‘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
DECEMBER 9, 2010 – Gays Mills real estate agent Craig Anderson is pictured removing snow from the sidewalk in front of his business, Wisconsin Country Realty… About a dozen parents and children who use the Soldiers Grove Community Building once per week for homeschooling activities attended the village board meeting last Thursday to express concern about a policy that would limit future access to the facility. The new policy would limit the use of the building to allow only government and government related meetings and events. The board tabled action on creating a policy for use of the community building to a future meeting.
TWENTY YEARS AGO
DECEMBER 7, 2000 – The First Annual Ginger bread Tour of Homes in Soldiers Grove area will be held Sunday from 1-4 p.m. The event is sponsored by the United Methodist Church of Soldiers Grove. A few of the unique homes on the tour include the homes of Jeanne Barr, Florence Gander, Tamie Hershberger and Diane Coleman plus several others… Martha Gilbert, a sophomore at North Crawford High School, won first place in the senior division of a state speaking contest, the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association Conservation and Environmental Awareness Speaking contest. Her seven-minute speech was titled “Changes in Wisconsin” and dealt with urban development and land use decisions. Martha is the daughter of Russell and Pat Gilbert, rural Soldiers Grove.
THIRTY YEARS AGO
DECEMBER 13, 1990 – Hundreds of family members and well wishers gave over 200 soldiers of the Wisconsin National Guard 229thEngineers CSE Co. Unit a fitting send-off from the Prairie du Chien armory Monday. The event was marked by the tears of sweet sorrow for the husbands and wives of young loved ones who will be in Saudi Arabia by early next month. This is the first time since the 1950’s that the company has been activated according to a National Guard spokesperson… A freshman member of the UW-La Crosse cross-country team forfeited $91 in La Crosse recently for a nude run across the campus. The accused, who pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, said the run in the buff was a custom for the team. According to a campus police report, the student was among 20 runners and four bicyclists who were running naked around the outside of dormitories.
FORTY YEARS AGO
DECEMBER 11, 1980 – After 18 years of owning and operating Saegrove’s General Store in Mt. Sterling, Art and Clara Saegrove have sold the business to Dolores Nurczyck of Wheeling, IL. The Saegroves are retiring and hope now to have time to do some of the things they’ve been putting off because of lack of time. Mrs. Nurczyck is planning to continue offering the same type of merchandise and foods that have been in the store. Helping her in the store is her son, Matt, who is a sophomore at North Crawford High School. Mrs. Nurczyck has four other sons and a daughter and they all live in Illinois except Mark who lives with his wife and family near Seneca. Matt and another brother have spent the past four summers with their brother Mark on the farm.
FIFTY YEARS AGO
DECEMBER 9, 1970 – More than 250 persons attended dedication ceremonies at the new Seneca school gymnasium Sunday. The program included an invocation by Rev. Charles Sanford, selections by the Seneca school band, welcome by Administrator Denis A. Kirkman, acknowledgements by Board Chairman Floyd Sutton and comments by Harold Trehey, chairman of the building committee. The principal speaker was John Roberts, executive secretary of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. Pastor Tryge Holter gave the benediction. The large new building also includes rooms for the music department, storage rooms, sanitary facilities and concession areas.
SIXTY YEARS AGO
DECEMBER 8, 1960 – The Gays Mills village board, by a vote of 4-0 Monday night, accepted Wisconsin Power and Light Company’s offer of the village dam, a building that was once a part of the town’s famous old flour mill, the hydro-electric plant building, and about five acres of land at no cost other than transaction fees… Herman Quamme, co-manager, is pictured with one of the three “bulks”, or separate piles of force-sweated 1959 tobacco that fills the top floor of the King Edward warehouse at Gays Mills. Plans for opening the warehouse for sorting and sizing operations are not complete and no definite announcement will be made by Dave Davidson, area manager of the King Edward Tobacco Company, until after the purchasing of the 1960 crop starts.
