Early Files - January 29, 2020
(25 YEARS AGO) Feb. 2, 1995 -
Committees of the Trempealeau County Board of Supervisors held a couple meetings the past week to consider about $3 million in improvements to the courthouse in Whitehall. The board’s property, finance and building committees held a joint meeting Friday to hear proposals for financing the work. The property and building panels met Monday with an architect and the heads of county departments to discuss what improvements were needed in various offices.
Later this month, area voters will be asked to cut in half a cluttered race for the Trempealeau County circuit court judgeship. A four-way contest on the Feb. 21 primary ballot will trim the field of judicial hopefuls to two for the April 4 general election. The winner of the April vote will earn a six-year term on the county bench. The primary field includes John Damon, William Mattka, LaVern Michalak and Alan Robertson.
The Arcadia Area Chamber of Commerce presented its annual awards last week. Honored were Donna Miller, outstanding community service; Rosemary Broeren, outstanding educator; Terry Sobotta, Cindy Sobotta, Marie Sobotta and Roger Sobotta, farm family of the year; Ernie Reck, outstanding business and Glen and Dorothy Herrick, cornerstone of service.
An employee at Gold’n Plump in Arcadia had her arm amputated as a result of an accident on Wednesday. Mary Prokop of Independence was rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Arcadia and later transported by helicopter to St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minn.
One proposed housing development appears to be slowing down, while another is moving closer to the earth-moving stage in Galesville. Rising interest rates and a revised development plan appear to have snagged the start of Bill Cornforth’s 200-acre project on the city’s south side by at least three months. Meanwhile, north of the city, plans for a residential development on nearly 10 acres is in the preliminary platting stage, according to Bob Niederkorn Sr.
A police dog may be obtained to help law enforcement officers sniff out illegal narcotics and search for other crime evidence in Trempealeau County. Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Schreiner said the county’s law enforcement committee was asked to consider forming a canine unit. Schreiner did a study of canine proposals and presented law enforcement supervisors with several options to think about in advance of their next meeting.
(50 YEARS AGO) Feb. 5, 1970 - Mel Nelson and Mary Olstad were crowned king and queen of the Whitehall High Winter Carnival at the dance held Friday night which culminated the week’s activities. Their attendants were Ken Slaby and Ellyn Sosalla, Mike Rogstad and Jane Sosalla, and Brian Nordhagen and Carol Anderson.
Old Mr. Groundhog saw his shadow on Monday, so this area is in for six more weeks of winter. The temperature Monday morning was 18 below zero.
Ten area farmers or farming partnerships and their wives were guests of honor of the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce at the third annual Community Farmer Award Night John Radcliffe, Strum, assemblyman for Trempealeau and Buffalo counties, was the guest speaker at the event.
Arcadia wrestlers captured the Dairyland Invitational Wrestling Tournament at Blair. Mat teams from eight Dairyland Conference schools, three schools, Arcadia, Gale-Ettrick and Melrose-Mindoro, in the Coulee Conference and Mondovi High School competed at the tournament.
The Arcadia school board decided to proceed with the remodeling projects to replace the wooden stairways and floors in the corridors of the Arcadia High School.
Seeking equality in taxation, the residential owners of the town of Caledonia got together this past Monday evening to discuss their problem. The tax issue in both the town of Caledonia and town of Trempealeau has been a topic of controversy for the past number of weeks. As noted in the past, the property tax increase over the last year in the town of Trempealeau amounted to better than 25 percent, while property taxes in Caledonia jumped 49 percent.
On the basis of her score in a homemaking knowledge and attitude test, Sylvia Sacia, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Leon Sacia, Galesville, was designated Gale-Ettrick’s 1970 Homemaker of Tomorrow.
Sue Erickson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Orville Erickson, Galesville, will represent Gale-Ettrick High School at the Miss Snowflake Contest in connection with the annual Westby Ski Tournament to be held the first weekend in February.
(75 YEARS AGO) Feb. 1, 1945 - Taking the speaking roles in the high school play “Pride and Prejudice” will be Lee Mueller, Solveig Sletteland, Louise Thomley, Dorothy Johnson, Irene MacCornack, Zoe Ann Risberg, Mildred Kildahl, Marjorie Erickson, Donna Olson, Vernon Eid, Beatrice Goplin, Ernest Sielaff, Peter Speerstra, Helen Iverson, Seth Speerstra and Verna Olson. The play will be presented March 21 at City Hall.
Arne Torud of Hale was elected a new director of the Cooperative Oil and Produce Co. at the annual meeting held at City Hall Saturday. He will fill the unexpired term of his predecessor, E.H. Schroeder of Hale, who passed away last spring.
