From Our Early Files Feb. 3, 2021
25 YEARS AGO
Feb. 8, 1996
A couple special Whitehall city council committees are starting work on projects that could mean major commitments of tax dollars. The fire station space needs advisory committee met for the first time last week Wednesday and the municipal swimming pool panel, which consists of all city council members, was to meet this week Tuesday.
It used to be called the Mississippi River Human Services Center, and later, Psychiatric and Counseling services. But, as of last month, Trempealeau County residents can call it their own. In January, the county was officially informed that it was the owner of the former MRHSC building, located on Hwy. 121 on the east side of Independence.
The State Bank of Arcadia is collecting donation to help rebuild the Knoxville, Tenn., church firebombed on Jan. 8. Green Bay Packers football player Reggie White is an associate pastor at the multi-racial church, which was destroyed by arsonists in what is believed to be a racial incident.
On Feb. 2, Paul Gerrard of Dodge Partners Limited Partnership and Gerrard Realty, La Crosse, and several local dignitaries and citizens braved the bitter cold to celebrate the grand opening of Dodge Hillside Apartments.
Arcadia-Glencoe Volunteer Fire Department held its 1996 officer elections as Alvin Zastrow nominated present Arcadia Fire Chief Michael Wineski. The motion was seconded by Vince Wozney and passed unanimously to reelect Winesky to the position.
Founder and part-owner Glen Reit maintains that the employees at Dairyland Laboratories, Inc. and their commitment to excellence are the primary reasons for the company’s continued success. Dairyland Labs. Was started in 1958 by Reit and the company has had its primary lab in Arcadia since 1959.
Bob Koba’s bid to rebuild his fire-damaged riverside home was set back as the Trempealeau County Board of Adjustment followed its attorney’s advice and not its heart on Friday. The board denied Koba a variance to the flood plain zoning ordinance. Temporarily, at least, Koba is prevented from restoring a home that has been in the family for nearly 50 years.
Some Trempealeau County farmers will be forced out of business under strict animal control rules, according to a year-long study by the Trempealeau County agricultural extension agent. The study by Dennis Frame is to be released next month. In discussing his report, the ag agent said his report also will raise some “huge societal issues.” Frame said he will present his detailed study of 30 farms to the Farm Bureau.
Members of the Tuesday morning exercise class in Trempealeau took some time this week to exercise their right to support “the boys in Bosnia.” They brought goodies from home to be packed and shipped to American peacekeeping forces in the war-torn Baltic nation. One of their own, Sgt. Scott Uhl, is among them.
Between 10 and 10:30 on Jan. 26 Blair teens Brenda Olson and Jennifer Dippman heard a voice shouting “Help me, help me…” in the distance on a snowy night. Their first impression was that it was maybe kids fooling around, but they continued and summoned Brenda’s 18-year-old brother, Kenny. The three commenced to Riverside Memorial Park, trailing the voice they all heard. It was there where they found a middle-aged man laid out in a snow bank, unable to walk. With the aid of the three teens, the man was taken to a nearby residence. The man, Richard Decker of Augusta, was taken to Tri-County Memorial Hospital in Whitehall, where he remained hospitalized for a couple of days, and the teenagers are credited with saving his life.
The biggest and best Cheese Festival in several years — or maybe ever — sums up the 1995 Blair celebration as net profit for the three-day event totaled $11,600.56.
50 YEARS AGO
Feb. 11, 1971
This area received another 10 inches of snow Thursday, blown around by winds of blizzard proportions, which blocked highways and closed schools. To compound the misery, temperatures took a nosedive, the thermometer reading 42 below zero here Monday; Northfield-area residents reported 52 below.
Sonja Lyngen has been named Whitehall High’s 1971 Betty Crocker Homemaker of Tomorrow.
Dr. Paul Dettloff, Arcadia veterinarian, was a guest speaker at the Wisconsin Veterinarian Convention in Milwaukee. His topic was Hardware Retrieval.
Alan Robertson, 29, Blair, has announced his candidacy for the assembly seat in Jackson and Trempealeau counties in the spring election, a vacancy created by the resignation of John Radcliffe.
The city of Arcadia has set up specific regulations for snowmobiles, reported Chief of Police Edward Kaiser. Among the regulations is a maximum speed of 10 miles per hour; a full stop must be made at each intersection, yielding the right-of-way at all times; snowmobiles must travel single file on the right hand side of the street; highways can’t be used within the city limits, except for a 90-degree angle crossing; snowmobiles shall be equipped with a muffler; a headlight and taillight are required and must be in good condition; snowmobiles shall not be operated on the skating rinks among other regulations.
Officially, the scouts of Galesville Troop 61 will be winding up the scout week celebrating the 61st anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America when they host the first Kondike Derby of the Gateway Council on Lake Marinuka, Feb. 14.
