From Our Early Files July 27, 2022
25 YEARS AGO
July 31, 1997
For its 1997 Citizen of the Year Award, the Whitehall Lions Club chose an area native who has been active in service to the community for a long time and continues to be. Odell Schansberg was presented with the group’s award during the annual District Governor’s Night dinner and program held last week Monday. On hand to help present the award, and to install the club’s officers for 1997-98 was District 27-E2 Governor Charles Johnson.
Heading the slate of new Whitehall Lions Club officers was Mike Headlee, who succeeds Ken Nelson as president. The other officers and committee chairmen for 1997-98 are Dave Schaefer, treasurer; Rueben Adams, secretary; Dave Pientok, first vice president; Scott Brown, second vice president; Mark Franklin, tail twister; Roger Oelrich, board of directors and Clark Moe, membership chairman.
An Independence teenager charged with killing his mother’s boyfriend has been freed on bond. Ryan Bogdonovich was released from the Trempealeau County Jail last week Tuesday after a $25,000 cash bond was posted on his behalf. Bogdonovich, 16, is charged first-degree intentional homicide with a deadly weapon in the death of Gerald Bisek during a May 17 domestic disturbance in Independence.
Julie Giemza was crowned Trempealeau County Fair Queen on the opening night of the 1997 fair Thursday. Her attendants are Rebecca Waller and Melissa Lambert, while Carmen Kampa was chosen as Miss Congeniality by the other queen candidates.
The Arcadia baseball team will make its second consecutive trip to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Baseball tournament. The Raiders fell to the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau Redmen in the last regular season game to finish second in the Dairyland Conference Large Division, but beat the Redmen in WIAA regional play. The Raiders beat Lancaster 7-4 in the sectional semifinal and Melrose-Mindoro, 5-2, in the sectional final. Arcadia faces Grantsburg in the state tournament.
The Blair-Taylor baseball team advanced to the WIAA State Tournament with a 2-0 win over Eleva-Strum in the sectional final. Tom Welch pitched a masterpiece on the mound, allowing only two hits in the shutout win. The Wildcats defeated Ashland 8-5 in the sectional semifinal. B-T plays Wauwatosa East at 11:05 a.m. Wednesday in Stevens Point. Another Dairyland Conference team, Cochrane-Fountain City, also advanced and will play Whitnall at 1:35 p.m. that day.
What Laurie Hovell calls “knitting with thread on small needles,” judges at the Trempealeau County Fair called a lace tablecloth, and a superior one at that. The Galesville woman won a blue ribbon and a yellow ribbon Award of Excellence for her handwork in the open cultural arts category of knitting and crocheting. She estimated that she has more than 500 hours invested in the tablecloth, though she said she didn’t keep track of her time.
Public officials have released an agreement previously labeled confidential with the varsity football coach who was relieved of his sports duties last year. Then he received a preliminary notice that his teaching contract wouldn’t be renewed. Under the agreement, Sam Servais will draw his salary and fringe benefits calculated at $45,244 and a lump-sum payment of $3,000, apparently what he would have received as varsity coach last fall. In return, Servais, “agrees to forever relinquish any legal claims he may have” as a result of his employment in the district.
50 YEARS AGO
Aug. 3, 1972
John Walek, chairman of the Trempealeau County board of supervisors, recently appointed a nine-member county traffic safety commission. Serving on the panel are Frederic Berns, Dr. C.F. Meyer, John Monson and Frederick Staff of Whitehall.
The upstairs theater at City Hall in Whitehall, long used for high school plays, is now the headquarters to the Trempealeau County Arts Association.
The Whitehall Little League team, coached by Dyck Shepherd, took second in the Stars of Tomorrow tournament held in La Crosse over the weekend. Randy Berg, Kevin Giese, Bob Henrickson, Rod Paulson and Dean Shepherd of the local team were named to the all-tourney squad.
A steering committee consisting of students, parents, school board members and educators of Arcadia, Blair, Independence, Taylor and Whitehall met in Whitehall to discuss a new project developed by the school superintendents of the five communities. The cooperative of schools want to discuss ways they could receive the same treatment and resources, which a larger school district receives.
Canoe races, softball games, pony pulling, trapshooting, coon dog field trails and a water fight between volunteer fire departments in the area will highlight the annual Arcadia Sportsmen’s Club picnic this weekend at Cashen Park and the adjacent Sportsmen’s clubhouse.
Byron Pride, Osseo, announced that he will seek the office of clerk of courts for Trempealeau County on the Democratic ticket. Pride served as assessor for the city of Osseo.
Shirley Halderson donned the crown of 1972 Trempealeau County Fair Queen Thursday. The coronation ceremonies were performed in front of the grandstand following the introduction of the 17 girls vying for the title. Halderson is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Halderson of Galesville.
The 451st Army Resreve Band, while at summer camp at Camp McCoy, will be presenting a concert in Galesville on Aug. 10. The concert will be in the town square and will be directed by Frederick Nyline, conductor and bandmaster for the 451st Reserve Band.
