Community Life  

Seif Township, Clark County, Wisconsin

 

Historical Events

 

1906

 

October 1906 Between Wood’s Corners and the store at Globe are 200 piles of field rock, not counting those in the field corners. This means thousands of cords of paving material. Nothing is wanted but the start to macadamize that road the entire distance. Let Pine Valley and Seif buy a rock-crusher, and the city of Neillsville can rent them their steamroller, free. Clark Co. Press

 

1907

 

July 3, 1907--One storm starting near Tioga left a path of destruction in the Towns of Seif, Weston, Pine Valley and Grant on July 3, 1907.  On that Wednesday afternoon it was excessively hot, humid and very still. At about 4 o’clock, the sky became slightly cloudy with three or four layers of clouds, each moving in different directions, which caught the attention of many people.  Also, in the town of Seif, August Voigt’s house and buildings were badly damaged. The C. H. Shepherd farm was razed; John Schwamb’s house and barn were wrecked.  August Halbreader’s farm buildings sustained damage as did August Meihack’s barn.  Slight damage was done at Fred Hrack Jr.'s building, Adolph Hemp’s barn, and John Aumann’s barn was demolished.  Sereno Wren’s buildings received damage, as well as those of John Ott, Wm. Kurth and Ludwig Dugy.  Wm. Buddenhagen’s barn and windmills were damaged; John Charles barns and house were completely destroyed.  Sol Johnson’s house was blown from its foundation, Hy. Bieneck’s barn wrecked and roof blown from residence.  Fred Goerglitz and Seward Way’s barns were damaged. Clark Co. Press

 

John Charles farmstead as it appeared after the July 3, 1907 tornado, all buildings were destroyed.

 

The barn was razed and a portion of the house roof was taken off at the Hy.

Bieneck farm, a short distance north of Neillsville, during the 1907 storm.

 

1911

 

May, 1911--In the Town of Seif, many young folks attended a dance at Thoma’s.

 

1936

 

October 1936--Another incident shows that even eight years ago, the cost of road building was not great. A stretch of road from Highway 10, in the Town of Seif in about 1928, was cleared by Frank Dormady, who was a resident of the Town of Hewett. The road was built through wild land, included the work of brushing and blasting stumps. His bed on the entire job was $25, along with keeping the wood.

A number of P. W. A. workers are now brushing the sides of this road to a width of about 75 feet on either side of the highway, at a cost of approximately $400. Turnpiking of this road, after it was cleared, cost only about $150, according to Frank Wood, chairman of the Town of Seif.

 

1939

 

Marian Raine, of Town of Pine Valley, and Marvin Wm. Ziegler, of Town of Seif, were married Feb. 18 at Globe Lutheran parsonage. Attendants were Lucille Raine, Melva Catlin, Chas. Foote and Harold Ziegler. A wedding dance was held at the Moose hall Tuesday evening when friends and relatives showered them with gifts.

Doris Ziegler, Town of Seif and Forest Klueckmann were married March 4 at the Globe Lutheran Parsonage, Rev. W. Motzkus officiating. They were attended by Myrtle Klueckmann and Bertie Schultz. A shower was held for them at the Weston town hall, where neighbors and friends presented them with many gifts. The young couple will move onto their Globe area farm April 1st.

 

 

 

Businesses

 


The Globe store, at the crossroads of highways “G,” “H” and “O,” as the interior appeared in 1926. Lucille Prock McConnell in behind the counter. The minister of the Globe Lutheran Church is standing in the aisle, William Parsisus served the congregation 1916-1927 and Walter Matzkus was pastor from 1927-1939.

 

The Globe Grocery Store

 

 

Organizations

 

1934

 

Four-H Club Notes

 

Pupils of Blackberry School, Tioga, Wis., have organized a Four-H Club which consists of thirteen members.  The club leader is Thaddeus Zajac.  The name of their club is Woodland View Four-H Club.  The first meeting was held at the school on April (?), the second meeting was held at the Francis Knops home, May 26th, the third will be held at the L. Perushek home on Jun 6th at 2 p. m.  After the business meeting, a lunch will be served.  Visitors, welcome.

 

The organization plans to give a play at Blackberry School with an ice cream social during the summer, benefits for the club.  Watch for later announcements.

 

Mrs. T. V. Carleton, Teacher

Source: Clark Co. Press 7 June 1934.

 

 

Memories

 

1939

 

Decembert, 1939--Pioneer Frank Lang told some of his memories of living in Clark County.

Two sights have a world of meaning to Lang, an old-timer. Those are Cawley Creek and the big barn which his neighbor, John Zajac, built this spring. He goes over Cawley Creek in traveling to and from Neillsville. It is the now-inconspicuous stream jut north of the Imig school house. The Zajac barn can be seen every time he looks that way, for his farm and that of John Zajac are both in section nine, Town of Seif.

