The Time
Machine
From the past files of The Star
News , Medford, Wisconsin.
Used with permission by Don Woerpel,
editor of The Star News.
10 YEARS AGO
October 11, 1989
The Stetsonville Post Office moved into its new building at the corner
of HWY 13/CTH A last week, with Hilmer Dietze, who been getting his mail
at the post office in Stetsonville for more than 36 years being one of
the first patrons to use the lobby lock boxes in the new building.
Dick Hunsader is the new postmaster, while Marge Wild is the clerk and
bob Lamberty is and Wally Ertl are the rural carriers.
The trial od Chris Jacobs III, the rural Medford man charged with five
counts of being a party to a murder in the slaying of the Kunz family of
rural Athens began in Marathon County last Friday.
October 18, 1989
Ground is expected to be broken within three weeks for the 38-room AmericInn
motel. It will be located on the old Thomas Floral property at the
Hwy 13/Perkins Street intersection.
Gloria Spreen, the former income maintenance coordinator for the Taylor
County Human Services, has filed a !1.1 million claim against the County,
alleging violating of her constitutional rights, breach of contract, intentional
interference with her contractual rights and economic opportunities, and
malicious prosecution. In 1987, Spreen was charged with misconduct
in office, and accused of knowingly authorizing emergency fuel assistance
for her uncle to which he was not entitled. The charge was later
dismissed by Judge Douglas T. Fox.
October 25, 1989
Stan and Elsie Carbaugh of Medford were among the lucky ones who survived
the San Francisco earthquake last week.
The quake, which registered 6.9 on the Richter scale, was the nation's
deadliest since 1906, with the death toll expected to be close to 100.
When the ground began to shake, the Carbaugh's were on the 16th floor of
the San Francisco Hilton, about 16 blocks from the hard hit Marina area.
"We had just gotten out of the open air pool on the 16th floor when the
concrete floor started swaying rapidly back and forth." Carbaugh
said, adding that he noticed there were three-foot waves in the swimming
pool. They said the whole thing lasted about 15 or 20 seconds, "but
seemed much longer." They said they didn't realize the enormity of
the disaster until they called back to Medford to let the family know they
were safe.
November 1, 1989
State Assemblyman "Pink" Van Gorden was the guest speaker at the dedication
of the new Stetsonville Post Office Sunday afternoon. The building
is located at the corner of Hwy 13 and CTH A.
Six possible sites for an Air Force GWEN tower in Taylor County were
identified this week. Three are northwest of Medford; one is east
of Medford, and two are due east of Whittlesey, an Air Force spokesmen
said. The final GWEN site will consist of about 11 acres, which will
be leased to the Air Force. GWEN is an unmanned and automated data
system to ensure adequate communications between Air Force command centers
and SAC bombers and missile locations in the event regular communications
are knocked out in the time of war.
After deliberating 10 hours last Friday and Saturday, a jury of seven
men and five women from Brown County found Chris Jacobs III of rural Medford
innocent of the 1987 shooting deaths of five members of the Kunz family
of rural Athens.
25 YEARS AGO
October 10, 1974
Bids totaling $703,962 have been submitted for the third and final phase
of the renovation and construction of Medford Junior High School on Clark
Street. It will mark the end of a program begun in 1973 at a total
cost of more than a million dollars. THe original building which
housed Medford High School and Jefferson Grade School was constructed in
1906. The first addition was done in 1932. A two-story addition
was added in 1938, and the Municipal Auditorium was built in 1955.
The final phase now underway will include the construction of and "L" shaped
building extending north and west and connecting with the present industrial
wing.
October 17, 1974
Donald D Maurer, 33, of Medford, lost his life in a farm accident Saturday.
The accident happened about 4:30 pm when Mr. Maurer was driving west on
a town road on a tractor pulling a manure spreader. The vehicle went
off the road into a deep ditch and overturned, pinning the man under it.
He was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital in Medford.
More than 600 calves were slaughtered at Curtiss Corners by farm groups
Tuesday in dramatic protest against existing economic pinch being imposed
on dairy and cattlemen throughout the nation. More than a dozen Taylor
County farmers volunteered calves for the demonstration.
The Mathew Gasior family, operators of a 180 acre farm in the Town of
McKinley has been named Taylor County Farm Family of the Year by the Taylor
County Farmers Home Administration (FmHA). They will compete with
45 other county FmHA offices for state and national honors.
