From Our Early Files Nov. 15, 2023
25 YEARS AGO
November 19, 1998
The Trempealeau County Board of Supervisors last week approved a 1999 budget that results in a slightly higher total property tax levy than had been proposed. Two new positions in the Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Department created by the board at last week Tuesday’s annual budget session pushed the 1998 levy almost to the $5.1 million mark. The budget before the board going into the Nov. 10 annual fiscal session had called for just under a $5 million levy.
The Whitehall High School Academic Decathlon team made what is believed to be the school’s best showing since 1992 last week, placing third out of 12 teams competing at the Cooperative Educational Services Agency No. Four event held Nov. 10 at Melrose-Mindoro High School. The team’s score was the third best out of 22 Division Four schools taking part in the CESA-region qualifying events statewide and advanced the WHSers to the regional competition. Team members are Megan Bender, Jenny Granlund, Caleb Olson, Brian Beilke, Laura Tappendorf, Theresa Shiltz, Franz Bergman, Mandy Gauger and Leah Hanson.
The proposed city of Whitehall budget for 1999 will be a bit more than half of what the city will spend during the current year. But before city property owners break out the champagne to celebrate a break on their taxes, they should be advised that the bottom line for next year’s taxing and spending package will be about the same was for 1998. And last year’s reassessment of city real estate will make it hard to predict whether an individual tax bill will be up or down.
Arcadia police chief Pat Grzadzielewski is asking the general public to help in the fight against illegal drugs in the community. To help in the effort, the chief has developed a form titled “Are you concerned about drugs in your community,” that individuals with any information on drugs can fill out and send back to the police department. “We developed the form so that citizens with information on drug dealing or usage in the community can let us know,” Grzadzielewski said.
The Arcadia city council last week approved a 1999 city budget in the amount of $2,076,038, which is down slightly from 1998. No one appeared at the budget hearing, which was held at the start of the council meeting.
Arcadia police and Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Department personnel recently conducted raids on the nine taverns in the city of Arcadia. Grzadzielewski said that his department has received complaints of juveniles and minors being on the premises of the establishments. Out of the raids came numerous citations.
Galesville received the first installment of Federal Emergency Management Administration funds to help pay for the June 27 storm damage. According to public works director Steve Quall, the city will receive a total of $158,136 to use for cleanup expense.
The Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau school board agreed to pursue a fan sportsmanship policy after high school principal Craig Gerlach and athletic director Tom Goller suggested it. The administrators told the board of a handful of incidents that were reported to them or were witnessed firsthand by them at some Redmen football games this fall. ‘There was a blatant problem,” Gerlach said. Incidents included a fan being loud, yelling at coaches, players and referees.
Are you Y2K compliant? A Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce poll said that 96 percent of the state’s businesses were inoculating against the Millennium Bug, also known as Y2K. The media are full of potential horror stories should the bug bite at midnight on Jan. 1, 2000, because the Millennium Bug lurks in computer chips and no one quite knows what to expect. Never before in history has the world held its collective breath waiting for a computer chip to bite.
50 YEARS AGO
November 22, 1973
The Whitehall district school board voted Monday night to hold a public meeting on Dec. 8 to discuss the impact of fuel and energy shortages on operation of the local schools. A list of options reviewed by the board Monday included a four-day week, shorter school days, a longer Christmas vacation and cut-backs in extracurricular activities.
The Whitehall city council last week approved the transfer of the city’s contract for ambulance services from Richard Ellingson to Ronald McKelvy. Ellingson, who has operated the local service for six-plus years, is selling his ambulances to McKelvy, a former Sioux City, Iowa, fireman.
The Norse boys nearly upset Blair, one of the top-rated small schools in the state, Friday night. Led by Arnie Johnson, Whitehall came from behind to take a one-point lead in the fourth quarter, before losing 57-49. John Peterson led the locals with 14 points.
A resolution supporting President Nixon in the current energy crisis, including proposals for local energy saving, was adopted by the Arcadia city council. Mayor Eugene Killian instructed councilmen to sit down with the various department heads over which they have jurisdiction to discuss ways in which to conserve fuel and energy through better coordination of work. Councilmen agreed to a minimum of Christmas lighting, perhaps two days before Christmas and again a day or two before New Year’s Day.
A mild October allowed Wisconsin farmers to make good progress on their fall field work this year, in sharp contrast to a year ago. Temperatures in October averaged six degrees above normal.
Doreen Maliszewski of Arcadia has been selected as a delegate to National 4-H Congress in Chicago, Ill.
Larry Stuhr and John Christianson came off the bench to vitalize the fastbreak and Kevin Back and John Olson combined to snare 28 rebounds to help G-E-T turn back Holmen, 51-42, last Friday.
Richard Tisthammer, son of Mr. and Mrs. Merton Tisthammer, Galesville, recently won the district farm bureau speech contest.
75 YEARS AGO
November 18, 1948
A heinous offense was committed at Lincoln Cemetery early this week, apparently by a gang of marauders. Tuesday afternoon, Ludwig Eggen observed that seven tombstones had been tipped over. It is believed that several persons are implicated, as most of the stones weigh in the neighborhood of 1,000 pounds.
