From Our Early Files July 20, 2022


 

 

 

25 YEARS AGO

July 24, 1997

The Trempealeau County Board of Supervisors is being asked to consider building a county airport. The proposal came in a letter to county board chairman John Killian from William Koslo, an Arcadia attorney. The letter cited the growth of manufacturing and business in the county. Koslo suggested in his letter that an airport would accommodate a six- to eight-passenger jet aircraft in a location accessible to the major manufacturers in the county and that it “would help stimulate further industrial development within the county.”

The Lincoln Sanitary District and the Trempealeau County Health Care Center received top water system ratings from the state Department of Natural Resources. Also getting a pat on the back was the city of Arcadia’s municipal water utility. 

Dr. Steve La Liberte, an Arcadia native, will be returning to Arcadia to work in the eye clinic at Franciscan Skemp Healthcare. He spent the past eight years working at the Gundersen Vision Center in Whitehall. 

Dodge native, Brian Hoesley, was selected as the manager of the new Fastenal outlet store located on Main St. in Arcadia. 

Local people took aim at targets during a “top gun” competition held at the Arcadia Sportsmen’s Club. More than 125 people participated in the annual event. A $2,500 cash purse was guaranteed to the top marksman who participated in the contest. 

The Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau Redmen topped Arcadia 4-3 in the final regular season game to win the Dairyland Conference Large School Division Championship with a 13-3 record. Arcadia finished 12-4 and Blair-Taylor was third, finishing 10-6. Melrose-Mindoro won the Small School Division with a 14-2 record; Independence and Whitehall both finished 9-7. 

The coronation of a new queen at the opening of the Trempealeau County Fair on Thursday will be followed by a barn dance. Both activities will be in the Farm Progress Building where the fair queen traditionally receives her crown. The barn dance is among newly added activities.

A second successive double-digit drop in the property tax levy for schools is reflected in the projected levy adopted Monday night by the G-E-T school board. Next year’s levy was set at just under $2 million a decrease of $234,711 – or 10.53 percent – from this year’s levy. 

50 YEARS AGO

July 27, 1972

Trempealeau County’s five traffic officers have submitted a request to the county board of supervisors that the county purchase squad cars. This would allow all cars to have the same equipment, to be equipped with cages and marked with the sheriff’s department emblem.

Neil Humphrey Jr. of York was elected to the Whitehall district board of education during the annual district meeting held Monday night, succeeding Rayder Amundson of Northfield, who did not seek reelection. Incumbents reelected were Art Gunderson of Pleasantville and Roger Guse, town of Pigeon.

Voters of the Arcadia School District approved a budget of $950,741 with a tax levy of $633,591, with token opposition. Objection was voiced to the fact that for the past few years, actual expenses were far greater than the adopted proposed budget for the school year. Many felt that once a budget is adopted the school board should live by it. Kenneth Sonsalla was voted the school board president. No election of school board members was necessary at the meeting as two new members were already elected at the spring election and were waiting in the wings to take their place on the board.

The first Hooterville Days celebrated in the rural valley of North Creek was a great success judged by the number of visitors and fun-festers who were on hand this past weekend. Many who came likened the occasion to a North Creek church picnic, which was an annual event until about 15 years ago. 

Richard Smith was installed as the new president of the Arcadia Lions Club. Other officers include Harry Trowbridge, first vice president; Adolph Chitko, second vice president; Tom Adams, third vice president; John Berg, secretary; Burton Sauer, treasurer; Charles Vogel, tail twister; Ervin Scharlau, lion tamer; John Killian and Paul Dettloff, directors for one year; Mel Nelson and John Koetting, directors for two years. 

G-E-T earned the right to advance to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Summer Baseball Tournament after sectional victories last week. Members of the squad are Larry Stuhr, Lonnie Wagner, Wayne Henderson, Kevin Hunter, Ed Przytarski, Jeff Wagner, Wayne Meunier, Ken Casey, Steve Hovell, Clayton Dahl, Nick Bell, Bill Stephans, John Elstad, Fran Peterson, Dave Salsman, Todd Johnson and coach Russ Lund. 

75 YEARS AGO

July 24, 1947

The dedication of the new lighted athletic field at Melby Park will be held this Sunday, and will include a state championship competition for model jet cars and airplanes and a baseball game between the Millers and Mondovi in the afternoon. At 6:30 p.m., the Blair and Whitehall all-stars will play a game of softball, which has become a popular sport in this community this summer. A baseball game under the lights between Whitehall and Pigeon Falls will follow the 8 p.m. dedication ceremony. The Lions club, whose membership consists of young Whitehall businessmen, is sponsoring the dedication.

The MacCornack Clinic of Whitehall announces the addition to its staff of Dr. O.M. Schneider, who has opened an office at Blair for the practice of medicine.

The Rev. O.G. Birkeland was endorsed by the American Legion state convention, held at Appleton over the weekend, for the position of national chaplain.

A watercolor painting called “Garden Flowers,” the work of Johns Hopkins and presented by him to the Whitehall Lions Club, will be given away in connection with the community auction which the club will hold near the City Hall square on Saturday, Aug. 2. Mr. Hopkins is a widely-known artist and designed who presently is a consultant to the University of Minnesota and General Mills in Minneapolis.

Hiram Hegge broke the record for the Whitehall golf course Tuesday evening, shooting a round of 30 while playing with Vernon Nehring, Roy Huitfeldt and his brother, John Hegge. The previous record, 31, had been made by a half-dozen or more of the golfers; par for the course is 34.

