TEN YEARS AGO
Thursday, August 17, 1989
The former Pigeon Falls Nursing Home has been purchased by a subsidiary of Tri-County Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home, and will be operated as Tri-County Lutheran Nursing Home. The sale was finalized after Trempealeau County Circuit Judge Richard Galstad ruled that control of the home should be returned to Health Care Providers, the partnership that included Pigeon Falls residents Donald Ackley and John Kulig, which had built and owned the building.
Candidates for the title of Miss Whitehall 1989 are Cyndi Burleson, Tammy Goplin, Jennifer Holum, Melissa Kampa, Lisa Kulig, Lara McRae, Keri Moquin and Stephanie Nelson.
Whitehall High Head Coach Bruce Ausderau and his assistants, Chuck Walek and Chuck Zauner, have only 28 boys out for the football team this season.
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO
Thursday, August 16, 1984
Whitehall school district residents attending Monday’s annual meeting voted 148 to 138 to add $18,000 to the property tax levy so that the elementary guidance position eliminated last month by the school board could be reinstated. But the board, at a special meeting held later, reaffirmed its decision.
Ridgeview Foods will showcase its multi-million-dollar, state-of-the-art cheese production line during an open house to be held this Sunday.
Mike Burkart, Gilbert Eide and Jeff Zeller of the Du Drop Inn, and Eric Goplin, Jerry Mattison, Kelly Mulhern and Mark Nix of the Pigeon Falls State Bank, have been named to the Southern Division team for the Dairyland Softball League all-star game to be held Aug. 23.
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO
Thursday, August 22,1974
Crowned Thursday night as Miss Whitehall 1974 was Lana Guinn; her attendants are Diane Sagen and Vicki McGuire. Ina Anderson was chosen as Miss Congeniality.
The Whitehall city council voted last week Tuesday to look into purchasing the Joe Matchey property for use as parking and a site for the Beef and Dairy Days midway.
Roger Bartel, a native of Princeton, has joined the Times as editor and reporter.
The 44 Gypsies detained by Trempealeau County authorities on suspicion of theft were released last week Tuesday due to lack of evidence.
Tournament favorite Club 95 forfeited their semi-final round game to Fall Creek, and the Chicken Chasers went on to win the Beef and Dairy Days softball tournament with a 3-1 victory in the championship game against Wilbur Lime.
FIFTY YEARS AGO
Thursday, August 18, 1949
Approximately $900 in cash, checks and bonds, together with some business records, were carried away in the 500-pound safe that was taken from the Peterson Implement Co. building sometime Saturday night. Two filling stations in Independence, those owned by Victor Reinhold and Philip Roskos, were entered in the same manner, apparently by the same burglars; the thieves were unsuccessful at the Ray Pietrek station, which had a double-locked door.
The sixth case of polio in Trempealeau County this summer was reported Monday to County Nurse Betty Godward and Lon Tubbs, treasurer of the county polio fund. He is David, eight-year-old son of Mrs. and Mrs. Christ Haines of Arcadia, who was moved to the isolation hospital associated with St. Francis Hospital in La Crosse. Other polio victims currently being treated are Arthur Ofsdahl Jr., 20, Ettrick; Eileen Weisenberger, nine, daughter of Ralph Weisenberger, Arcadia; Linda Estenson, six, daughter of the Earl Estensons, Whitehall; and Ida Johnson, seven, daughter of Archie Johnson, Hale. Dale, the 13-year-old son of Orlando Johnson of Osseo, had polio but has recovered.
Voters in the newly-created Trempealeau Valley consolidated district, consisting of Taylor, Hixton, Merrillan and Alma Center in Jackson County, Humbird and Fairchild in Clark County, and the rural areas surrounding those communities, together with Trempealeau County voters close to the county line who also were to have been included in the district, voted 1,241 to 357 against consolidation Monday.
The Rev. Axel Blom will be installed as the new pastor at the Pleasantville Lutheran church this Sunday. Rev. Blom comes to the area from a parish at Oconto Falls; the family will reside in the parsonage at Strum, which has been completely remodeled and modernized for them.
