From Our Early Files April 26, 2023 Edition
25 YEARS AGO
April 30, 1998
Area residents who are looking for a job and a Green Bay Packers autograph, can get both at the same time this weekend. The occasion is a “Pro Day” recruiting event hosted by Ashley Furniture Industries at its Arcadia facility on Saturday. Present to meet with potential Ashley employees will be William Henderson, who plays fullback for the Packers.
An Independence teenager who fatally shot his mother’s boyfriend is being sent to a state institution, after attempts to place him in less-restrictive settings failed. Trempealeau County Circuit Judge John Damon on Thursday ordered Ryan Bogdonovich serve time until his 18th birthday in the Lincoln Hills School in Irma. Damon imposed the sentence, which he had stayed twice previously, after a one and a half-hour hearing prompted by Bogdonovich’s threats against a supervisors at a group home where he had been residing.
Most city of Whitehall property owners probably thought they were done thinking about their taxes when they paid their property taxes earlier this year and filed their income tax returns earlier this month. But those individuals and business have got another thing coming. New valuations produced by the reassessment undertaken by the city over the past year will probably open more than a few eyes. The complete revaluation, the city’s first since the early 1980s, is nearly completed, according to Kevin Irwin of Irwin Appraisal Services. Irwin estimates an average increase of about 50 percent in valuation for residential properties.
Contestants for the 1998 Miss Arcadia Crown are Melissa Lambert, Jennifer Bautch, Jennifer Kamrowski, Sarah Bagniewski, Lindsay Oelkers and Maren Flynn.
Jeff Becker and Jeff Endle, owners of Maloney’s Baloney, received awards in four categories at the Wisconsin Association of Meat Producers competition in Madison. Among the awards they received was the grand champion award in the New England Style Jerky category.
Arcadia teens Curtis Bisek and Roy Forsyth became the first Arcadia boy scouts to earn their Eagle Scout awards in nearly a decade last week. Bisek, 16, is the son of Karl and Kathy Bisek and Forsyth, 18, is the son of JoDeen and Robert Forsyth.
Pastor Milford Parkhurst will retire from Zion Lutheran Church at the end of May. He and his family came to Zion Lutheran in November of 1968. He had served three churches prior to coming to Galesville after growing up in rural Mondovi.
Dr. Roseann Froehle, chiropractor with Trempealeau Family Chiropractic, has purchased the lot on the corner of Third and Chase Streets where she plans on building a three-occupant professional building.
The plans have been drawn up for Ettrick’s recreation and community center. They include a separate area for the public library, which will be located in the existing gymnasium along with a new classroom and an officer/storage area. The public library will be able to be closed off from the existing school library. A new gymnasium, an activity area and a lobby area will be added to the existing elementary school.
50 YEARS AGO
May 3, 1973
The Land O’ Lakes plant in Whitehall, which closed earlier this year, has been purchased by an Iowa-owned firm. Whitehall Village Products officials say that the new dried-whey operation will employ 12 to 15 workers initially.
Representatives of the Whitehall district school board and the Whitehall Teachers Association ended almost a year of bargaining last week, when they reached agreement on a master contract for the 1972-73 school year. It was the first such contract ever negotiated for teachers in the local schools. Under the pact, beginning teachers will be paid $7,450 for the 190-day school year.
The Norse track team opened their season last week with a 72-53 loss at Independence. The field events for the meet were held at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic School, and the running events were run on a one-sixth mile track set up on the Independence High football field. Gary Larson took a first, two seconds and a third for Whitehall.
Two Arcadia High School students were selected for recognition in the 29th annual Milwaukee Journal Student Art Calendar Competition recently. Joe O’Brien was awarded a silver palette and honorable mention for painting. The silver palette will be engraved with his name and his painting will be reproduced and added to the Milwaukee Journal calendar. Mike Pavlicin, also a student at the school, was recognized for a water color painting. The students were among 400 who were judged at the competition.
An elderly Waumandee area couple were both listed in serious condition Tuesday afternoon at St. Francis Hospital in La Crosse, where they were transferred from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Arcadia after their car left a Buffalo County road and struck a tree Monday night. Mr. and Mrs. Otto Adank, both 74, were in the special care unit of the La Crosse hospital on Tuesday.
Arnold Maliszewski and sons won the coveted FFA Outstanding Farmer Award at the annual parent-member banquet of the Arcadia FFA Chapter last week.
Steven LaLibertie and Gerard Pehler will be representatives of the Arcadia High School junior class at the 1973 Badger Boys State. Alternates are Wayne Kampa and Dennis Klonecki.
Rehearsals for “The Boy Who Caught The Fish” will be this Thursday after school. The musical, under the direction of Nancy Lerum, is progressing on schedule and will be presented on May 8 at Zion Lutheran Church.
The fifth annual “Spring Fling” will be held at the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School gym at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The art display in the library will include some of the work of the special interest classes held during the year. There will be instrumental and vocal musical selections presented. The physical education demonstration will include children from levels, three, four, five and six.
75 YEARS AGO
April 29, 1948
The Trempealeau County Board of Supervisors held its reorganization meeting last week, electing L.A. Senty of Independence as chairman, succeeding James Robinson, retired. The board’s personnel is the same as last term, except for four new supervisors: Joseph Roskos and Myron Olson of Independence, Lee Sacia of Gale and Ray Jereczek of Dodge.