75 YEARS AGO
July 31, 1947
An estimated 2,000 people witnessed the dedication of the new lighted athletic field in Melby Park Sunday evening. Prior to the start of the first baseball game to be played at night here, the new lights were dimmed for 30 seconds in memory of James Garaghan, the Whitehall Millers’ pitcher who died July 14.
Huge highway damage was done by the severe electrical, wind, rain and hail storm that hit Trempealeau County Saturday night. High water on the Elk Creek caused a washout 50 feet wide by 20 feet deep in the south approach to the dam and bridge in Independence. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Maule and Mr. and Mrs. Joe Marsolek had to be rescued by boat from their home, which is situated on the flat near the lake.
When Frank Sylla, town of Lincoln farmer, razed the house of the former Ingalls place, he found between the walls a family Bible belonging to the late Mr. and Mrs. Frank Ingalls. The Ingallses were among the first to settle in this community, and their house was the first frame structure built in this part of the Trempealeau Valley, in 1856 or ’57.
Leonard Foss of Fly Creek, who was in town Friday, said he was through haying, but that he did not think that he would be into the grain fields until the first week of August, as his grain is on heavy soil.
The morning playground program in Whitehall will be discontinued for the month of August, announces Bennie Fremstad, director, but he will be at the beach as lifeguard during the afternoons.
Donald Warner, Whitehall baseball player, had minor surgery at Community Hospital as the result of an injury to his leg in the game against Mondovi Sunday.
Gaylord Christ, 20, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Christ, Waumandee, died when he drowned at Fountain City bay at Merrick State Park. Christ was at a picnic with a member of the Catholic Order of Foresters at the time of the mishap.
Ernest Reck became the owner of a new nine-passenger 1947 De Soto Suburban car, which he uses for transporting the members of his orchestra to and from engagements. It could be converted into an ambulance for comfortable carrying of sick or injured people.
100 YEARS AGO
Aug. 3, 1922
Another adjourned school meeting date has passed without the taxpayers paying any attention to this most important duty. Practically none of the patrons of the school district having children to educate attend these meetings. Pending the building of the new school, the school board should have the benefit of your advice and counsel, and unless you attend the meetings and air your opinions, you should reserve your criticisms. The board will erect barracks for school purposes, and expects now that school will open Aug. 21. The adjourned meeting is Aug. 14.
A heavy rainstorm Sunday night was accompanied by considerable hail in some localities, doing damage to tobacco. In Bruce Valley, complete destruction of many crops is reported. Arne Torud is said to have lost a two-acre crop of tobacco which promised to be extra fine. There was also some damage from lightning. Ludwig Engen had two pigs paralyzed by a stroke, but the veterinary says they will recover.
Whitehall had a deluge of prohibition opinion last Sunday in all the churches. At the M.E. church, T.W. Gales, La Crosse district superintendent for the Anti-Saloon League, spoke from the pulpit, and in the evening he gave an address to the Young Peoples Society at the Lutheran church.
Members of the Northern Wisconsin Tobacco Pool from the town of Lincoln held a meeting at the town hall last Monday, electing O.H. Settingsgaard and O.C. Haralsrud as delegates, and Bennie Ringstad as alternate, to attend a meeting to be held at Independence sometime this month.
Work on the new Whitehall High School is progressing. The foundation is nearly completed, and footings for the various inner walls have been set. Work that does not show much to the casual observer has been done.
Pigeon Falls — Miss Olga Johnson has resigned as central girl at the Farmers Telephone exchange here, Miss Mildred Evenson taking her place.
125 YEARS AGO
July 29, 1897
E. Palmer does the janitor work in the courthouse during Mr. Watson’s absence.
Rasmus Qually went to Hegg Monday to put a stone-wall basement under the residence of Stanley Amundson.
Huleatt and Ekern will monopolize the front rooms of the residence portion of the building they occupy for the storage of furniture.
Hunters may kill prairie chickens between Sept. 1 and Dec. 1. Also, woodcock, partridge, pheasant, plover and snipe during the same time. It may be further information to sportsmen to know that they may fish trout until Sept. 1. The duck season opens Sept. 1.
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, the local union will hold a Gospel temperance meeting at the M.E. church next Sunday evening.
W.J. Webb has painters and paper hangers from La Crosse putting the finishing touches on his new residence. Will is going to have the finest residence in Trempealeau County. It is a mammoth structure, supplied with all the improvements and conveniences, including hot and cold water. The lower rooms will be finished in oak, and the upper rooms in birch. Will’s good nature and his enterprising qualities entitle him to the best in the land, and we are glad to see him pleasantly ensconced on the top shelf.
The Blair and Mondovi teams met on the diamond here Sunday and played a game of ball. The game was witnessed by many and at time exciting, but is any money was lost, it surely must have been on Blair, as the “points” were mostly in favor of Mondovi.
Independence — Ed Whitney and Miss Bernice Bishop are members of a camping party from Arcadia this week. They are located near Trempealeau.
Blair — Peter Wood has gone to Galesville, having closed out his business here. Peter thinks the people of Blair to aesthetic in their tastes for him to live among them.
