From The Early Files March 31, 2021
25 YEARS AGO
April 4, 1996
The Whitehall Economic Development Loan Fund Board will meet to consider an application for borrowing. Gary and Jane Holen of rural Whitehall are seeking a $20,000 loan from the fund, which provides low-interest loans to new and expanding businesses and industries. The Holen’s new firm, The Oil Spot, would be located on Main Street near the Trempealeau River bridge. The loan funds would amount to about one-sixth of the cost of a project. The business would provide quick oil changes for motor vehicles and also do some light welding.
It is not uncommon for Trempealeau County board seats to go uncontested in elections, but the situation last month in District 19 may have been the ultimate electoral apathy. Not only was there no contest for the Galesville-area seat, there were no write-in candidates. What few votes were cast went to either a non-candidate or a non-resident of that district.
Effective March 1, Steve Nicolai of Whitehall became the new Whitehall Golf Course superintendent, succeeding John Berg, who retired. Nicolai worked under Berg for about five years.
Ernie Reck, 72, died Saturday at Franciscan Skemp Healthcare in Arcadia. He left a legacy, which will be second to none in Arcadia and the surrounding area as he was involved in the entertainment business for most of his life. Last year, he celebrated his 35th anniversary on radio. His radio program, “Arcadia on the Air,” was on KWNO 1230 AM each day.
Sheila Lettner, a nine-year-old Arcadia Catholic School student, will be playing one of the leading roles in the play Peter Pan, which is being put on by the Centerville Community Foundation. Lettner will play Wendy in the rendition.
A hillcrest collision of two vehicles in Silver Creek Road Monday night sent a 69-year-old Galesville woman and a 20-year-old Holmen man to hospitals in La Crosse. Listed in fair condition Tuesday afternoon with a fractured ankle was Annabelle Geske. She was driving west when her car and a car driven by Jeremy Fischer collided on the crest of a hill.
A Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau bus driver, confronted with a young student said to be choking on a swallowed coin is being credited for actions that led to her proper medical care. The girl, crying and choking, was brought to the front of the bus recently by her sister who said the younger girl had swallowed a quarter on the ride home after school. Driver Dale Anderson said he took the girl into her house and fond no one home and summoned his sister-in-low, Sarah Anderson, a nurse who lives nearby. The girl was taken to the hospital and treatment was successful. The quarter showed up the next morning on the bus, in a jar.
Jayme Steien and Scott Anderson were honored as the top senior athletes at Blair-Taylor High School, while Christina Miller and Mark Stetzer were the school’s Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Scholar Athletes.
The annual Easter Egg Hunt in Blair will take place on Saturday at the Blair-Taylor Lower Elementary School.
50 YEARS AGO
April 8, 1971
Several old buildings, including a couple Whitehall landmarks, are in the process of being razed. The two-story duplex on Kelly St. owned by the Methodist church was demolished to make way for new construction. Razed to provide more parking, respectively, for Keenan Ford-Mercury and Holtan’s Discount and Locker Plant, were the storage building located across from Larson Building Materials, and the old hotel on Abram St.
Four early-bird golfers were out on the Whitehall course Sunday afternoon. George Hegge, John Berg and Dickie Sosalla played the first complete round of the season, although they had to pick a few balls out of the snow. Sanford Moen got as far as the putting green.
The purchase of a new ultra sound machine for the physical therapy department at St. Joseph Hospital by the Arcadia Lions Club has increased the number of methods of treatment available to patients in this growing department.
Vandalism to the 1971 Plymouth Fury III loaned to the Arcadia High School for driver education and a 1952 Chevrolet owed by the school were reported to city police and the Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Department Monday morning.
Everyone curses taxes — with good reason. According to Howard Reynolds, State Supervisor of Assessments, residents of Trempealeau County will be paying taxes on property which has increased in equalized assessed value by almost 15 percent in one year.
Anyone interested in playing on the Galesville softball team during the coming season should contract John Salsman or register at Snappers Bar.
The Rev. K.M. Urburg, Blair, will conduct Norwegian communion services at French Creek Lutheran Church.
75 YEARS AGO
April 4, 1946
All three referendums that came before the public in Trempealeau County on Tuesday’s election ballot were voted down. The referendum on allowing county sheriffs unlimited tenure, rather than the two consecutive terms that they are now allow, was rejected statewide and in this county, although Whitehall voted in favor of it. Voters in the town of Lincoln rejected the issuance of beer licenses in the township, 63 to 36. Galesville turned down licensing the sale of intoxicating liquor by a margin of 264 to 80; that city now licenses beer and operates a municipal liquor store.
The Whitehall-Pigeon Rod and Gun Club, at its annual business meeting, voted unanimously in favor of a fish and pond project for this year. The pond, to be used for trout exclusively, is to be located near the county asylum, where a continuous flow of water from three springs is available.