(The former Zajac farmstead is now the home of Randy and Natalie Hauge. D. Z.)

Cawley Creek reminds Lang of the days when he drove logs down the stream. Back then the creek was really something, with swift running water in the spring, and plenty of it. Lang used to ride the logs in it, and occasionally he slipped off and took a wetting. If nowadays we hear great tales of the prowess of men who rode the logs, the glamour would somehow be lessened if we could know how many times they lost their footing and went into the drink. At least, so says Lang, and he ought to know, for he admits many dunkings.

It was dangerous business. To break a jam meant imminent peril, with everybody for himself. If you were in the way of flying logs, you had to get out on your own steam. Everybody else was busy with his own affairs. After braving the perils of flying and rolling logs all day, the men slept in tents along the stream in the month of April, with spring rains running around them and through the tents as they slept. They gathered up rheumatic twinges, to last them into the days of lesser perils.

Twenty-five years ago Lang went into the wilderness of the Town of Seif. He undertook to clear a farm, and has accomplished that. Lang has 120 acres, and to farm it is simple, compared with the labors of clearing it and of farming it when the stumps were thick. He recalls the labor of raising and caring for hay in the old stump days. Then the stumps were so thick that the wagon could not be driven in the field. The hay was cut with a scythe and carried to the wagon. When the season’s hay crop was in the barn, it was a major accomplishment. The work was not much like that upon the Zajac farm this summer, when the hay was stowed away by modern machinery into the new barn.

To him, life in Clark County looks good, and relatively easy, as compared to the labors of the pioneer days.

 

***********

 

My name is Elaine (Wood) Greene, I lived in the town of Seif as a child.  My father purchased some property from John Seif and it was at the end of what is now called Wildwood Rd.  I went to Wildwood Grade School which was on the south side of the road just before the next road on the map.  I have a picture which was taken one year when I was in the upper grades.  I also have some things I've written about the area.


I attended Wildwood School 1936-1944 with the exception of 2nd grade.  We had moved to Greenwood and I attended another school for one year and then we moved back to the farm we had.


The land was just woods and my father cleared it and tried to make a farm out of it.
My father was Kenneth Wood.  I knew most of the neighbors and where they lived at the time and would like to share these memories.
 
Elaine (Wood) Greene/Jenson

 

The map above shows where I lived as a child

The red numbers correspond to the list below

 

This were some of our neighbors.  I have no idea if they were land owners or renters so I won't try to guess either.

1. Where I lived as a child
2. Morris Berthold
3. Art Ziegler
4. Wildwood School
5. Gerald Davis (moved away left vacant)
6. Ted & Idie (May have been Ida) Ziegler
7. Ed & Gustie Ziegler  (Ted and Ed were brothers)
8. Vic Counsel (SP) (moved and Forest Klickman moved in)
9. Swamp (not sure of spelling)
10. Emil Dux
11. Lang or Lange
12 Zajac or Zajak
Drive way for 6 & 8 was one entering from the south and they Y
Drive ways for 9-11 enter from east
Drive for 12 came from North

 

Pictured to the left is Donald & Elaine, the Children of Kenneth Wood.  It was taken on the road near their home which little more than a trail.  They are clutching their lunch bags while on their morning walk to the Wildwood Grade School in about 1940.  "Our neighbors had bikes and they helped us to learn how to ride one, but the sand would sometimes make our bikes stop and we would fall off."


Contributed by Elaine (Wood) Greene/Jenson

 

Christmas Time 

 

One thing I remember and I'll try to describe it; was what we dubbed 'Clodhoppers'.  Dad took a piece of a board about the size of our foot.  He used a wood rasp and rounded the front of these boards so that they didn't have a square end on the front.  Sort of like the front of a ski.  Then he covered this with tin wrapping it over the front and back.  He then put a strap on it that went over our foot.  We used these the same way that we would use skis, but the neat thing about them was you could almost turn a square corner.  My brother and I would take turns making a trial and we would try to make it as difficult as possible.  One day my brother made a trail that had nearly a 90° turn.  Not to be out done I was going to prove I could follow that trail and ended up falling.  I broke the end of my tailbone when I landed on a small stump under the snow.  It was nearly 6 months before I could bend over and tie my shoes.  Contributed by Elaine (Wood) Greene/Jenson.

 

Reply: Elaine, I think that's still a clever item for pop to make.  I can think of many times I beat the law of averages on accidents and worse.  Oh those darn ski's with only a strap to hold them on. I tried to learn figure skating via a book, doesn't work. Always asked for Nancy Drew books, one year I found them up in attic and read before Christmas. Good lesson when I became a parent, hid toys better, like a locked trunk of car. Contributed by Jane Rasmussen.

 

The house of Kenneth Wood (1932 - 1935)

Greenwood Memories by Elaine Jenson

 

 

 

 

 


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