From Our Early Files Dec. 14, 2022
25 YEARS AGO
December 18, 1997
Whitehall doesn’t change librarians very often, which would make Mary Pientok’s retirement out of the ordinary regardless. Pientok is only the seventh person to hold the position in the 98 years that the community has had a librarian. Since she has been the librarian for 22 and a half years, she has been around longer than most of her predecessors. She is being succeeded by Kay Leonard.
As the result of county board action Monday night, the Trempealeau County Health Care Center will be the site of a program aimed at helping young farmers get started. The board voted 14 to five, with one abstention and one absence, to approve a Young Farmer Incubator Program at the rural Whitehall facility. The program was recommended by the board’s agriculture and University of Wisconsin-Extension committee and the TCHCC board of trustees as the result of a yearlong study of the health care center’s farm operation.
Professional Property Management, Inc., the owners of Thousand Oaks Apartment complex in Arcadia and other various properties throughout the state announced that Debra Hawkins of Arcadia was the recipient of the Manager of the Year Award.
The Arcadia city council passed a new budget with a city levy of $491,513. The mill rate (tax paid per $1,000 assessed value) will be $37.75 in 1998, down from $37.99 in 1997.
Franciscan Skemp has announced the hiring of Paul Winey, physician assistant, to its Arcadia Clinic staff.
Mike Peplinski came back to his “day job” at the Alma Area Schools Monday to a surprise party in his honor. The whole school turned out to welcome the Centerville curler back from Duluth, where he and teammates Tim Somerville, Myles Brundidge and John Gordon just won the right to represent the United States at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan.
Rick and Lisa Geske have come a long way since they first bought their farm in 1984. There have been good and bad times. This is a good time. They are being honored as “Outstanding Young Farmers” by the G-E-T Jaycees and the Galesville Area Chamber of Commerce.
50 YEARS AGO
December 21, 1972
At a meeting that was reportedly called on short notice by Whitehall Packing Co. officials, company representatives and city officials discussed problems relating to the future of the WPC plant in Whitehall. In a press release issued after the Thursday meeting, WPC Treasurer James Peters said the purpose was to discuss mutual problems with the city sewage system.
Whitehall volunteer fireman Lenus Berg was injured Thursday when he slipped on a ladder while hurrying to answer a fire call. Berg was unloading a boxcar at Larson Building Materials when the firemen were summoned to the George Przybilla farm.
Roger Johnson scored a game-high 18 points as the Norsemen crushed Eleva-Strum Central 73-35 Friday, Whitehall fourth-straight Dairyland Conference win.
Arcadia city employee Lee Andre, 35, was listed in good condition Tuesday morning at St. Joseph Hospital, where he has been a patient since last Thursday following a collision between a train and a truck he was driving at the Harrison Street crossing in the city. He, apparently, escaped serious injury. It was the second time that Andre survived an accident at the same train crossing. In 1962, a flatbed truck that he was operating was split in half by the northbound Green Bay & Western.
Roman Dorava, 69, lost his life when his stone home, a landmark on County J, about 10 miles south of Arcadia, was destroyed by fire last week. The man lived alone and there was no one else in the home at the time of the blaze. Dorova’s remains were found in the ruins shortly before noon the following day by Fire Marshall Martin Rebhahn.
Galesville stores are open every night this week, including Saturday night, until 9 p.m.
According to reports Tuesday morning, the bond issue for a new grade school in Galesville was voted down, approximately 1,000 to 700.
A benefit basketball game will be played on Dec. 8 at the G-E-T High School gym between the 1960 state basketball team and the G-E-T faculty. It should prove to be a very exciting evening because, in addition to the basketball game, there will be clowns on hand to add some extra spice to the event.
The annual meeting of the Trempealeau County Fair was brought to order by president Irwin Hogden, Ettrick on Dec. 4. Treasurer Caroll Sacia’s report showed the 1972 fair to be over $3,000 better than 1971.
75 YEAR AGO
December 18, 1947
Santa Claus was in town last Saturday, arriving in a cutter drawn by a span of horses which very closely resembled the well-groomed steeds of Simon Marsolek, who lives north of town. But Santa, garbed in traditional red and white, was the outstanding attraction. He made his headquarters at the Coast to Coast store, where youngsters and others gathered to greet him. Each child was presented with a gift from Mr. and Mrs. C. Andrew Kuhn.
A.B. Erickson, former station agent at the Green Bay and Western Railroad, will return here as operator-clerk on Dec. 19, replacing Ray Greenwood, who has been serving as substitute since Dec. 1, when Thorvald Fransen took over the station at Alma Center. After about 20 years in Whitehall, Mr. Erickson secured a transfer to Alma Center a year ago, because Whitehall is one of the busiest stations on the line. But he returned here, as his home is in Whitehall and his family has remained here.