The Trempealeau County Board of Supervisors had increased to a membership of 35 when it met in annual session Nov. 9. The increase of one member was the result of Ettrick becoming a village in September, and electing Ole Mustad as its supervisor.
Dr. N.S. Simons, Roy Huitfeldt, Hiram Hegge, E.L. Gilbertson, John O. Gilbertson, Kenneth Swenson and Norman Anderson were elected to the board of directors of Whitehall Winter Sports, Inc., at the meeting held last week Monday in the Legion Rooms. Approximately 60 voting memberships have been secured, and more are planning to join.
The Whitehall bowling alleys, located in the basement under the City Cafe, opened again this week. The new managers are Claire Gray of Mondovi and Gerald Edison of Eleva, who also operate the alleys at Strum.
Construction of the new United Lutheran church at Pigeon Falls has made great progress the past month. A crew of from 30 to 40 men has been hard a work, beginning at 6:45 a.m., and some men have been working under lights until 9 p.m. or later. Ladies aid members serve lunch both mornings and afternoons.
With a 16-game schedule due to begin on Nov. 26, coach Bill Cashen and his assistant John Koetting, are putting a squad of 38 hopefuls through workouts each afternoon in the armory and school gymnasium. The first game of the season will bring the Cochrane High School team to Arcadia.
The local city basketball team played under the name of Hq. Co., Wisconsin National Guard defeated Fountain City in a game last Sunday by the score of 42-36. The team composed of Howard Reedy, Pete Haines, Jack Haines, Bill Breska, Grant Hanson, Oscar Lisowski, Don Glanzer, Bob Gilbertson, Franklin Sobotta, Dominic Sobotta and Jereome Pierzyna, and coached by Bud Kostner, showed real class. They really looked like the Arcadia lineups of old, showing fine teamwork and accurate shooting.
100 YEARS AGO
November 22, 1923
The long-distance service of the Wisconsin Telephone Co. to Whitehall, Pigeon Falls and Northfield is to be improved by stringing a copper circuit from Osseo via Northfield and Pigeon Falls to Whitehall. The plans call for the placing of more than 60 miles of 12-pound copper wire to replace the present iron circuit, at an estimated cost of $4,759.
Anton E. Johnson of Big Slough brough his son Barnhard to the clinic Tuesday to have the doctors attend to a severely-cut leg, injured while chopping wood with an axe.
Ole Tenseth and family had an experience Sunday which might have resulted in a serious accident. In driving over the bluff to Vosse Coulee, they met a large car, neither driver seeing the other until it was too late. The road there has a bank on either side, so they could not avoid each other, but as both were driving slowly, the damage was minor. It is to be regretted that this road is not attended to more, as it is a much-traveled one.
Richard Back and family of Pleasantville went to church a week ago Sunday, and upon returning home, noticed that their dog was gone. No trace of the animal was found until this past Saturday, when confirmation services were held at the church; when the doors were unlocked, the dog was there, quite willing to be released from its imprisonment. The dog went without water for six days, and its only food was the candles it had eaten.
Sheriff Erickson and Prohibition Agent Naustad found a still on the Elvin Omlee farm in Vosse Coulee Tuesday. Mr. Omlee pleaded guilty to a charge of manufacturing moonshine, and paid a fine of $200 and costs amounting to $32.
The store at Tamarack, owned by John Lund, was badly damaged by fire, probably due to an overheated chimney. The fire was discovered by people passing in an automobile who called neighbors on the telephone and then formed a bucket brigade to carry water from a nearby creek. They were able to confine the fire to the attic and roof. Most of the merchandise was carried to safety. Damage was estimated at $2,000.
Considerable mileage was added to Trempealeau County’s state highway system by the state highway commission and legislative committee, which added $2,500 miles of additional roads to the state system. All told, Trempealeau County received approximately 48 additional miles, including 93 north through Arcadia and Independence.
Prof. G.A. Larson takes the place of Miss Stellengware in charge of the commercial department at Gale College.
Arctic Springs Creamery was named the most modern creamery plant in western Wisconsin. Harold Bibby, creamery superintendent. His father was the buttermaker years before he took over.
The Galesville City Drug Store offers free Rogers Silverware by trading with them.
Prof. Selmer Larson, for two years with Galesville High School, has accepted the principalship at the Blair High School.
125 YEARS AGO
November 17, 1898
One week from today is Thanksgiving Day, and the wholesale execution of turkeys has already begun.
The center pier of the river bridge having given out, piling is being driven and other repairs are being made.
Brother Utter, of the Trempealeau Gazette, slides out from under the crash last week with the facetious remark that “there is one thing the Democrats of Trempealeau County can beat, and that is the Prohibitionists.”
Messrs. Everson and Vold, implement dealers, are having put up on their lot on Main Street a building 24 by 50 feet, two stories, designed for an office and apartments for machines and seeds. It is to be a substantial building.
A large contingent of roaming gypsies passed through the village of Whitehall last Friday. They were an exceptionally filthy, greasy looking lot. The women went around looking for victims who wished their fortunes told, while the men put in the time talking horse trade. But as they found their line of “business” a trifle dull, the pack of traveling arguments for stricter immigration laws soon resumed their journey eastward, much to the general satisfaction of the villagers.
