‘Years Ago’ is a compilation of newsy tidbits as published in the Crawford County Independent & Kickapoo Scout on this week ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or sixty years ago.
TEN YEARS AGO
NOVEMBER 19, 2009 – Four area organic farmers gathered last Thursday for a standing room only presentation at the Soldiers Grove Library to share their farming experiences. Included in the group were Bob Molini of Remnant Ridge Diverse Organic Farm near Wauzeka, Dean Zimmerman of Coulee View Family Farm, Josh Engel of Driftless Organics, Soldiers Grove, and Darin Von Ruden, a life-long farmer who switched to organic in 2004... Stephanie Judge, a lifelong Wisconsin resident, will be working with the Gays Mills community until May 2010 as she completes her professional degree in Landscape Architecture from UW-Madison. Her project will focus on three key areas and scales: The Kickapoo River Valley and watershed, the Village of Gays Mills as a whole, and three specific Gays Mills community sites to include the new community commerce center and farmers market, as well as two other sites to be determined.
TWENTY YEARS AGO
NOVEMBER 18, 1999 – The fire departments in Gays Mills and Soldiers Grove rented a smoke trailer from the La Crosse Fire Department last Tuesday, Nov. 9 and took it to North Crawford Schools. All second through sixth grade students, and several junior high students toured the trailer, which teaches them what to do in case of a fire. The departments rent the smoke trailer every two years as part of Fire Awareness Week… Jim Brockway began the excavation last week for the new addition to Kickapoo Locker Service on Main Street in Gays Mills. The large addition will have a sausage kitchen, retail area and storage area. Jim and Sharon Chellevold are the owners of the business.
THIRTY YEARS AGO
NOVEMBER 23, 1989 – Tresa McCarn of Gays Mills recently returned from a trip to Europe where she and her mother visited the eastern European country of Hungary. The pair brought back many souvenirs. Tresa and her mother were present in Hungary on October 16 of this year when the country was declared a republic. Tresa recalls that there were millions of people in the streets cheering, and that the speeches went on through the night with candles. She stated that there were flags all over with big holes in the middle where people had cut the red start out. The red star in the middle of the Hungarian flag symbolizes Communist control.
FORTY YEARS AGO
NOVEMBER 22, 1979 – Tracey Hutchens, Prairie du Chien, was injured shortly after 11 p.m. Friday November 16 when he fell off the edge of a cliff while camped with a deer hunting party in Indian Hollow, seven miles north of Prairie. Friends of Hutchens directed the rescue party about three-quarters of a mile up the hollow. The injured man was transferred to Prairie Memorial Hospital by Dennis Morovits in his four-wheel drive. Hutchens fell about 25 feet over large rocks. He was being treated for injuries at the hospital. The land where the accident occurred is owned by Frank Bouzek. Others in the deer hunting party camped there were Lyle Ellis, Bill Pierce, Jerry Inger and Terry Sprague.
FIFTY YEARS AGO
NOVEMBER 20, 1969 – Wisconsin and Iowa highway officials picked 1973 last week as the target date for the opening of a new toll bridge between Prairie du Chien and Marquette, Iowa… Mr. and Mrs. Hugo Nelson, Readstown, will celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. The former Mabel Jackson and Nelson were married in Viroqua. They have four children; Maurice, Readstown; Merlin, Milwaukee; Mrs. Melvin (Helen) McKittrick, Soldiers Grove, and Mrs. Erling (Annette) Sherry, Onalaska. There are 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
SIXTY YEARS AGO
NOVEMBER 19, 1959 – Representatives of each of the local watershed informational groups from northern Crawford and southern Vernon counties met with conservation and extension personnel at Star Valley School Wednesday evening and made definite plans to form a Tainter-Johnson-Star Valley watershed district. Virgil Butteris was in charge of the meeting. Ed Baker, Eau Claire, district conservationist, using slides for illustration, presented a watershed story. Among those present were Art Amundson, Ed Hanson, Bill Werth, Hans Peterson, Orlan Prestegard, Alfred Hendrickson, Alfred Borgen, Amel Oppriecht, Russell Molldrem, Johan Helgerson, Paul Scheckel, Richard Schoville, T. J. Swiggum and Merlin Dregne.
