outdoors for drying during the summer months, were bleached by the sunrays.  My grandmother nearly froze her fingers when hanging white clothing on outdoor lines during February and March, insisting that those were the months of the “bleaching sun.”  She did not believe in using bluing, or later, bottled bleach.  DZ)                                  

•••••••••

William Ehlers took his brother, Eugene, to General Hospital, Madison, Friday where he is being treated for infection.  Eugene is a senior in Neillsville High School, and has been suffering with a bruised leg since before the holidays.

•••••••••

Al Kreisch has taken over the orchard Tavern east of Granton, which he will operated until spring.  The tavern has been redecorated and a special fill of fare has been arranged for the opening Saturday.

 

In the spring, Mr. Kreisch plans to build an addition to “The House by the Side of the Road,” at the South end of Hewett Street.

 

(In later years, with the change of ownership, “The House by the Side of the Road” would become known as “The White Horse Inn,” a place where good food and fun times were had by all. DZ)

•••••••••   

F. D. Calway attended a meeting of the Conservation Commission at Black River Falls Monday at which cranberry growers discussed the control of muskrats in cranberry marshes and means of exempting the growers from the laws protecting muskrats are to be worked out.  Mr. Calway has a large cranberry marsh west of Neillsville, which will soon be in production.

 

 

F.D. Calway of Neillsville obtained acreage five miles northeast of Humbird, or ten miles southwest of Neillsville along County Road B, an area along Five Mile Creek where he developed a cranberry marsh in the late 1930s.  The above photo shows the method of harvesting cranberries in the early years of the marsh’s production.  The marsh is now owned by the Edlen Cranberry Co., Inc.  The modern-day equipment for harvesting has changed, being more efficient.  (Photo courtesy of Steve Roberts.)

•••••••••

The Balch Hardware Store building has been sold to John P. Adler of Marshfield, according to records filed Jan. 16 in the Register of Deeds office.                                                                            

••••••••

The women of the P.W.A. sewing project are tackling a big piece of work, an order for 90 children’s snowsuits in 5 different sizes, to be distributed by the local relief office to needy Clark County families.  The finished product is a fine piece of work and so cleverly done that they cannot be distinguished from tailor-made garments.

••••••••• 

The Boy Scouts began feeding wild birds last Saturday.  They plan to go out in pairs each Saturday, carrying food to our feathered friends while the heavy snows deprive them of hunting a livelihood for themselves.  Dwight Sullivan and Buddie Wittke took a supply of corn to the feeding station back of the mounds north of town last week.

 

(My backyard-feathered friends visit my feeder daily, plus the neighborhood feeders, I’m sure.  Our city’s wild birds are well taken care of. DZ)                                                                          

•••••••••

Detachments of men from CCC camps were concentrated at Sparta Tuesday and dispatched in trucks to the flood areas along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.  The men called were mostly cooks, truck drivers, mechanics, and first aid men.  Supplies of all kinds are being shipped.  Several trucks with men stopped to rest and get gasoline at service stations on the south side of Neillsville, Tuesday.                                                          

•••••••••

Henry Schwedland, who owns a farm in Columbia, made an arrangement Monday whereby Herman Lewandowski takes charge of the farm, giving the aged gentleman a home with the family, as long as he lives, at which time the farm will come into the ownership of Mr. Lewandowski.                                    

•••••••••

Chapman’s Grill Menu – Friday Night – Welsh Rarebit & Fresh Perch. 

 

Saturday Night – Welsh Rarebit, Chicken Lunch, Fresh Shrimp, Oysters, served any style, Chow Mein & Chili.

 

(Welsh Rarebit was a savory cheese sauce served over toast, which didn’t contain rabbit meat. DZ)

•••••••••

Ed Hagie of Shortville has taken the job of sawing for the Hastretter Lumber Company, at their landing in the Hewett addition.  Operations will begin as soon as the weather moderates.        

•••••••••

A group of Masons and their wives enjoyed a bowling party at the Masonic Temple Saturday evening.  This was the first time the alleys were open for use on Saturday evening.  Masons, their wives, and members of the Eastern Star are invited to make use of the alleys on that evening during the balance of the winter. 

••••••••• 

A group of high school students engaged Jack Tibbett to take them for a sleigh ride Friday evening.  The happy party was chaperoned by their instructors, Florence Ruesink, Harriet Baldwin, C. JH. Winkley, Gabriel Wertsch, and Albert Moldenhauer.  After the ride, they were invite to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lastofka, where Mrs. Lastofka had a chili lunch prepared.  A series of games followed this.                               

 

•••••••••

“Good News” for the French students!  Mrs. Jessie Werner is placing her weekly copy of Currier des Esats-Unis in the Public library.  One could hardly find a more pleasant way of “keeping up” on his French than by reading this publication and receiving the current news from the viewpoint of French people.

•••••••••

Shedden’s Special - 9’ and 19’ Sale – Closes Wed., Jan. 27.

                                                        

January 1957

 

Important Events of 1956:

A special event was the new county court, set up by special act of legislature, which begins business January 1, 1957.  This court takes over nearly all the justices of the peace.  President judge is Lowell Schoengarth, a member of the bar. The purpose behind the new court is to lay the basis for a more skillful handling of cases heretofore heard by justices of the peace, who have seldom been versed in the law.

