From Our Early Files March 17, 2021

25 YEARS AGO

March 21, 1996

            It wasn’t as drastic at the last two elections, but Tuesday’s voting again resulted in the defeat of a number of incumbent members of the Trempealeau County Board of Supervisors. Four supervisors were defeated in the spring general election, held early this year due to the presidential preference primary. Incumbent members losing in the election were Norm Herman, Adolph Gierok, John Radcliffe and Hensel Vold. Four other board members did not seek reelection: David Mahlum, Nelson Richason, John Sobotta, Roland Thomas and Chuck Zauner. 

            Two area cooperatives have joined forces to form a new company which will help local people gain access to the information superhighway. Tri-County Telephone and Western Wisconsin Communications recently formed Tri-West Communications, offering access to the internet and the World Wide Web. 

            Charles Blaschko recently received the Silver Beaver Award, the highest award the Gateway Area Council can bestow upon an adult volunteer. Blaschko is the second local citizen to be selected as a recipient of the prestigious award as Todd Fetsch, local scoutmaster, received it in 1983. 

            Approximately 200 people came to the basement of St. Stanislaus Church in Arcadia to celebrate the field of agriculture for the ninth annual Ag Day celebration. 

            Dan Olson told the Galesville city council that he moved here two-and-a half years ago because it was “one of the quietest places” he’d found. Then he placed a tape recording o the banging and hissing that he says comes up the hill from the foundry until 1:30 a.m. each workday and starts again four hours later. His wife told the council that her job as a physical therapists requires that she be focused. “I’m losing productivity at work. I’ve rented a motel for a couple of nights because I was desperate for sleep.”

            State Transportation Department officials said they will close Main Street down for three weeks to allow through traffic in the business district instead of allowing one-way traffic during a longer construction period during the 1997 road and bridge work. Emergency vehicles would have access to the area at all times and local traffic would be permitted at one of three intersections, city council members were advised Tuesday. The reason for not allowing two-way traffic over a longer period is the need to make expensive improvements to Highway T that would be required if used longer than three weeks. 

            Danielle Docken, a 1993 Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau graduate and junior at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse placed second in the long jump at the Division Three National Collegiate Indoor Track Championship. 

            What’s the fate of the Taylor school buildings if the May 4 school referendum passes? The referendum is to erect a new 9-12 high school in a neutral location and to remodel the existing Blair building into a prek-8 school. Taylor Village President Ellsworth Benedict and trustee Robert Hulett aired their concern about the Taylor buildings before the Blair-Taylor School board at its March 18 meeting. The buildings may be hard to sell and the village board members did not want to see the building sold to a party and then left half torn down or half standing, with vandalism done. The board received an estimate that demolishing the building would cost $100,000. 

50 YEARS AGO

Thursday, March 2

            Sunset Memorial is the name for the new school building being erected west of Sunset Elementary. The name was chosen by a vote of the entire student body at Memorial High last week, from a ballot that also included West Glen, West View, Heritage, Vocational and Arts Center.

            The city council, in special session last week Wednesday, awarded Eugene McDevitt a Class B beer license for the former Pix Theatre building, which he is now remodeling into an 18-year-old and over bar.            A successful year of operation with gross sales exceeding 1969 will be reviewed at the annual meeting of the A-G Cooperative Creamery on March 27 in the Arcadia High School gym. 

            The Arcadia FFA parliamentary procedure team won first place at the sectional contest held at Brookwood High School. The team will advance to the state convention in June. Team members are Kent Nilsestuen, Ron Pronschinske, Dean Sobotta, Ron Olson, Russell Weltzien, Pat Waters and Randy Weltzien. 

            Governor Patrick Lucey will be the guest speaker at a dinner sponsored by the Trempealeau-Jackson County Democrats on behalf of Keith Hardie at Ss. Peter and Paul School in Independence on Saturday.

            Melvin Nelson, chairman of the Arcadia Broiler-Dairy  Festival parade committee reported that the Lions Club is interested in holding a parade this year, but will have to rely on community support for the project. 