October 24, 1974
Gary Lindow and Diane Klingbeil reigned as king and queen at last week's
Medford Senior High School Homecoming. SHe is the daughter of the
Reiny Klinbeils and he is the son of the Armin Lindows. The festive
occasion was marred only by the 33-12 loss to Hurley Midgets Friday night.
The state Public Service Commission has authorized Midway Telephone
Co. to discontinue its two- and four-party urban and rural multi-party
service and rural optional four-party service to a one-party service.
October 31, 1974
Much needed rainfall put an end to a rash of six forest fires fought last
week in Taylor County. The six fires burned over nearly 300 acres
of hardwood, aspen, brushland, and grassland.
Directors and members of The Sandbox, a new Medford day care center
for children of working mothers, were hostesses Sunday evening at an Open
House at the center's location at the corner of Park Ave. and Cedar St.
Bids were opened last week for the construction of a chalet on the Perkinstown
Winter Sports Area site. The building will have a ground level floor
and upper floor, providing almost twice the space of the former chalet
destroyed by fire February 7.
Another contribution to the face lifting of downtown Medford is the
new exterior of the Hedlun-Hirt Insurance Agency building on Division St.
The original building was constructed about 90 years ago by the German
language newspaper, Der Waldbote.
50 YEARS AGO
October 6, 1949
Brown's Store at Sheldon is on of the largest department stores in the
western Taylor County area, as proprietor Clarence Brown employs a force
of 19 persons. They include Joe Minninger, Russel Schult, Mrs. Wanda
Schult, Mrs. Doris Thompson, Anne Omosta, Delores Lechleitner, Ella Nelson,
Mrs. Nellie Schult, Mrs. Eva Maxon, Bill Brown, Mrs. Edna Sweet, Virgil
Sweet, Morris Johnson, Merle Powers, Joe Brucek, Leo Storry, Harold Schultz,
Joe Mazany and Victor Skabroud.
October 13, 1949
Winds estimated at 60 mph struck Taylor County around noon Monday, leaving
thousands of dollars damage in its wake. The wind never faded until
the early evening hours, and one of the first places to feel the storm's
fury was The Star News office as the south half of the false front
being used while the new brick front is being erected was ripped from its
anchors and tossed in the Main St. In its fall, it covered the Harold
Mokry car, which had just stopped at the stop sign. Fortunately,
none of the occupants were hurt. Eight spruce trees on the courthouse
lawn were also uprooted by the storm, and television attennas at the Ackeret
and Johnson radio stores were snapped off. At the Kalmon Bakery,
the smokestack crashed to the roof. The large sign extending across
the building at the Coast to Coast store fell in the wind's path, narrowly
missing people on the street, and Al Bauer reports that the doors of his
garage on Fourth Street blew open, and the south wall of the building collapsed,
leaving the roof in a precarious position, but his car did
not receive a scratch. In addition, the roof of the transfer dock
at the Hurd Millwork was torn loose, and the timbers, some of the 16 feet
in length, were hurled onto the roof of the plant. Several times
during the afternoon it was necessary to clear the railroad tracks of timbers
the wind had carried from the stock piles in the yard. Many trees
throughout the area were uprooted, chimneys toppled, small buildings demolished,
and electrical service disrupted.
October 20, 1949
A brilliant object floating in the sky over Medford Tuesday afternoon had
many necks tilted upward and brought forth many opinions as to what the
object was. The object was noticed in may parts of the county and
those who maintained a steady watch said that it moved at a slow pace.
About 5:30pm the object could no longer be seen. Some stated that
they believed it was a star, but the general impression was that it was
a weather balloon.
While hunting partridge in the vicinity of his Jump River home yesterday
afternoon, Walter Dounley became lost when his compass broke, and it wasn't
until tow o'clock this morning that the searching party found him.
About 50 people took part in the search. Sheriff Zastrow said this
morning that the lost man had not suffered from his experience.
October 27, 1949
By order of the Health Officer Prosper Diauate, the high school and grade
school of Westboro were closed Saturday when David Haase, 9, son of Mr.
and Mrs. Byron O. Haase was taken ill with polio and removed to a Wausau
hospital/ This was the second case of polio in Westboro, the other
being Jimmy Hill, son of Mr. and Mrs. Reuben Hill. Both boys are
in the third grade, and both families reside on Hwy 102.
Elmer Jakel, 33, Curtiss, well known in Taylor County as a baseball
umpire and former catcher on Medford's team, was killed in an auto
accident near Withee Tuesday.
