‘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
APRIL 1, 2010 – How heavy was the voter turnout for the Seneca School Board election last week? Well, there were 892 voters. That’s just 22 short of the 914 people who voted in 2008, when the school district had a referendum on the ballot to exceed the tax revenue cap and Barack Obama was running against John McCain for the presidency. Despite rumors to the contrary, Russ Martin who wound up just five votes shy of being elected to the board, will not seek a recount… The party at George Brockway & Sons on Highway 131 in Gays Mills was to be more than just the usual open house and customer appreciation event. That year, the party celebrated 50 years and three generations of trucking and excavating… Soldiers Grove business owner and resident, John Young, was honored last week at a banquet held at Borgen’s Café in Westby, for his 40 years of service to CouleeCap.
TWENTY YEARS AGO
MARCH 30, 2000 – The Clayton Town Board asked its appointed Land Use Committee to write a road ordinance for the township. The committee reviewed existing road ordinances from townships in Crawford and adjoining counties to develop the proposed ordinance, and Clayton’s is very similar to those in surrounding townships. The intent of the ordinance is to encourage new roads to be built in a way that protects the public health and safety of those using the roads, and the public travelling on the roads… It’s time to celebrate Earth Day, April 22, and Arbor Day, April 28. The celebrations are just around the corner, and Valley Stewardship Network invites the community to a special celebration on Saturday, April 29, to honor all the wonderful stewardship efforts being made in this beautiful area… Representatives of the townships of Clayton, Utica, Haney and Scott, and the villages of Bell Center, Gays Mills and Soldiers Grove have been invited to discuss the Smart Growth Program by the Clayton Land Use Committee.
THIRTY YEARS AGO
MARCH 1, 1990 – Jim Chellevold of Kickapoo Locker Service in Gays Mills won the 1990 championship for his smoked turkey entry in the annual competition of members of the Wisconsin Association of Meat Processors. There were 798 products entered in 22 classes at the annual show held April 5-7 at Holiday Inn in Madison… The North Crawford School Board held a short meeting on Tuesday, April 3, and heard more information about the request for an easement across school property. The board granted the request of the Village of Gays Mills for an easement across school land east of the football field for a sewer extension to the swimming pool, following an explanation by Richard Skolos, director of public works for the village…The Crawford County Sheriff’s Department received a report of a cow killing and mutilation from an Eastman area farmer. Gerald Bjurquist, Eastman, reported April 3 that one of his beef cows had been killed, and the animal’s udders had been cut from its body.
FORTY YEARS AGO
APRIL 3, 1980 – Village president Bernard Watson, Trustee Robert Carter, Karl Oppriecht and Crawford County Housing Director Don Troendle, met with U.S. Congressman Alvin Baldus at the Boscobel Hotel last Tuesday evening. The delegation asked Baldus to contact the Army Corps of Engineers on behalf of Gays Mills to indicate its support of the proposed levee project at Gays Mills… Sugar camps in the area this year are ‘touch-and-go.’ With the late, cold spring, sap in the maple trees is slow to run, and with each storm threat, it stops running entirely… Representatives from seven counties are due to participate in the American Legion Auxiliary’s Third District spring conference at Seneca High School on Saturday. All auxiliary members are invited to participate.