            “We pay the teachers’ salaries. Why shouldn’t the public be entitled to know what is happening during the teacher salary negotiations in our school district?” This has been the subject of at least a dozen editorials in the weekly newspapers of Wisconsin during the recent weeks. The broader subject of government secrecy and the right of the American public to know the truth at all levels of government is the subject of hundreds of editorials in all the news media every year throughout the country. The Galesville Republican agrees with the press of Wisconsin. The public must be informed. The public must know the truth.  

            A fire destroyed a combination storage barn-granary and corncrib early Sunday morning on the Merton Tisthammer farm just off Highway 54 in Skunk Coulee near Galesville.

75 YEARS AGO

March 21, 1946

            Four Trempealeau County delegates, O.J. Eggum of Whitehall, John Markham of Independence, Ed Thomasgaard of Strum and Robert Lewis of Hale were among the 415 Progressive party members attending the state meeting held Sunday in Portage. The meeting was called to decide the future of the party, and 284 of those present voted to return to the Republican party, rather than continue as a separate party or join the Democrats.

            It is not infrequent that one has difficulty talking over the phone in Trempealeau County. But last week Mrs. Wm. Remington of Whitehall had the experience and pleasure of talking with her husband, who is with the American occupation forces in Germany. It was a clear hook-up, and neither had difficulty hearing the conversation.

            Spring is officially here -- Jack Rhode appeared on the street last Friday, March 15, wearing a straw hat. No matter that it was a somewhat battered lid, it was still the herald. It is probably the one that he has used to officially welcome spring since he came to Whitehall 35 or so years ago. Jack says there are robins galore about, and that he even saw a butterfly the other day.

            The Synod Lutheran Luther League meeting which was to have been held Sunday evening in Pigeon Falls was postponed on account of bad roads, and will be held instead on April 7.

            Spring showers would help to settle the ground.

            Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Olson have purchased the Burr Tarrant residence on Lincoln St., now occupied by the W.C. Foth family. Mr. Olson, who was employed in a defense plant at Colorado Springs, Colo., during the war, plans to return to his work as mechanic at the Auto Sales Co.

            There is still an urgent need for women workers in La Crosse. Although the U.E. employment service and the Chamber of Commerce are sponsoring a campaign for 1,000 jobs, largely for veterans, it has been difficult to recruit women for jobs in La Crosse industrial establishments. Girls 17 years and older will be considered, if they are high school graduates. The USO Travelers Aid has a number of sleeping rooms available for men or women.

            Stanley Christianson has bought the home of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Misch in East Whitehall. Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Engevold have occupied the house since Mr. and Mrs. Misch have been in the employ of Hjalmer Foss.

            Nancy Houser, a member of the senior class at Arcadia High School, won first place in the district forensics contest held in La Crosse. Speakers from 22 schools participated in the contest. Nancy will now compete in the state competition held in Madison.

            Local stockholders in the Arcadia Brewing Company disposed of their interests in a transaction completed Wednesday of this week. The purchasers are distributors in a Kansas syndicate. 

            Three county schoolhouses have been broken into recently, according to Sheriff Basil Erickson.

            Bob Syverson was appointed temporary Blair village marshal to succeed Ed Mickelson, who resigned. 

            A Dads and Lads Banquet will be held in Taylor, sponsored by Lutheran Brotherhood.

            C.A. Brye, Ettrick, has installed an electric refrigerated showcase in his grocery store. 

            The Alfred Runnestrand Legion Post of Ettrick decided to change the posts’ name to Runnestrand-Pederson post in honor of Theodore Pederson, Ettrick’s first hometown boy killed in World War II.        

100 YEARS AGO

March 24, 1921

            Richard Mattson was drowned at the mill dam Sunday morning while attempting to save his property from damage by the flood. He went to the dam about 4:30 a.m. to remove the slash boards to relieve the pressure on the structure. His son Hilman followed soon after, and found his lantern on the walkway, but he was nowhere to be seen. Hundreds of people showed up to assist in the search, and several charges of dynamite were used in hopes of forcing the treacherous waters to give up their victim, but his body was not found until Monday morning, near the cement factory.

            The caucus Saturday night was well attended. Eleven women participated and were given minor nominations, but they will be more in evidence in future primaries. Mrs. Wm. Mason, Mrs. A.V.A. Peterson and Mrs. O.J. Eggum were nominated, respectively for justice of the peace, police justice and constable. The chances are the ladies will all refuse to go on the ballot at this time.