Camouflage is no longer necessary for military vehicles, so city electrician Lawrence Gruentzel, who recently purchased a government munitions carrier, has painted the truck bright red. The service truck is not hard to see coming or going.
Mrs. Alvin Larson of Fuller Coulee had a scare Monday afternoon when noticed she had a chimney fire, while she was ironing clothes and had bread ready to go into the oven. She called her neighbor, Mrs. Oscar Fremstad, as she was home along with the two boys, Mr. Larson being in Pigeon Falls. The central girl called on the lines and help arrived in time to check the fire before damage was done.
Florian Christ suffered a painful injury to his left foot last Friday afternoon at the Trempealeau County highway shops where he is employed. The wing of a snowplow came down on his foot when he let the chain loose, with sufficient force to crush the toes of his foot badly. He will be laid up for several weeks.
Arcadia will enter a city baseball team in the newly organized Bi-State League. Enthusiasm is running high at the present time for a revival of the pre-war spirit in this truly American sport. The league was organized at a meeting in Alma this week. There are currently seven cities in the league.
Work in the fields of Trempealeau County began as a farmer between Independence and Elk Creek was in the field March 22.
Blair and Preston pay honor to the World War II veterans and their spouses at a banquet at Zion Church.
100 YEARS AGO
April 7, 1921
District Attorney O.J. Eggum and Coroner Dr. E.A. MacCornack were called to Strum Saturday to investigate the cause of death of a newborn babe found abandoned under the floor of an outhouse located behind a millinery store in that village.
The Whitehall board of education is planning on adding an agricultural course to the high school curriculum. This is in the interest of the farm boys and girls of the community, and will tend to keep the boys on the farm. We would suggest that the boundaries of the district be enlarged at no expenses, and thus enable a large number of scholars to take advantage of the new educational features without the payment of tuition fees. This question is worthy of your earnest consideration.
The Improvement Association is taking steps to bring some new enterprises to Whitehall. Park improvements are to be tackled, and “welcome” and “thank you” signs placed at the city limits. The association has been in working order only a few weeks, and already has a large amount of work mapped out.
J.E. Wilken has bought the Dewey Street Lutheran church property, and will convert the building into a residence of colonial design. He will also build two new residences on the lot, facing Roosevelt Street.
The notorious Poremba, who made his escape from the county jail here last summer, and was later captured in Waukesha, has made an attempt to escape from the Waukesha jail. He was caught attempting to saw through the bars of his cell.
An Arcadia village referendum on a bonding project for improvement and repair of the water system lost by nearly a two-to-one vote, 199-105. The main argument against the issue seemed to be the large sum asked. M.M. Mergener was elected village president defeating J.G. Schneider, 167-162. Ed McWeeney was elected chairman of the town of Arcadia and R.J. Wieland was elected chairman of the town of Glencoe.
The remains of Martin A. Erickson, who died May 29, 1918 on the battlefield in France, the first Trempealeau County boy to do so, arrived in Arcadia. Burial was in the family plot in Fagernes Cemetery.
All the books in the Galesville Public Library have been fumigated and are now ready for service.
W.S. Wadleigh was reelected mayor of Galesville over O.D. Witherbee, by a majority of two votes.
At the Ettrick election, the big fight was on the railway question. The proposition to surrender the $100,000 in bonds voted by the town of the construction of the Ettrick & Northern Railway carried. In return for the $100,000 the town of Ettrick gets one dollar.
125 YEARS AGO
April 2, 1896
April came in lion-like. We are having March weather this month.
The Whitehall mill property sustained considerable damage Monday night by the water washing out the flume. The banks were badly cut, and the entire woodwork next to the mill carried away.
For the past year, Mrs. Wallace Cummings has been troubled more or less with a pain in the fleshy part of here left thigh. Last Friday she started for Blair in a buggy, and on the way was taken by an excruciating pain in that part of the anatomy, and extracted there from a sewing needle an inch and a half long, apparently whole excepting the eye. Mrs. Cummings cannot recall swallowing or otherwise getting the needle into her body.
Andrew Johnson of Preston has commenced a civil action against P.G. Hanson, also of that township, claiming $10,000 for the loss of services of his daughter, Miss Sena.
Blair — Haldor Lokken and John Haug returned home yesterday from a winter’s sojourn in the South. The boys enjoyed themselves hunting and fishing in the sloughs and bayous of Arkansas. Haldor took on 20, and John 16 pounds, of flesh while basking in that sunny clime, and are looking hale and hearty. Haldor says that section of the county is all right to winter in, but for an all-around climate, give him old Wisconsin.
Pigeon Falls — Fremstad and Refsnas are now supplying the people with animal food and we do not expect to find a vegetarian left in this vicinity after his, all being anxious to help along this new industry.