Unless the weatherman has other notions, Friday, May 21, will bring a monster crowd to Whitehall for the first of the state centennial numbers arranged for that day. Following the parade, an afternoon program will be held in the ball park, after which a children’s sports program will be given and the park and the school grounds. The evening program will be feature by Indian ceremonial dances, folk dances of the various nationalities of the county in costume, a massed concert of the high school bands, and fireworks.
Roy Rebarchek, Lincoln township farmer, was one of the pioneers in grassland faring in this area. Owner now of three farms, he has only one boy at home with him, and so they have gone in for planting some corn and putting the rest of their land, about 200 acres, into clover, alfalfa and other grasses.
A chimney fire at the Arnold Hanson home in Hale Sunday morning drew a quick response from the newly-organized volunteer fire company at Pigeon Falls. Five minutes after the sparkling new truck, which was delivered only last Wednesday, left on the company’s first fire run, it was on the scene. The Hanson farm is four miles out, the last mile of it rough going.
Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy Ryan of Glencoe are mourning the death of their six-week-old son, Warren Lee, Monday night about 9 p.m. at their home. His death came without warning.
Mr. and Mrs. Adam Forsyth celebrated their silver wedding anniversary. They had an open house in the basement of the St. John’s Christ Lutheran Church.
100 YEARS AGO
May 3, 1948
The clean-up campaign has been well observed in Whitehall. The pavement on Main and Dewey streets has been swept, the gutters cleaned and dirt hauled away, and the pavement well sprinkled to settle the dust. The residence district has had a thorough going over, and the many bond fires cast off sufficient smoke to make the atmosphere hazy for several days. The lawns are again of a greenish hue, the trees are budding and the birds singing, together with the balmy spring breezes, forces us to appreciate, after a long winter, the really wonderful changes in the coming of spring.
The congregation of the Presbyterian church was surprised Sunday morning by the resignation of the pastor, Rev. R.E. Clark, who has concluded almost three years of service with the church. While in Whitehall, Rev. Clark has served in the double capacity of pastor of the church and secretary of the MacCornack Clinic.
A deal was closed recently whereby the Inter-State Oil Co. of La Crosse become owners of the Manley Oil Station in Whitehall. The Kins Bros., through whose efforts the filling station was erected, will continue to operate the station under the new firm, and will give the public the same congenial service as in the past.
Miles P. Johnson and Miss Helen Johnson visited Square Bluff and the surrounding country last Sunday, via the horse and buggy route. Somehow, it reminded us of the olden days.
Oscar Elstad has purchased the corner lot and barn of A.E. Van Sickle, with the intention of erecting a house thereon at some future time.
Four years of hard labor in the state prison at Waupun was the sentence meted out to Enos Behner, 48, bartender in a soft drink salon at Alma, for the fatal shooting of Allen Gantenbien, son of the city marshal. A jury found Behner guilty of third-degree murder after he pleaded self-defense.
All “egg records” were broken Saturday when one of the stores reported taking in 93 cases of eggs that day, which means 2,790 dozen. One customer brought in 169 dozen.
Galesville Music Study Club will meet May 8 at the home of Mrs. L.A. Sander of Trempealeau. The opera, LaBoheme, will take up most of the time. The story of the opera will be by Miss Stellingwane. The story of the opera, Toxca, will be by Mrs. W.F. Plummer. Mrs. Charles Melby of Whitehall will render a vocal solo.
Towering pines go before the axe on the lawn of the Ben Davis home, one of the oldest residents in Galesville. These trees saw Galesville grow from a scattered hamlet to a place of importance. They were there when Ben Davis was born more than half a century ago. They were planted by Wilson Davis in 1857. Decay has set in, which has made them unsafe.
A new steel roof will be added to the city reservoir with concrete at the floor level. The reservoir is on the highest peak overlooking Galesville.
125 YEARS AGO
April 28, 1898
Whitehall is ready for war.
W.H. Stallings began repairs on the American House barn Tuesday.
Landlord Erickson has put down a new sidewalk in front of the City Hotel.
It is to be hoped that Spain won’t hit us where we’re not looking for her.
Ole Kinsmoe of Hale obtained the bounty on nine young wolves last week. He dug into their burrow in Hale and captured them. The old wolf made the proverbial escape.
Tomorrow is Arbor and Bird Day. Plant a tree, and catch a bird and tame it.
C.A. Sherwood is making attractive improvements on his new fruit farm in the south ward. He is setting out all kinds of shrubbery, evergreen and shade trees, etc.
Nels Hammerstad, the village shoemaker, has commenced excavating for his new store building on Scranton Street. It is to be 20 by 44 feet, one story.
Blair — Merchant John G. Berg has about completed negotiations for the purchase of the Blair Trading Association store building, for the consideration of $1,100.
Independence — Messrs. N.O. Bidney and Ignatz Jelen has lighted their saloon with acetylene gas, and it gives satisfaction. They have also a light in the street in front of their place of business. There is talk of lighting the streets and business places generally in the village with this kind of gas.
Independence — A class of 43 children, 23 boys and 19 girls, was confirmed last Sunday at the Polish Catholic church by Rev. A. Babinski.
Arcadia — War and war measures are about the only topics that have been discussed by our citizens the past few days, and knots of men and boys are seen at some place on the street at almost any time of the day, discussing the outlook. The bulletins are received at E. Maurer’s drug store, and are displayed on a large board, which is watched with keen interest.
