From The Early Files Dec. 2
25 YEARS AGO
Dec. 7, 1995
A jury deliberated just over three and a half hours Friday before putting an end to the five-year-old Trempealeau County Circuit Court Case against a Blair man charged with causing the death of his passenger by the intoxicated use of a motor vehicle. The seven-man, five-woman panel, which heard the charges against Eugene Greenwold returned its verdict shortly before 8 p.m. on the fourth day of the trial. Foreman Larry Brenengen of Galesville informed the court that the jury had found Greenwold, 30, not guilty in the death of Julie Murray.
The village of Pigeon Falls, short on residential lots because of its successful development efforts, is looking to buy more land to subdivide. Village president Kermit Hanvold told the board of trustees Monday night that the village had made a proposal on 33 acres of land located on the southeast side of town.
The Whitehall city council Thursday approved a Whitehall Development Fund loan for a new local business. At a special meeting, the council voted 4-2 to grant a $10,000 loan of Al Sczepanski, owner of the Mister Kleen Auto Wash, which is being built at the corner of Ervin and South Abrams streets.
The Wisconsin State Supreme Court recently appointed William N. Koslo of the Kostner & Koslo Law Firm in Arcadia to the Board of Attorney’s Professional Responsibility.
Arcadia Police Chief Pat Grzadzielewski reported that someone has run down some newly-plated trees at Memorial Park. According to a police report, officers were summoned to the park at 10 a.m. on Nov. 8 to investigate the criminal damage. Police viewed tire tracks, which were near the destroyed trees. This isn’t the first time damage was eon to the park and three trees were damaged by vandals earlier this year.
Joseph Suchla, Arcadia, has been charged with causing the death of Norman Nelson due to a traffic accident, which took place on June 3. Nelson, a passenger in a vehicle driven by Jim Schutz, died of massive head trauma as a result of the crash. Schutz had a broken leg, forearm fracture and facial fracture and another passenger Gary Andre was reported to have had fractures in his left pelvic and forearm. Suchla has been charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle, among other charges and is scheduled to appear in Trempealeau County Circuit Court on Dec. 13.
A $1.56 million budget that calls for a local tax levy down nearly two percent from this year was adopted by the Trempealeau village board Monday night.
Equipment was moved into place for trenching Wednesday across West Avenue, between John’s 1 Stop and the north fork of Beaver Creek. The Ettrick village board had approved the trenching, part of a fuel spill cleanup effort at the request of an environmental cleanup firm.
A public informational meeting on a proposal by Northern States Power Co., to rebuild its existing 69-kilovolt transmission line from Blair to Melrose will be held Thursday.
The Blair-Preston Fire Department held an election of officers at its November meeting. Mark Garson retained his position as fire chief as did Mark Frederixon, assistant chief, Gary Christenson, first vice president, Duane Dahl, secretary and Dennis Stephenson, treasurer. Three men recently added to the department’s roster are Tim Wilson, Chris Ekern and Brian Jahr.
50 YEARS AGO
Dec. 10, 1970
Whitehall will have a modern medical clinic building, to be located across from Tri-County Memorial Hospital, by next summer, the Whitehall Industrial Development Corporation announced this week. Word was received last week that a direct loan is available from the federal Small Business Administration to finance the project.
Whitehall volunteer firemen were called to the Gene Rebarchek farm west of the city last week Tuesday evening to extinguish a fire that had started in a storeroom on the second floor of the home.
Dave Knudtson and Jeff Dahl scored 20 and 18 points, respectively, as the Norsemen won their second conference game in as many tries, 76-48 over Blair.
Three directors, Andrew Stettler, William Micek and Bernard Haines were elected to the board of directors of the Arcadia Cooperative Association at the annual stockholders meeting Saturday.
A fire of undetermined origin destroyed a barn, three tractors, some livestock, several thousand bales of hay and straw and a silo on the Gerald Slaby farm in Lewis Valley early Sunday morning.
Fire destroyed the Howard Melby home in rural Blair. It began near an upstairs chimney.
Richard Nyen won the “Mr. Buck” contest at The Viking Bar with a 185-pound buck that had a 20-inch spread.
Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Berg will observe their 50th wedding anniversary.
Ettrick Creamery, which has been a receiving station under AG Coop, Arcadia, will do so until the end of the year and then decide as to the fate at that time.
75 YEARS AGO
Dec. 6, 1945
The net cost of operating 82 rural and state-graded schools in Trempealeau County for the year ending June 1 was $192,456, according to the annual report made by Miss Dorris Sander, county superintendent of schools, to the county board last month.