 

Trees to the number of 244,800 were planted in 1954 on privately owned wood lots of Clark County, according to a statement of Stanley Ihlenfeldt, the county agent.

 

This marks a development from 6,975 trees planted in 1948.  The number for 1955 fell off at 134,000, because the state tree nursery was unable to go beyond that in filling orders. 

 

A mysterious explosion took place on the evening of December 7 in front of the Neillsville Armory.  The explosion was of the power of half-a-pound of dynamite.  Police concluded that the explosion was that of a concussion grenade, thrown into the air from a car.

 

Annie Mathison, a resident of Greenwood, dies at the age of 90.  Her mother lived to be 101 years old.

 

Zilk Villa, garage business at Neillsville’s South end, is sold to Norman Gennrich of Milwaukee.

 

The Evangelical Lutherans decide to organize a church in Neillsville.

 

The people of Clark County are listed among the “savingest” persons of Wisconsin by John T. Omernik of Milwaukee, representative of the saving bond division of the treasury department.  This designation was based upon the purchase by the people of Clark County of $1,181,346 in U. S. Saving Bonds in the year 1955.

•••••••••

The new bridge on Highway 73 at the approach to Greenwood represents the present trend in highway construction, with pavement of bituminous concrete and with bridges of modern and artistic design.

••••••••• 

Holiday travelers of the Christmas season, 1956, were many at the Merrillan Railroad Station.  The westbound leaves Merrillan at 7:21 p.m., the “400,” destined for the Twin Cities, opens the world northward and westward.

 

Eastbound, leaving Merrillan at 2:33 p.m., the “400,” destined for Chicago, opens the world southward, eastward, and westward.

 

Car storage is available in the Schneider garages at Merrillan, one block east of the northwestern depot, where train passengers can store their cars, to await their return.                             

•••••••••

Clark County ranks seventh in the United States in the number of milk cows on farms, according to a release this week from the University of Wisconsin.  Top county is Los Angeles, Calif.; but Wisconsin has five of the top 10: Marathon, second; Dane, third; Dodge, sixth; and Fond du Lac 10th in addition to Clark.

 

Clark County, incidentally, is the largest producer of cheese of all types and the largest producer of American cheese in the world.                                                                                                               

••••••••• 

Regina Holubok, a chief storekeeper in the Navy, of Honolulu, is now visiting at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Francis Elsinger, and Mr. and Mrs. John Elsinger.  She is a sister of Mrs. Francis Elsinger.  Chief Holubok has been transferred to a Navy recruiting station at Fargo, N.D., where she will serve as a WAVE recruiter.  She has 13½ years’ service in the Navy and is looking forward to retirement in six years.                                                                                       

••••••••• 

The chips will be down Friday on Clark County’s biggest school consolidation order to date when residents of 11 mid-county school districts vote in a special school referendum election.

 

The order at stake is that which would bring together the 11 districts with the Greenwood Public School System as the hub, and would provide for a 12-grade integrated school district.                 

•••••••••

A Merger of the Gorman cooperative dairy with the Neillsville Milk Products cooperative was completed last week, and the Gorman plant has closed its doors after upward of 30 years of operation.

 

Most of the 30-odd patrons of the Gorman cooperative now are shipping their milk to the Neillsville cooperative plant, in a daily volume of between 6,400 and 6,500 pounds at present in the flush, however, the total will run considerably higher.

 

In additional volume of milk will be important to the Neillsville plant, particularly when it gets its new spray drying equipment into operation.  This equipment, costing about $125,000, is now being installed in the new warehouse building of the cooperative plant on West Seventh Street.

 

Involved in the agreement is an exchange of Neillsville Milk Products cooperative stock for the physical assets of the Gorman cooperative, exclusive of the building and land.

 

Acting to bring about the merger was the necessity faced by the Gorman Cooperative diary of making additions to its plant equipment, repairs, and providing for sewage, with the cost of that estimated to be about $12,000.  The majority of the members held the opinion that the operation of a small plant does warrant such comparatively large expenditures. 

 

The change took place formally last Wednesday, January 20, when the doors of the Gorman plant were closed.  The cheesemaker, Myron Denzine, and his family have moved to Marathon.

•••••••••

David Bruce Bertz, 27 years old and father of four, is Clark County’s new traffic officer.

 

He will assume his duties February 1.

 

Bertz’ selection was made by the law enforcement committee of the county board of supervisors in their meeting Tuesday afternoon.  His name was picked from a “preferred list” of three candidates, whittle down from 30 original applicants. 

 

Young Bertz is a lifetime resident of Clark county, now residing on Rt. 1 Loyal.  He will be assigned the northern part of Clark County, with headquarters in either Withee or Owen.

 

Dale D. Schultz, who has been serving the north district, has asked for a transfer to the central district.  That transfer, while not formally acted upon by the committee, probably will be granted in view of the arrangement made by Bertz.

 

The newest member of the county’s three traffic officers has had some training in police work.  He served in the military police of the army for two years, 1951 and 1952, is a graduate of Loyal High School, class of 1947.

 

Of interest to Neillsville residents is that Bertz’ wife is the former Dorothy Thompson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Forest Thompson of Neillsville.

 

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