From Our Early Files April 19, 2023 Edition
25 YEARS AGO
April 23, 1998
The Trempealeau County Board of Supervisors got its third change of chairman in the past six years, this week. Supervisor Lyle Anderson of Blair was elected chair on the third ballot during the board’s biennial reorganization meeting. Anderson defeated Ernest Vold and Geraldine Van Tassel, both of Osseo, in the balloting to lead the board for the next two years.
An Independence teenager who fatally shot his mother’s boyfriend is back in a secure detention facility, after he allegedly threatened to kill an employee of the Eau Claire group home where he was living. Ryan Bogdonovich was to appear in Trempealeau County Circuit Court Thursday for a hearing on where he will be placed as a result of the April 11 incident at the Eau Claire County Group Home. Bogdonovich, 17, was ordered returned to the Northwest Regional Detention Center during a hearing held last week Monday.
The Whitehall city council voted unanimously last week to accept a bid for a new fire station that is about $50,000 higher than original estimates. The council awarded the contract to R.J. Jurowski Construction Co. of Whitehall. The action came four days after the council’s property committee discussed possible cost-saving measures, but declined to make a recommendation on the bids.
In 1966, Bill Gautsch, Arcadia school superintendent, offered a young teacher an opportunity to come to Arcadia to work. Now, 32 years later, Gary Pahl has decided to retire from his position as principal at the Arcadia Elementary School.
Students from Arcadia High School who were inducted into the National Honor Society are: Rebecca Van Acker, Jamie Frahm, Jenny Lince, Katie Wineski, Emily Hward, Julie Giemza, Lindsay Oelkers, Maren Flynn, Faye Ziegeweid, Nikki Klopotek, Jessie Frahm, Dean Wolfe, Randy Bambenek, Jared Diebold, Curtis Bisek, Romie Patzner, Tony Bawek, Justin Halverson and Roy Forsythe.
An 18-year-old Galesville man was injured in a crash in the city Sunday morning. Frank Racich, a passenger in a vehicle driven by Eric Feyen, 18, Galesville was transported to Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse. Feyen was traveling south on Highway 53 when his vehicle missed a turn and flew 85 feet off the east side of the road near Budget Mart, according to the Galesville Police Department.
Sludge from the La Crosse wastewater treatment plant won’t be spread in the town of Caledonia anymore. The 18-year-old practice was stopped by the Department of Natural Resources. “I talked with the DNR and they said that La Crosse had two violations in 1996. They exceeded the recommended amounts if nitrogen in two fields out of five,” Dick Frey, Trempealeau County supervisor, told the town board.
The 1998 Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau Prom Court members are: Sarah Hilton, Katie McDonah, Michelle Woestman, Megan Quinn, Sarah Ziegler, Ben Repaal, Jonah Daffinson, Tim Baer, Chris Ruyle, Joel Neumann, Zach Hynes, Jessica Paulus, Anne Barko and Jessica Ecker.
50 YEARS AGO
April 26, 1973
The Trempealeau County board of supervisors has approved a study of the feasibility of building an addition to the county jail building. The proposed addition would mostly consist of cells that the county needs to conform to state regulations.
The Whitehall office of the Black River Falls-based First Federal Savings and Loan Association will open for business this coming Monday, in the Scranton Street offices formerly occupied by the state driver’s license examiners. Branch Manager Gerhard Lovlien has announced that Charles Anderson of Galesville will be his assistant in the Whitehall office.
The Whitehall Chamber of Commerce has voted to give the Whitehall Industrial Development Corp. $9,000 over the next three years, to be used for the purchase of land for industrial development sites.
Seven-year-old James Andre, son of Mr. and Mrs. David Andre, Arcadia, died at 3:30 a.m. Saturday at Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse from injuries he suffered in a bicycle-car accident in Arcadia. He sustained severe head injuries in the accident.
Bank debits in Arcadia during March 1973 showed an increase of three percent from the same period a year ago, according to statistics released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. In dollars, Arcadia bank debits volume during March was $7,421,000. In the same month of the 1973 the total figure was $7,219,000.
Recreation Park in Galesville will officially open for the summer season this Sunday. Sullivan’s of Trempealeau, last year’s Slow Pitch Champs, will take on Snappers Bar of Galesville in the first game of the season on the field.
Thirty-three members and three leaders of the Junior Girl Scout Troop 82, and 20 members and three leaders of Brownie Girl Scout Troop 57 observed a demonstration of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on April 17.
75 YEARS AGO
April 22, 1948
Lon Tubbs, chairman of the parade committee for the all-county centennial celebration to be held in Whitehall on May 21, has provided the executive committee with the tentative parade order for the procession. All 23 original units of government have been urged to be represented.
Voters in the Irvin Coulee school district voted 22 to 11 Friday to keep the school open next year, even though the anticipated enrollment will be but 10 students. Under the new state law, rural schools with an enrollment below 15 in average daily attendance are not eligible for equalization aid.
Spanish now fairly rolls off the tongue of Selmer Williamson, who has spent the last two and a half years as the chief aviation pilot with the American embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Selmer, who has been in the Navy for eight years, was home to visit his parents in the Pleasantville area the past week.