75 YEARS AGO
Feb. 7, 1946
The county board of supervisors voted Tuesday to set aside $100,000 for the improvement of the Trempealeau County Asylum. This program has been in the offing for some time, with the state making demands for improvements and the trustees agreeing.
The gymnasium was filled to overflowing with the crowd that saw the two basketball games featured in the infantile paralysis benefit. Many seats had been reserved by fans from Arcadia, Independence and Taylor, whose teams played here, and the Whitehall High School pep band was an added attraction.
Norman Foss has purchased the store business from the estate of his late brother, Ernest, and took over Monday morning at the stand on Abrams St.
Arcadia, in common with the rest of Western Wisconsin, has experienced freak weather this week. Tuesday brought a February thaw with mild temperatures, thunder, rain and fog. Wednesday brought a drop in the temperatures ad blizzard-like conditions as large amounts of snow and high winds made travel almost impossible to motorists.
100 YEARS AGO
Feb. 10, 1921
The Supreme Court handed down decisions last Tuesday setting aside the verdicts in the cases of Adam and Mary Ogodziski vs. Rev. Gara, et all, of Independence. This means a distinct victory for the priest and his fellow defendants, as well as for Messrs. Kulig, Eggum and Higbee, who conducted the cases for them. It will be recalled that these cases were perhaps the most notorious tried at Whitehall in a great many years.
The Polish-American Navigation Corp. sent four representatives to Independence Sunday to hold meetings and make plans for selling its stock. District Attorney Eggum notified the railroad commission to investigate the matter and the result was, no stock was sold and the representatives left. They had no permit to sell their stock.
A petition was in circulation the past week, and numerously signed here, asking for the appointment of Judge R.S. Cowie to the position of judge of the U.S. district court.
The hockey game Sunday between the Whitehall High School and village teams resulted, after an hour of overtime play, in a score of 0 to 0. The high school boys showed a degree of expertness that should make possible some interesting inter-high school games this winter.
R.J. Wieland was elected president of the Arcadia Shipping Association with E.B. McWeeney, vice president, F.B. McWeeney, secretary, treasurer and manager; F. Wiffler, Adam Zeller, Robert Ashton and O.A. Olson, directors and J.J. Bill, G.W. Haines and E.O. Herbert, auditors.
The annual W.O.W. masquerade ball was attended by a large crowd, mostly spectators, the number of maskers being very few.
G.A. Schneller, Emil Maurer, Dr. G.N. Hidershide, Geo. Schmidt, George Bohrnstedt and J.C. Gaveney of Arcadia were elected directors of the Western Wisconsin Telephone Company.
Peace and harmony again reign at Osseo. The Board of Education has withdrawn its order regulating hours for out-of-town girl students. The unauthorized publication of the document and misinterpretation has caused the board to cancel this particular set of rules.
Sam Slaughter, manager of the Trempealeau yards of the Central Lumber Company has been assigned to the charge of the company’s yards at Arcadia.
125 YEARS AGO
Feb. 6, 1896
Ole Vold has moved his family from the village back onto the homestead.
Albert Nelson, of the ex-firm of Nelson and Huse, Osseo, has taken a clerkship with John O. Gilbertson in this village.
Marinus O. Grythe has severed his position as miller for James Larson, on account of poor health, the business not agreeing with him.
President W.S. Kidder was at Blair Monday and conferred with the village authorities there relative to the sale of Whitehall’s chemical fire engine.
The Whitehall and Pigeon Trading Association has secured the services of L.H. Whitney of Coral City to succeed C.P. Thompson as its business manager. Mr. Whitney is well and favorably known to the residents of this vicinity -- we might say of the county -- is a first-class businessman, and the association is fortunate in retaining his valuable services in this capacity.
Charles Phillips was brought here from Arcadia and placed in the county jail to serve a six-month sentence, for failure to furnish the bond and pay the fine imposed for his threatening to shoot Editor L.G. Barth of the Arcadia Leader. It appears that some months since, Phillips attempted suicide by taking laudanum at an Arcadia hotel, and the matter was noticed and commented on by The Leader. Phillips claimed that he lost his position as conductor on the Burlington railroad as a result of that article, and to even up matter procured a revolver and started gunning for the object of his wrath. But liquor prevented him from carrying out his threat and landed him behind bars.
Pigeon Falls — A load of young people, calling themselves a Leap Year party, went to Blair Saturday, returning Sunday evening, and report a tip-top time.
Independence — The contractors engaged in the construction of the Catholic church here are experiencing trouble paying the men employed in the plastering work. Several of the men have commenced proceedings for filing liens on the building, and Tuesday last the remainder of the crew were laid off indefinitely. The church is an extremely costly one, and this combined with the hard times, will seriously delay its completion.