Lightning struck the Fredrickson home in Schimmerhorn last week, burning off the radio aerial, burning out the radio, light bulbs and fuse boxes and breaking the yard light bulbs into bits. The house was full of smoke, but no fire was started. REA men were called out and Art Dahl came to make repairs.

Harold Arneson, Jacob Sylla and Bernard Kulig attended a fur school at the state fur and game farm at Poynette Monday and Tuesday. Harold is engaging in the raising of mink as a hobby.

The establishment of a Salvation Army service unit in Arcadia and the selection of a local committee of citizens to represent this nationally known organization will be undertaken soon, Major D. E. Norris, state director of the service unit plan, announced. The committee, according to Norris, will be empowered to render immediate service at the point of need, in the traditional Salvation Army manner.

Arcadia Traffic Officer Theurer reported an accident Monday about noon in which Olaf Risberg, 84, was struck by a car occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Peter Utheim of Osseo. The accident occurred as the Utheims were driving into the farmyard of the Rice brothers. Risberg ran into the path of the vehicle. 

100 YEARS AGO

July 27, 1922

Gov. John J. Blaine made Whitehall one of the points of his campaign itinerary Saturday night. He was greeted by the Whitehall Municipal Band and at least 500 people crowded around the bandstand to hear the governor defend his administration.

Whitehall’s latest business addition, the Manley Oil Service Station, which opened for business July 15, is now fully equipped and in first-class shape. The station is located at the corner of Main and Blair streets, on Hwy. No. 11, and is housed in a modern building of tapestry brick and white marble stucco. There is nothing more up-to-date in the state, and Whitehall should be proud of its latest business addition. The plant will be handled locally by A.J. and Art Kins, whose well-known ability and courtesy will assure each and every patron that which we all look for, viz., service.

Game Warden Arthur Holmes was at Independence last week Wednesday and says that some fishermen have been leaving their lines set in the river while they are not there, and this must cease or arrests will follow.

There will be a dance on the old Mikkelson farm, 10 miles north of Whitehall, one-quarter mile off No. 11 on the road to Hale, on July 29. The floor is a machine shed 24 by 48 feet. Good, old-time music. Everyone invited. Arthur Dahl, manager.

There will be competition on the Republican primary ballot for two county offices. The candidates for sheriff filing before the July 25 deadline were Hilman Erickson, Whitehall; John Fredrickson, Blair; H.M. Phillips, Galesville; and Henry F. Theurer, Arcadia. Running for clerk of court are H.M. Johnson and Eugene Kidder, both of Whitehall.

The library has added an atlas containing a complete series of maps of all the state in the Union, with auto trails and populations of cities, towns and villages.

Gilbertson Bros. received a carload of Overland cars, including one Willys-Knight, this week, which makes the fourth carload of these cars that have been received here this season.

A rousing, three-act play, entitled “Partners, or Building the Community Church,” will be given by members of the Sunshine Community Club on Aug. 3 at the S.L. hall at Pigeon Falls. The cast of characters consists of Joseph Fremstad, Mrs. M.C. Sletteland, Joseph Staff, Norma Staff, Casper Johnson, Hensel Fremstad, Melvin Ackley and Mrs. Casper Johnson.

Reverends J.L. Hauck and L.J. Kufel of Arcadia and A.J. Andrzejewski of North Creek, besides a large number from Arcadia, Dodge and the surrounding country attended the funeral for the late Reverend Andrew W. Gara at Independence. 

125 YEARS AGO

July 22, 1897

Adams and Taylor are plastering their building.

E.J. Kidder has put down a new sidewalk in front of his barber shop.

County Treasurer Larson is looking after farming interests in Pigeon this week.

Arthur Knudtson of Ettrick was in town Tuesday. He is on the road selling sheet music.

The new sidewalk extending to the fairgrounds has been completed to the Dake residence.

The Ladies’ Aid society of the M.E. church served supper and ice cream on the courthouse lawn Saturday evening.

There is considerable feeling arising in the breasts of farmers of this section against the threshers for their attempt to organize an association in the county for the purpose of putting up prices for the threshing of grain. They think they are now paying all they can afford to, and the attempt to force the prices upward will be met with opposition from the average farmer. The move to effect a threshers’ association may result disastrously to the movers of the project, as there already is talk of farmers cooperating and purchasing threshing outfits of their own. The agriculturists of Trempealeau County are well-to-do, and in a position to defy a small band of threshers.

Richard Mattson has a contract to put up a new schoolhouse in the new district recently formed from the towns of Pigeon, Hale and Lincoln.

B.F. Wing, local weather observer, furnishes us a meteorological report this week. Hereafter it will be a regular feature of The Times-Banner.

The interior of D. Wood’s building is rapidly nearing completion. The upper story is being done off for a hall, and will be occupied by the Modern Woodmen.

County Clerk Johnson reports assessors rather slow in getting the returns of their work in. The new law regarding the taking of crop statistics not having been understood thoroughly, necessitates returning the reports for revision and more complete data.

Blair -- Paul Anderson was telling a group of friends in the village that he had just cut 50 acres of hay with a Deering ball-bearing mower, without having to take his wrench out of the box. Evidently, that is a mower on which the nuts don’t get loose, nor does it easily get out of repair.

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