            The fire department was called out Monday afternoon to a chimney fire at the Walter Risberg home, which was soon put out.

            Miss Louise Solsrud has returned from Northfield, Minn., where she took instruction on the pipe organ. Miss Solsrud will be organist in the new Norwegian church.

            The Mabbett-Harper Tobacco Co. has finished work at the tobacco warehouse here, and some of the help has gone to Tomah, where that concern has another office.

            The women of Whitehall are requested to meet in the Village Hall Saturday afternoon at  3:30 o’clock for the purpose of organizing an auxiliary to the Whitehall Improvement Association.

            The patients at the hospital are grateful to the women of the Relief Corps for a splendid contribution of sweet peas.

            V. Bartholomew has moved his family to the Sever Galstad farm, which he will work the coming year.

            Palmer Ackley of Pigeon has rented his 200-acre farm to Peter Anderson of Blair. Mr. Ackley will try something else for a couple years.

            York -- The heavy rains which fell Saturday morning did considerable damage at this place, washing out the roads, one by Thompson’s store and the Beaver Creek road. Charlie Irish’s shoe shop wet with the flood, landing on an island further down the creek.

            Members of Martin A. Erickson Post 17 American Legion were notified that the body of Martin A. Erickson, first boy from this locality to make the supreme sacrifice in World War I was being shipped home for burial, which was to take place in the Fagernes Church cemetery near Blair. 

            J.J. Feltes opened a grocery store in his building on Washington St.

            Arcadia participated in an American Legion District basketball tournament at Menomonie, rolling up the largest score of any team at the tournament and allowing its opponents the smallest average score.

            Richard Matson, 53, proprietor of the flour mill at Whitehall drowned while cleaning debris from the dam in back of his mill. 

            William Beirne, who bought a parcel of the John Taylor farm northeast of Galesville, has improved the place with modern buildings, including a fine farm home. 

            The Gilbertson Myhre Co. has added to its equipment a hemstitching machine, a clever device for relieving ladies of tedious handwork. 

            A number of cases of Scarlet Fever caused a suspension of the public schools two days last week while the building was fumigated and other precautionary measures were taken. 

            The body of Arthur Dahl, son of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Dahl, will arrive from France in Galesville this week. We was killed in the summer campaign of 1918. His body will be the first to be returned from France to Galesville. 

125 YEARS AGO

March 19, 1896

            The village school closes tomorrow for a week’s vacation.

            The wearing of the green was not general here Tuesday.

            Miss Kittie Melby has taken the position of cashier in the bank.

            Whooping cough has broken out in the elementary department of the village school.

            The firm of Solsrud, Kidder and Co., got the contract to furnish 50 cords of dried wood to the courthouse.

            Messrs. Sever and John Brovold, Sever Insteness and Amund Ystnes, jolly citizens of Ettrick, called on us Saturday, while en route to visit relatives and friends in Chimney Rock.

            William Kassella recently removed with his family from St. Paul to Independence. He is a bricklayer and stone mason by trade, having worked at the business since boyhood. If you want first-class work, employ him.

            E.A. Southworth has purchased of Ziba Harnden what is known as the Lambert residence in town, for which was paid $275. Ed will straightaway greatly improve the premises, and make it one of the pleasantest sites in the village.

            The supper given by the ladies of the Baptist church in the rooms of the Getts block Tuesday evening was a social and financial success, netting the church society $15.

            The iron wagon bridge across the Black River at Melrose is completed. The Melrose people have eagerly looked forward to this time, and now their cup of happiness is overflowing. This is the third iron bridge across the Black completed with a year, and all are within a distance of 20 miles.

            Elk Creek -- Ignatz Matchie is erecting a machine and wagon shed on the north end of his barn.

            Blair -- The village officers are talking of putting in a system of waterworks. This is right. There is no denying that some kind of fire protection is needed, and it is to be hoped that our village fathers will decide upon a definite plan of action.

            Elk Creek -- Last Wednesday afternoon, as Della Nichols was returning home from this place, when about a half-mile from here, one of his horses dropped suddenly to the ground, it being paralyzed, and died Sunday morning.

            Blair -- At the coming town meeting, Preston voters will decide at the polls whether they will pay their highway taxes in money or labor. We believe the labor side of the question will carry.