Two new diesel engines are in operation on the Green Bay and Western Railroad, the first one making its initial run through Whitehall Monday night. A third diesel is on order.
Myron DeBow, Vernon Nehring, Roy Huitfeldt and Hiram Hegge were fortunate enough to secure four of the 4,000 licenses issued to hunt does on the Necedah reservation and the Meadow Valley wildlife refuge during the open season Dec. 12-14.
While in town a day last week, Melvin Tangen of Pigeon recalled highway conditions that existed in this area back a quarter of a century ago. As soon as the first snowfall came, most automobiles and trucks were jacked up in the garage until spring, but snow wasn’t the only problem. Radiators would freeze up, and Melvin recalled that E.A. Sletteland was one of the first area motorists to use an anti-freeze substance, before they were commercially available. E.A. developed one of his own, a mixture of kerosene and water.
Mr. and Mrs. Jac Flury, who lived on a farm in Danuser Valley, had a narrow escape last Thursday evening when they were overcome by carbon monoxide fumes while returning home in their car. They were both ill and stepped out of their vehicle just in the nick of time.
100 YEARS AGO
December 21, 1922
Last Saturday, the Legion boys, assisted by a number of the students, cleaned the baseball diamond of snow, and toward evening Dr. Simons and Louie Larson directed the flooding of the ground. A few electric lights, several floodings and our long looked-for ice-rink will be a reality. Mothers will need no longer worry about the safety of their children.
The trial of the case entitled B.B. Olson vs. Stanley Skroch is being had in county court, before a jury of 10 men. This action is for the alleged substitution of municipal bonds for Liberty bonds in the settlement for the purchase of a tractor.
H.H. Gunem and son Carl, accompanied by David Moses, the popular dry-goods peddler, known far and wide, were Whitehall visitors Tuesday.
The Milwaukee Bright Stars, a ladies’ team, met the American Legion Tuesday night in a snappy game of basketball, the latter winning by a score of 34 to 13. The ladies’ team is a representative of a Milwaukee school, and the organization of the team is an experiment to advertise girls’ athletics in the school, and so far is very successful.
A.T. Lokken, who learned the rudiments of the printing business in this office some years ago, had taken a position with The Times Banner again. Mr. Lokken has had varied experience in the newspaper game, and at one time owned an edited the Moose Lake Star-Gazette. We are fortunate in securing his services.
Pleasantville — Theodore Hulberg and Melvin Gunderson are taking instructions on the mandolin and violin. They are instructed by Anton Schaefer.
Pigeon Falls — The Gale College Club of this place will give a program in the U.L. Hall Dec. 27. A feature of the program will be the costumes used.
Eugene Sorenson and Ray Van Horn came up from Whitehall Sunday afternoon in the funniest contraption which has yet struck this town. Mr. Sorenson has a half-breed auto or airplane, we don’t know which. Anyway, he has a Ford chassis which is run by a small airplane motor and propeller. Mr. Sorenson claimed he could make 40 miles per hour with the “thing.” -- Taylor Advance.
125 YEARS AGO
December 16, 1897
Ten below this morning.
The boys are arranging a shooting match to take place Dec. 24.
The village board have sold their electric light bonds to the Winona Deposit Bank.
Station Agent Dooney has moved his family into the Anderson residence on Abrams Street.
E.N. Trowbridge has moved into the residence he purchased of Richard Mattson, which is one of the most commodious and pleasant in town.
H.O. Hovde, the gentleman who bought the McDermott farm, just north of the village, raised 3,700 bushels of potatoes the past season. He was at Chicago last week with two carloads.
Christian Anderson of French Creek transacted business in town Friday. Mr. Anderson is well known here, having been proprietor of the Scandinavian Hotel for several years. His health is much better than it was when he left Whitehall and returned to his farm in the town of Ettrick.
The Arcadia should quit whimpering about the other papers in the county. If it got more than it bargained for printing county board proceedings for comparatively nothing, it should take its medicine. If the Arcadian desires to continue its “dog in the manger” policy, it will sooner or later painfully understand that it barking up the wrong tree.
The light from our electric light plant was turned on last Thursday evening, and was pronounced by all to be a first-class modern improvement from the start. The light was so perfect, and gave such positive assurance that it was here to stay, that our businessmen and citizens generally threw their kerosene lamps into the streets, or emptied them of their contents and gave them to their children as souvenirs of the “dark age.” We venture the opinion that there is not another village the size of Whitehall in the commonwealth with a light plant, and question whether there is another plant in the state that furnishes 16-candlepower lights at one cent a night each, the cost of ours.
Elk Creek — Our genial blacksmith, H. Melsness, and Merchant Pederson played the first game of checkers of the season at the store Saturday evening, the latter being the victor. By the way, any person feeling conceited about his knowledge of checkers will find in Mr. Pederson “an opponent worthy of his steel.”
