‘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
SEPTEMBER 3, 2009 – A mobile bio-diesel system, housed in a trailer, started out as a demo and has been transformed into a useable automated processor. It is being tested by six local Organic Valley farms. These farmers are growing acres of sunflowers to be used in bio-diesel production. The trailer contains all the equipment, and uses a cold extraction screw press, which crushes the seeds, and separates the oil from the protein matter. From there, the oil goes into holding tanks and the leftover protein matter gets separated in to another tank to be removed for livestock feed. After the oil separates from the sediments, it is filtered and then turned into fuel. This process can happen in about three days on most of the farms…. The Village of Gays Mills has purchased the land known as the Chestelson site at a real estate closing last Friday. The village will pay a total of $416,000 over two years to Sig and Marsha Chestelson for the 30-acre parcel located on Highway 131 just north of Bluebird Lane. The money to pay for the land was furnished through a Community Development Bock Grant. Hopes are that construction will begin in October and proceed through the winter on the site, which calls for building as many as 14 single-family homes and two five-unit townhouse apartment buildings.
TWENTY YEARS AGO
SEPTEMBER 2, 1999 – Tim Slack of Slack Auction and Realty, Fennimore, was chosen as the state’s top bid caller in the annual State Fair contest sponsored by the Wisconsin Auctioneer association and the Wisconsin 4-H Youth Foundation. Slack was selected from a field of 25 candidates for the coveted title… Sid Widener and Bill Franks are pictured working on the log cabin that they are restoring at the Log Cabin Heritage Park in Gays Mills.
THIRTY YEARS AGO
SEPTEMBER 7, 1989 – The Department of Natural Resources has agreed to fund conservation and water quality projects in the Middle Kickapoo River Priority Watershed Project during the next decade, a decision which will insure up to $2 million dollars will be spent on area conservation projects, according to Wisconsin State Senator Brian Rude and Jeffrey Hastings, Vernon County Land Conservationist. This grant program funding includes cost sharing grants to landowners and governmental units, and local assistance grants to help pay for administrative costs. Hastings said examples of projects likely to qualify for grants include woodland management, cropland erosion, and pasture and animal waste management measures.
FORTY YEARS AGO
SEPTEMBER 6, 1979 – Jody Dull, Stephanie Campbell, Amy Olson, Troy Everson, Aaron Sannes, Vicky Dull, Lori Troxel, Robin Troxel and Heidi Babb painted the new sign on Highway 61, facing south, a welcome sign to Soldiers Grove. Most of these students also worked on the lively mural on the Middle School wall. The mural, pictured in the paper, appears to be a fallen tree trunk with a host of characters thriving in its horizontal grounded position including Snoopy as a detective, The Cat in the Hat, a covered wagon, a girl on a bike, a rabbit and a Dutchman, just to name a few. The artwork was created under the direction of Joni Peterson and the Soldiers Grove Summer Recreation Program.
FIFTY YEARS AGO
SEPTEMBER 4, 1969 – Claire L. Jackson, administrator of the State Department of Agriculture’s Trade Division issued a warning to farmers. Cases on file in the Ag Department reveal that many trusting farmers have allowed itinerants to remove hay from their premises, after being promised payment when the final load was taken. In these cases, the buyer did not return for the last load leaving the farmer minus his hay and no money for it. Other situations have left farmers bilked with worthless checks as payment for cattle. Jackson advises to play it safe and insist on payment in cash. Better still, sell to buyers of proven reputation, especially those you know and trust.
SIXTY YEARS AGO
SEPTEMBER 3, 1959 – The new million-dollar student residence of Campion High School will be called Lucey Memorial Hall. The Reverend James B. Corrigan, president, announced yesterday that Mr. and Mrs. Gregory C. Lucey, prominent lifelong residents of Crawford and Grant counties, have made provision for a bequest of $100,000 to the Campion building fund.