Louis Spray, former Hayward resident now lving in Rice Lake, clamed
the world Muskie records for the third time last week when he reported
landing a muskie weighing 69 pounds and 11 ounces. Spray said the
fish came from the Chippewa Flowage at Hayward. His catch surpasses
the 67 pound 8 ounce fish caught by Cal Johnson on July 24. In 1939,
Spray had a 59 pound muskie recognized as a records fish. He lost
the title the same year, but in 1940 produced a muskie which weighed 61
pounds and 13 ounces and was accepted as the record.
75 YEARS AGO
October 9, 1924
Louis Pfeifer was killed in a horrible accident Saturday when the westbound
Omaha train smashed the Ford touring car in which he was riding.
Before the train stopped, the car was shoved a thousand feet down the track.
Mr. Pfiefer had gone to the mailbox to get his mail, and on his return
failed to see the train approaching. He was a young man of 26 years
of age, clean and upright, and had a generous disposition. He lived
in a farm about three miles west of Donald.
Rib Lake is shutting down all industries and places of business today
for the purpose of doing tornado clean up work.
Walter Frischmann will open his suburban store on Park Avenue, near
the city park, next Monday. He has built a new building for that
purpose on the lot next to his new residence. This is the former
Norwegian Church location.
Reusch Bros. have built a new cigar factory on the south side of East
Broadway. Wm. Willner will occupy the former cigar factory just outside
the city limits for a soft drink parlor and restaurant.
October 16, 1924
The Spur Five country north of Hannibal has made a lot of progress in the
past five years. James Emry built the first house on Spur Five just five
years ago; now there are 16 farm houses on the spur road within four miles.
"The Gutter Snipe" will be presented by the Medford Players this Friday
at Germania Opera House in Medford. Cast members include Miss Hazel
Kevill, LM Baird, Mrs. Eva Baird, Richard Kriplean, GK Price, Miss Mary
Wocelka, Walter Newburg, and ON Markus.
October 23, 1924
A Goodrich man was killed Tuesday in an accident believed to be the direct
result of his being full of moonshine. The body of Mr. M was discovered
in the ditch at the edge of Athens road a mile southeast of Goodrich.
Sheriff Bauer and Coroner Hartwig investigated the death and learned that
the deceased had been drunk; that he was on his way home from Athens with
a load of pulp plaster; that Tom Foster had loaded him back onto his wagon
after falling off just a half a mile south of where the body was found,
tying up the lines with thought that the horses would take him safely home.
It is believed that the man fell from the wagon seat and was caught and
dragged for a distance. The man was 50 years old and leaves a wife
and eight children.
October 30, 1924
The Ziehlke Motor Company is building a modern garage and filling station
at the Fairgrounds corner. The Ziehlke brothers have purchased from
Mrs. Ebert across the Hwy 13 from the fairgrounds at the junction of Hwy
13 and 64.
Property owners at Lake Esadore are becoming throughougly worked up
over the theft of building material from lake cottages. After taking
a lot of pains to salvage their lumber, dragging some of it from the lake
and carrying it for a considerable distance, they have nothing for their
pains but the realization that some human civet cats will steal lumber
from a tornado wrecked place.
100 YEARS AGO
October 9 , 1899
Three boys about 16 years of age, sons of Messrs. Blanik, Kuntz, and Chvala
of the Town of Browning, became possessed by the desire to go hunting early
in the week and prepared themselves for a determined chase. They
laid supply of provisions, guns, and other paraphernalia, and started to
explore the Town of Halsey, Marathon County. Night overtook them
at the old Bursch farm several miles from home, and they proceeded to put
up for the night in the hay mow. In some matter unexplained, they
accidentally set the hay on fire and before they escaped one or two of
them was somewhat scorched, and their stock of provisions gins, etc., went
up with the same volume of smoke that eliminated the hay mow and the barn
from the face of the earth. The boys were thankful to escape alive
and it is safe to predict that they will excercise more care when camping
in a hay mow.
AH Peterson, our efficient clerk, will hereafter perform a few acrobatic
feats at intervals after office hours at the Turners Hall. He joined
that body this week, being in search of excercise. Messrs. Hugo Belz
and Louis Bauer also joined the same evening.
October 14, 1899
The wet and disagreeable weather inaugurated Tuesday last was one of the
most welcome features in the weather line to a large number, especially
to real estate owners, that has been our pleasure to chronicle many moons.
Forest fires were beginning to do a great deal od damage to our forests,
and in some parts of the county devastated large areas. In the Town
of Holway about three section of timber land were burned over and a large
tract in the Yellow River country was badly scorched. Large volumes
of smoke were to be seen in almost every direction on Monday and a great
deal of apprehension was being felt by a large number of our settlers.