A fire in a straw stack on the Tom Sylla farm in Elk Creek Saturday afternoon threatened Mr. Sylla’s large dairy barn and other outbuildings. The fire was discovered by Dominic Roskos, an employee of the nearby creamery, who attempted to quench it with a fire extinguisher. The Independence and Whitehall fire departments were called, and despite a strong wind blowing directly toward Mr. Sylla’s buildings, were able to confine the flames to the stack.
The Orville Dahl trio of Pleasantville won the $10 first price in the first of the series of talent shows being held at the Pix Theatre in Whitehall. Harvey Johnson of Blair won the $5 second prize, and the other competitors were Philip Dahl of Blair, Jimmy Jacobson of Hixton, Donald Stubrud of Black River Falls, Giles Berg of Taylor, Ruth and Irene Olson of Blair, Delores and Donnett Prudlick of Strum, and Einar Daffinson, James Brom and John Berzinski of Cataract.
Selmer Galstad and Ralph Jacobson have purchased the grocery store and meat market from Norman Foss, and took possession Monday. Truman Jacobson and Harold Olson have purchased the building occupied by the store, and the lot to the north of it, from Theo B. Olson.
A crew of about 55 men, under foreman J.P. Skroch of Independence, began laying 90-pound steel rails last week on the Green Bay and Western Railroad from Winona to Arcadia. The new rail replaces the 70-pound rail laid when the road was built back in 1873.
Carmen Rotering and Ruth Grulkowski gained highest scholastic averages of this year’s Arcadia High School graduating class, principal W.B. Gautsch announced.
Diana Houser, junior at Arcadia High School, has been selected by the nominating committee of the state Future Homemakers of American organization to become a candidate for the presidency of the Wisconsin chapter. The election will be held June 15-17 in Wisconsin Dells.
100 YEARS AGO
April 26, 1923
The Whitehall band has been making rapid strides under the able direction of Mr. Benz. Plans are about completed for a big musical program and band concert to be given Friday May 4, at the Village Hall. The band surely needs to be given the support of the entire village, so let’s turn out and boost this benefit program.
The carnival ball held last Friday evening, under the auspices of the American Legion, drew a large crowd of dance enthusiasts, Arcadia, Independence, Osseo, Pigeon Falls, Taylor and York being well represented. Hawkenson’s four-piece orchestra of Northfield supplied excellent music for those preferring the style of dance in vogue a few years past, and Rice’s orchestra officiated for the more modern steps, with satisfaction to all.
Ole Brekke of Blair was unable to control his car sufficiently to avoid hitting Nels Davenport’s car, which was parked along the curb on south Main Street Friday evening. A complaint was made to Marshal Thompson, and Mr. Brekke enjoyed the soothing effect of the village cooler on an unsteady person the remainder of the night. On Saturday, he was taken to Independence to consult with District Attorney Markham, and pleaded guilty before Justice Jackson to a charge of driving a car while intoxicated, paying therefore a fine of $50 and costs, amounting to $58.13.
Mr. and Mrs. Oluf Gilbertson of Pleasantville have a very comfortable farm home in Pleasantville, and have decided to enjoy it to the limit the coming year. Oluf has rented out all but 15 acres of his farm to an adjoining neighbor, and intends to farm on a small scale, keeping a team, six milch cows and a few chickens. The price of hired help and the worries of harvesting the crop won’t keep Oluf awake nights this summer.
Arthur C. Schultz was elected manager and buttermaker of the Arcadia Farmers Creamery Company by the board of directors following the resignation of G.W. Dopp. Schultz is well known to dairy farmers in the area, planned to return to Arcadia to accept the position, effective May 1, from western Minnesota where he had been employed.
H.F. Theurer was appointed special treasury agent with the duties of checking on various state licenses such as automobile, peddlers, show, etc. in the district.
The Polish play “Koszyk Kwiatow”: was to be presented at St. Michael’s Church at North Creek.
125 YEARS AGO
April 21, 1898
Whitehall will probably have five saloons after July 1, one more than last year.
John O. Melby has purchased a new Columbia chainless bicycle, a fine wheel, and the first of its kind in town.
W.H. Stallings bought a surrey, and C.W. Harnden a carriage to add to his livery outfit, while at Winona last week.
Frank Bowen and his mother have taken up quarters in the old graded school building, now the property of G.H. Olds.
P.L. Solberg and Halvor Arneson are the champion trout fishermen of this vicinity. They caught 89 between them last Friday, Arneson, 46, and Solberg, 43, nice ones.
John O. Melby is doing some highly commendable work in clearing, fencing and setting out shade trees along the principal thoroughfares of the property he bought of D.M. Kelly in the village.
W.G. Fuller has purchased a lot of C.A. Adams, on the corner of Ellis and Dodge streets, and half of the latter’s old store building. Mr. Fuller will move the building onto his lot, and convert it into a manufacturing establishment.
A fire, originating from spontaneous combustion, started in Rogan’s photograph gallery Saturday morning, but was discovered in time to prevent a serious conflagration. The fire team was called out with hose cart, but turned back, the volunteer bucket brigade having subdued the flames.
The poverty party held at the M.E. church last Friday evening drew quite a crowd and was a unique affair. The fines imposed for dress that was improper, or not in accordance with the rules and regulations laid down for the occasion, were liberal, and the lady or gent who escaped being fined for either this or that offense was fortunate indeed.