Thomas Hegge, Quinn Risberg, Alyn Larson, William Meyn and Robert Nichols received their Eagle Scout badges at ceremonies conducted at Logan High School in La Crosse Wednesday evening. A number of the parents and Boy Scout leaders from here attended.
English services will be held at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 4, instead of 10:30 a.m., the usual hour, announces the Rev. O.G. Birkeland.
An old-fashioned sleigh ride party was given by Mrs. Anna Everson Sunday afternoon, 16 of her relatives as guests. Lyder Nelson, formerly employed by Mrs. Everson, drove the horses.
Second Lieutenant Thelma Olsen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Olsen of Arcadia, is in charge of a 24-bed surgical ward at the 103rd United States Army general hospital in England where soldiers wounded in action are taken for advanced treatment and convalescence.
A large crowd of 200 people faced zero degree weather to attend the farm meeting held in the basement of Sacred Heart Church at Pine Creek on Feb. 1, 1945. Prefossor Zeasman, extension soil conservationist, emphasized the need for soil conserving in Trempealeau County. Zeasman pointed out that strip cropping, contour plowing and terracing would reduce soil erosion.
(100 YEARS AGO) Feb. 5, 1920 - Tomorrow is the day set for the election on the electric light proposition. Think twice tomorrow about tying to a corporation having no interest in your little village other than a purely mercenary one. Consider that the tax for lighting your streets alone would amount to $3,000 to $3,600 a year under the Wisconsin-Minnesota Light and Power Co.’s plan of service. We don’t undertake to say what the outcome will be, but we do know that we have had pretty good and cheap service with the old municipal plan. Don’t shirk, but go to the polls and vote your preference, and trust our council to keep us out of deep water.
Enumerator Louie Larson completed the census report this week and sent it to John Hogan of Cumberland Tuesday. It will take about two weeks before the results can be made public.
The groundhog was greeted by dark, foggy weather last Monday. It is presumed that if his wisdom is what tradition accords him, our winter is at an end. We shall see what we shall see.
Andrew Bang and Palmer Christianson have been busy thawing out the village’s water hydrants with a steam engine the past week. All but three were frozen.
Meters were not read the first part of the month on account of the flu. This will necessitate a charge for two months in the collection made after March 1.
A civil service examination takes place at Neillsville Feb. 18 for a postmaster at Whitehall to succeed Miss Faith Van Tassel, who has handed in her resignation. Hartwig Elstad and Lewis Larson we understand will write at this examination, either one of whom is good material for the place.
We haven’t the census report of the population, otherwise we might say how many have been down with the flu.
Leo. Peloski, on the Lake farm at Coral City, sold 17 cows recently, for which he received $1,902.
The Arcadia Leader reported that at the annual meeting of the Tamarack Telephone Co., the organization elected its new officers. They were: president L.K. Strand, vice president Ole Olson; secretary Ed Hess; treasurer, D.G. Wieland and directors Simon Sonsalla, John Rucinski and the above named officers.
On March 1, a new law will require all automobiles to have headlights on the front part of the vehicle.
Pine Cliff Cemetery, that is the name that will henceforth designate the last resting place of Galesville’s departed ones. To Charles Klein goes the honor of suggesting the name selected.
Mile type of flu in this area keeps the doctors busy. Galesville schools, theatre, etc. are closed.
The largest gray timber wolf in this section in recent years was brought in last Saturday by Louis Anstenson, who killed the animal at the Court Hare place.
Melvin Severson, a young farmer in the Tamarack area, has been granted a patent on an improved wire stretcher.
The petition for better rural mail service out of Galesville has been filed with the post office department.
(125 YEARS AGO) Jan. 31, 1895 - The agent of the Howe Chemical and Fire Engine Co. was in town Tuesday and repaired the village fire engine. He left it in perfect working order, but it is apparently no more satisfactory to the village than before. What we want is waterworks, and we will probably have them before July 1.
A special meeting of the village board was held Tuesday evening to consider a petition signed by 52 voters asking for a special election on the question of issuing bonds for $3,000 to be used in putting in waterworks. It is calculated that the total expense will be about $6,000. The election will be held Feb. 23.
The building occupied by Peter Solberg as a saloon and residence, which burned in the conflagration last week, was owned by John Gund of La Crosse, and rested partly on a lot owned by Mr. Solberg. Mr. Gund has bought Mr. Solberg’s interest in the property, and has contracted E.K. Herried of Elk Creek to commence immediately the erection of a 25- by 54-foot, two-story building. There is no doubt that the burned district will be rebuilt with more substantial buildings than those destroyed.
A.O. Anderson of Fly Creek is hauling lumber for a new dwelling to be built in the spring. John Wickland of Blair will do the carpenter work.
Adolph Olson, the butcher in the city meat market, has moved his family down from Pigeon.
Elk Creek — M.J. Lokken now drives a team or horses instead of oxen.