On Sunday and Monday the village of Stetsonville was seriously threatened
by a large forest fire in the outskirts of the village, and but for the
heroic work of the people the entire village would doubtless have been
destroyed. A call for help was sent to this city, and out hand fire
engine immediately dispatched to that village in charge of drayman Peter
Johnson and the old fire fighter done noble work. The wind was blowing
a gale at the time and sparks would start fires very frequently, but the
prompt work of the people assisted by the engine kept the situation under
perfect control. It is reported that Ellingson Bro's large saw mill
caught fire and at least a half dozen times, and a blaze in the dry saw
dust and rubbish in all parts of the town was extinguished every few minutes.
Verily, it was a welcome rain, even if we towns folks do find the muddy
streets somewhat inconvenient.
The damage caused by three town of Browning boys last week, when they
accidentally burned the barn and hay mow on the Bursch farm, was settled
last Monday by Mr. Frank Chvala, father of one of the boys, by payment
of $70 cash. The total loss to the boys, or their parents, will be
nearly $200.
October 21, 1899
Saturday was the ideal day for football. The air was invigorating,
the ground in perfect condition. The crowd that assembled to witness
the Colby-Medford high school game was not as large as it should have been,
but considering the fact that it was the first football game ever played
here, and so few in attendance was good. Our boys have been doing
some faithful practicing, even though they were handicapped by an almost
unheard ultimatum on the part of the school board that no playing should
be done on the school grounds. The Colby aggregation looked like
a formidable enemy but the padded clothes made them appear much more dangerous
than they were. The ball was placed on the line running across the
center of the field and Colby started the game with was is technically
called a kick-off. The ball was caught by Doyle who managed to get
30 yards before being dragged down by a Colby man, then the teams lined
up at close quarters, the center snapping the ball back to the man behind
him - the quarterback - who, in obedience to the puzzling list of numbers
and letters called out by Capt. Andresen previous to the play, passed the
ball to Doyle who, by the aid of the other players, managed to run 15 more
yards down field. Urquhart got the ball next and made 35 yards, and
at the end of his sprint laid the oval down behind the Colby goal line
with time to rest before any opposing team caught up to him. This
gave the home team what is called a touch down, scoring them 5 points.
When the 20 minutes appointed for the first half expired, Medford had 5
points and Colby looked happy with a goose egg. During the interval
between halves the people began brushing up a little on the science of
the game, asking all sorts of questions.
A detailed account of the second half might seem like a repetition of
the first, but as to results two touch downs were made by Medford, one
by Urquhart with no goal, and one by Andresen when a goal was made.
These, with a safety, where they Colby team was shoved back over its goal
line, ran the final score up to 18. All of the boys did good work.
Boeckler, Begley, Falconer, Logan and Andresen deserve special mention
for their playing in the second half. The Medford team clearly outclassed
the Colby eleven as none of the lads from away were ever dangerously near
the home goal and most of the playing was done on their side of the center
line.
October 28, 1899
The rain and electric storm that visited this section of the globe Tuesday
evening was fully equal in every respect to anything in this line during
the year. Lightning struck in several places but did little damage,
except to suddenly extinguish the electric lights and damage the dynamo
to a slight extent. Some queer pranks are reported as having been
played by the lightning. It struck the electric guide post near the
Ehle residence, splintered the post in customary order and the shock broke
several window lights in the house. Mrs. John Colbath was sitting
by an open kitchen window at her home on the west side when the heavy shock
was felt throughout the city, and although she was not apparently struck
by lightning, she noticed a peculiar and painful sensation on her left
shoulder and neck immediately after and on an examination found a strip
burned from her neck to the point of the shoulder, undoubtedly done by
the lightning.
Mrs. T. Marie Kestley, our new music teacher is doubtless the most accomplished
performer on the piano ever heard in Medford. She will remain here
for the winter and give instruction to those who wish to become proficient
in music.
About 40 guests from Medford, Browning, Rib Lake, and Greenwood met
at the Klemm residence on the 22nd and helped Grandpa Klemm celebrate his
55th anniversary and Robt. Klemm Jr. his first anniversary, which had a
couple days difference in date. All had a good time as they always
do at the Klemms.
Jos. Hirsch has accepted a situation as clerk of the leading hotel at
Perkinstown, and will also look after the interests of the Val Blatz Brewing
Co. in that village.
American Local History Network - Wisconsin
