TEN YEARS AGO

Thursday, March 3, 1977

            About 25 persons attended a Whitehall school board committee meeting Tuesday night during which the possible closing of the Pleasantville school was discussed. Most of those present opposed the closing. A public meeting on the subject will be held this coming Tuesday.

            Despite a rash of changes within the Farmers Store Co. recently, there are apparently no plans to close any of the chain’s stores. Farmers Store has outlets in Whitehall and 12 other communities.

            Whitehall Packing Co. has announced that Daniel Meilman has been named to the newly-created post of chairman of the board and chief executive officer. Marshall Chernin has been promoted to succeed Meilman as president and chief operating officer.

            Dr. Fred Webber has terminated his association with the Independence clinic and will return to the Twin Cities to resume practice there. That leaves the IMD Corp. of Independence without a physician to operate the clinic.

            Two free throws in the final seconds by Debbie Foss, who scored 31 of her team’s points, helped the Whitehall girls to a 39-38 win over Blair in the sub-regional opener Thursday. But the defending regional champions stumbled against West Salem and were eliminated 26-16 Saturday night.

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO

Thursday, March 2, 1972

            The Trempealeau County board of supervisors last week Tuesday adopted a county-wide comprehensive zoning ordinance.

            In a special election held Monday, Pigeon Falls voters approved a new village waterworks system by a margin of 72-12.

            Albin Oberlander, former manager of the Land O’ Lakes plant in Whitehall, has been named manager of the cooperative’s St. Paul plant operations.

            Two new associates have joined the law firm of Tarrant, Mattka and Robertson. Fred Berns and Hollis Thompson will also serve as county assistant district attorneys.

            Hank and Ann Sosalla have purchased Deke’s Bar from Mr. and Mrs. Dominic Sosalla, who had operated the tavern for the past 14 years.

            A fire of unknown origin destroyed a hog house and 50 to 60 feeder pigs on the town of Preston farm of Ralph Thompson Sunday night.

            Heidi Reichenbach, the daughter of former Whitehall residents Dr. and Mrs. W.J. Reichenbach, has been elected chairman of the Twin City ski festival for 1972.

            The Norsemen defeated Independence 50-47 and Eleva-Strum 52-38 to advance to the Osseo regional, where they will play Alma this Friday.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

Thursday, March 8, 1962

            Just over $16,000 raised in the towns of Preston and Ettrick, the village of Ettrick and the city of Blair brought the total pledged to the Tri-County Memorial Hospital building fund over $160,000. At a meeting earlier in the week, nearly $22,000 in pledges were turned in from the town of Lincoln, the village of Pigeon Falls and the city of Whitehall.

            An economic stabilization program has been organized for Trempealeau County, according to Ernest P. Sobotta, county civil defense director. In the event of an emergency, such as an attack by an enemy country, and upon the order of the governor, a five-day freeze on the sale of all items except perishable goods would go into effect. This would allow time to set up a rationing system.

            Eldon Brandenburg, who has worked at Thorp Finance Corp. offices in Ripon and Beaver Dam, has been appointed manager of the corporation’s Whitehall branch office.

            Spring is officially only two weeks away, but there has been very little evidence of it lately. March was ushered in last Thursday with temperatures of 37 below zero, and a vicious blizzard buried the area over the past weekend.

            Francis Kokott and Don Hanson each made a pair of free throws in the closing seconds, and Chuck Christianson led all scorers with 30 points, as Whitehall defeated La Crosse Logan in the sub-regional semifinals Thursday. The following night, the Norsemen gave sub-regional champs La Crosse Central their closest game of the tourney, losing 65-54 as Hanson and John Colliton fouled out in the second half.

FIFTY YEARS AGO

Thursday, March 4, 1937

            Robert Pederson will take the lead role of Pinocchio, and Robert Onsrud will play Gepetto, in the grade-school production of the operetta “The Adventures of Pinocchio,” to be performed at the village hall March 9.