The Keys Well Drilling Co. of St. Paul, Minn., has completed a well for the city of Whitehall, 235 feet in depth, situated just west of the Berdan nursery on No. 53. A 24-hour test for quantity was completed Tuesday noon and proved a capacity of 370 gallons per minute. While the gallonage is not as great as the drill operators anticipated, it is said it will be sufficient for an adequate supply for the city.
A telegram was received last week by City Clerk H.J. Elstad informing the city that the government had allocated to Whitehall 10 wartime housing units. The council had applied for earlier this fall for the demountable buildings to help relieve the housing shortage in the city.
More profitable than any war plant job, and probably in many ways much more fun and healthful, has been that of Conrad Kramer, young Dodge trapper, who recently invaded the office of the county clerk at Whitehall loaded down with 41 fox pelts, which he trapped in 17 days. Deputy Clerk Gladys Sanrope was kept busy for some time clipping ears for the bounty, which is $5 on each animal.
R.A. Holtan, who is developing an apiary, has built a bee house in east Whitehall directly west of the Olaf Wivelstad residence, 24 by 46 feet, one story. The building is used as winter quarters for his colonies, and also for storage space for his equipment.
Deep snow handicapped hunters in the north woods during the deer season, and only a handful of local hunters brought back bucks from the north. Bennie Nelson shot his buck in Jackson County, and Clarence Kaas brought down his venison in the Fairchild.
John Fjeld, foreman, started work Monday morning with a crew of men laying a sewer main from the corner of West and Blair streets to the golf club house.
Ray Sorenson, Winona architect, spent Friday at the Trempealeau County asylum, making plans for extensive improvements that will be made there soon. The plans need to be approved by the property committee of the county board, the industrial commission and the state department of public welfare.
Leonard Ellison will open his new Coast to Coast Store in Blair on Dec. 8.
100 YEARS AGO
Dec. 9, 1920
The annual meeting of the committee on common schools was held at the courthouse Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Consideration was given to the consolidation of school districts, changes in the boundaries of existing districts, and formation of new districts.
A very pleasant evening was spent by about 45 people at the nurses’ home last Wednesday, the gathering being in honor of Miss Ina Anderson, who finished a three-year course in the training school that day.
The Whitehall school is making their rhetorical matters of great public interest. The high school put on a play in a very creditable manner, and last Friday night the grades presented a pageant, “America — Yesterday and Today,” in which all the pupils participated. The work was nicely done and the large audience manifested appreciation by the frequent applause.
A.O. Melby, Ed Scott, Theron Scott, Albert Saxrud and wife, A.V.A. Peterson and wife, R.H. Holtan and wife, and F.W. Lowe and wife left Friday morning for Texas on the Surety Land Co. excursion.
York — A few of the farmers are hauling gravel on the Beaver Creek road, as means of better roads.
Northfield —The Hixton high school students from here returned to school again Monday after a week’s vacation.
Borst Valley — The farmers have been busy stripping tobacco this week. Helge Dakkestul is on the sick list. Renold Engum returned from Ladysmith last week, where he has been working in the woods. Arthur Stevens took a load of hogs to Independence Friday, for which he received eight cents per pound.
Jacob George, 80, another pioneer of Glencoe Valley and native of Prussia, passed away. Another obituary was Robert Forsyth, a veteran of the Civil War.
James Maloney of Maloney and Maloney accompanied a carload of live poultry to Chicago and visited the International Livestock Exposition while there.
125 YEARS AGO
Dec. 5, 1895
The annual meeting of the Trempealeau County Union Teachers Association was held at the county courthouse Friday and Saturday, and was attended by a large number. The sessions were interesting and profitable throughout.
Thanksgiving came and went as usual to our people last Thursday. Union services at the Baptist church in the morning were not as largely attended as the occasion merited. In the evening, the Modern Woodmen of America camp gave a grant basket sociable at the Opera Hall, which was a complete success.
District Attorney Ekern has placed a Remington typewriter in his office.
Hale — A social hop was enjoyed by a number at the Grange Hall last night.
Blair — Haldor Lokken, G.G. Haug and Simon Bergseng, who went south early this fall, have separated. Lokken and Haug are together hunting wild turkeys, geese, ducks. etc., on the lakes near Osceola, Ark., while Simon has tired of that kind of life and gone to work in a saw mill at Oakton, Ky.
Hale — Louis Gestvan, while threshing, in some way became entangled in the belts of the machine and had his wrist broken. Dr. Olson of Osseo set the fractured member.
Hale — In compliance with a law passed some time ago, Town Clerk Hovre purchased a number of library books to be divided among the several school districts in the town, which he delivered the past week.
Independence — Arthur Dusenberry has purchased the building owned by H. Melgaard, and will keep a confectionery store. He has received a new barber chair and will run a barber shop in connection.