Thursday, August 18, 1949
The Arcadia school district has commenced legal action against four former rural school districts which were incorporated into the large, new Arcadia district last June by order of the joint Buffalo and Trempealeau county school committees. The Arcadia district is suing to recover the money that the rural districts had in their treasuries at the time they were incorporated into the larger district.
SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO
Thursday, August 21, 1924
The Women’s Civic club opened its campaign for the Melby Park arch Saturday evening, serving ice cream, coffee and cake. A program was given in which the Camp Fire Girls sang to the accompaniment of mandolin, ukulele and kazoo. Judge Anderson gave a bit of the unpublished history of the park, and also paid a glowing tribute to its donor, John O. Melby. It is the idea of the club to erect at the entrance near the hospital, the brick pillars supporting an arch with the inscription “Melby Park.”
Between two and three o’clock this morning, the Whitehall post office was entered by yeg men, and three charges of explosive were necessary to open the inner door of the safe. Mr. and Mrs. Mathson of the hotel, the next building to the north of the post office, were aroused by the commotion, and evidently the turning on of their lights aroused the suspicion of the yegs, as they made their getaway after the last explosion, and did not wait to see the result and pick up the few bills that were released. A Ford car is said to have been noticed in the street making a great noise, possibly for the purpose of drowning out the explosions.
James H. Wilson, a prosperous farmer living about one and a half miles north of York, was gored to death by a bull late Tuesday afternoon when he was in the barn alone cleaning the pen in which the animal was kept.
The Sundfjordlag held its annual meeting Sunday at the home of its president, Andrew J. Berge, in Big Slough. The surroundings on Berge’s well-kept lawn, enclosed by an arbor vitae fence and shade by evergreens and other trees, were exceedingly well located for enjoying such a day. There were possibly 35 families partaking, but to judge from the quantity of food, one could have thought three times that number were present.
Teams are still at work hauling dirt onto the school house grounds, O.C. Torson attending to the spreading of the top-dressing. Ole is doing a creditable job, and is preparing the surface for a lawn that will compare with the well-kept premises on Dewey Street.
A 22-32 Advance Rumley separator was unloaded at Whitehall Wednesday for Lars Schansby of Lincoln. Lewis Witt and Mr. Schansby will operate the rig together, the former using his Titan tractor for power.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO
Thursday, August 17, 1899
Attend the ball game tomorrow.
August Ringstad has about finished plastering Albert Nelson’s new residence.
Wood and Stevens have the frame up for Mrs. M.V. Allen’s new residence.
L.A. Rumple took his departure yesterday for New Franklin, where he takes charge of the section on the Kewaunee branch of the Green Bay and Western Railroad. Lawrence is climbing up in the railroad business.
County and village officials play ball at the fairgrounds tomorrow.
H.H. Scott has purchased of R.J. Macartney the Independence livery and outfit. He has associated with him in the business Frank Briggs, who will conduct the enterprise at the old stand.
An ice cream sociable will be given at the residence of Hon. G.H. Markham next Saturday evening by the Methodist people of Independence, the proceeds to be applied on Rev. Hackman’s salary. Whitehall people are cordially invited.
If you want to laugh, don’t fail to attend the ball game on the fair grounds at three o’clock tomorrow afternoon. Sew on your buttons.
President James Hopkins has had a force of men at work for some time on the fairgrounds race course. It is now in most excellent condition, and better than ever before. When it is remembered that the Whitehall track has a record mark of 2:14.25, horsemen will appreciate the force of our remarks. If the trotting horses that take in our fair next month have any speed in them, we shall look for a lowering of the above track record. It will be no fault of the first-class condition of the course if this is not accomplished.
Adams and Taylor have commenced work on their solid brick addition to their store building, 33 by 70 feet. They have not definitely decided whether to build one or two stories.
The fighting editor keeping peace at the county board meeting makes The Times-Banner a trifle tardy this week.
Blair — Rev. S.S. Urberg was at Whitehall the first of the week circulating a subscription paper to obtain funds to help his congregation towards the rebuilding of the Synod Lutheran church, which was destroyed by fire some weeks since. He secured a donation of about $100 there, and he feels very grateful for such financial assistance from the good people at the county seat and vicinity thereof.