            There being no school on account of blocked roads, Thomas Larson took a carload of York-area boys to the Mickelson ski jump Tuesday. Those who went were Wallace Larson, Milton Larson, LaVern and Harris Larson, Robert Hanson, Tommy Johnson, Roger, James and Kenneth Wilson, Palmer and Thomas Iverson and Olger and Ernie Mickelson.

            A crowd of 500 persons watched the ski tournament held on the Otto Berg farm in Lakes Coulee Sunday. Whitehall entries dominated Class C, led by Alvin Windjue’s first-place finish. Vernon Lokken of Whitehall took second place in Class B, and Edward Halverson of Coral City placed fifth in Class A.

            Whitehall won its first game of the high school tournament at Arcadia Wednesday evening, defeating Taylor 33 to 20. Brom and Hagen had eight points apiece, Van Sickle and Heath had six each, and Rasmussen had five points.

SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

Thursday, March 8, 1912

            March came in with a temperature of 17 below zero, which is not very lamblike. Weather more moderate today.

            Miss Pearl Dahl of York is taking instrumental music lessons at Winona.

            Anton Rud is hauling lumber for a barn to be put up on his farm near Square Bluff.

            Anton Schaefer went to Black Earth, in Dane county, this week to be employed in a creamery.

            C.A. Ecker has resigned his position as agent here after 30 years’ service, and is succeeded by A.L. Rozelle of Grand Rapids.

            N. and J.S. Totkin of St. Paul were arrested by Sheriff Van Horn Friday for peddling without a license and were each fined $25 and costs.

            The Old Folks concert at the Methodist Episcopal church here Friday was a taking number, and it created lots of merriment and heaps of laughter. To describe the characters would take too much space, probably a column to do them justice. The receipts were $29.30.

            There will be a moving picture show at the old opera hall tomorrow (Friday) evening which all lovers of Edison pictures on canvas should take in. Popular prices.

            Isaac, the son of Carlius Flagen of Fly Creek Valley, was badly burned on the chest last week when he mistook a gasoline can for kerosene to make a fire in a tank heater.

            Pigeon Falls — The Pigeon Falls village school is soon to close a four and a half months’ term. We observed while visiting the school that H.A. Anderson, the efficient and gentlemanly teacher, was very systematic in all his work, and it seemed just as easy for every scholar to quietly take his place and keep it as it was for a watch to keep the even tenure of its way. The school is large and interesting, with some 80 names enrolled and an average attendance of between 50 and 60. The system, order and interest that prevail in the schoolroom speak volumes in golden words for both teacher and pupil.

            Independence — T. Thompson is selling Sunday boots at $1 a pair.

            Galesville — The new railroad and the bridge across the Black River are the all-absorbing topics of conversation here.

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO

Thursday, March 3, 1887

            We have a superabundance of snow.

            Whitehall has a new physician.

            Cutter runners glide along even with the tops of the fences in many places in this vicinity.

            Sixty thousand trout fry were deposited in the streams of Jackson County last week.

            March was ushered in lamblike, gently and mildly. This by no means indicates that the lion will not devour the emblem of innocence before April sets in.

            This is the season of the year when dealers in farm machinery should let the farmers know what they have to sell and where the best bargains can be secured.

            The snowstorm of Friday night and the following day was the worst we have had this winter. About six inches of snow fell, and the wind accompanying the storm piled the highways and cuts on the railroad full, greatly retarding travel. The passenger train due here from the east at 2:36 p.m. Saturday did not arrive until about three o’clock Monday morning. It was the worst blockade the Green Bay road has experienced this winter.

            If it were not for thawing out the waterworks, and masquerade balls, we would hardly know how to pass the time.

            Blair — Several strangers in town looking for business locations. It would seem that Blair is generally considered to become the business centre in the near future.

            Independence — Times are dull.

            Arcadia — The Polanders are making their annual shipments of willow baskets.

            Pigeon — Roads were blockaded in several places last Saturday, but are now in good condition. People here can pride themselves in running snowplows and keeping the roads open.

            Ettrick — The graded school question is still being agitated and is, we believe, daily gaining new adherents. Let the good work go on.

​