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January 21: Years Ago…
Years Ago

‘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

JANUARY 20, 2011 – An additional Community Development Block Grant of $2.5 million for the flood recovery effort in Gays Mills was approved by the Wisconsin Department of Commerce. Officials working with Gays Mills had lobbied the Wisconsin Department of Commerce for additional funding after a major grant for the flood recovery was significantly reduced from the anticipated amount. The reduced funding had caused CouleeCap, the non-profit agency assisting the village with replacing housing, to reduce the number of houses they intended to build from 24 to eight… The Viroqua-Cashton-North Crawford gymnastics team got their first win on the road against Reedsburg.

TWENTY YEARS AGO

JANUARY 18, 2001 – The old Star Valley Store was knocked down by highway and township workers on January 9, 15 years after the store was closed by the owners at that time, Morris and Ruth Swiggum. The Swiggums purchased the store from their daughter Judy and her husband Roger Halverson in April of 1963… A North Crawford school bus driven by John Johnson, 46, skidded off the road at 7:26 a.m. in an incident that occurred on County H in Soldiers Grove on slippery pavement going down a hill on a curve. The bus containing 11 students slid off the road and traveled about 30 feet before it struck a power pole. The pole broke off and electrical lines landed on the bus. One student reported a minor injury after bumping his head.

THIRTY YEARS AGO

JANUARY 24, 1991 – Don Sannes of Sannes Skogdalen is pictured doing some outdoor cooking last week even though the temperature was in the low 20s. The residents of the home held an indoor picnic to get ready for the coming spring season. Meanwhile, some residents were writing letters to local members of the troops serving in the Persian Gulf. They also received yellow ribbons to be put on their doors. Mollie Puckett is pictured writing a letter to her grandson, Ed Heisz… Janet Marmel, part time student at UW-Richland Center, was named to the Dean’s List for earning highest honors the first semester.

FORTY YEARS AGO

JANUARY 22, 1981 – All traffic, including pedestrians and cycles, was forbidden to cross the Marquette-Joliet Bridge on Highway 18. According to chief maintenance engineer a four-inch crack in one of the steel plated beams, which anchors the big blue arch is so serious that temporary repairs could not be safely made, citing that the steel is brittle and cold weather compounds the problem. Experts say the bridge could fall from its own weight. An informal town meeting brought representatives from McGregor and Marquette across the river by airboat. Also represented were Prairie du Chien and Crawford County officials, representatives from the state’s emergency government, the department of transportation and the Army Corps of 
Engineers. The question of immediate solutions brought a flurry of suggestions and included an emergency bridge, helicopter services, boats to haul people, a boom-walkway for pedestrians, hovercrafts, hydrofoils, wind sleds, thawing the ice so boats could be used, freezing the ice thicker so it would be safe to cross, and shuttle bus services.  On Sunday an emergency meeting was held in McGregor prohibiting the use of any non-amphibious vehicles due to the unsafe ice conditions. A shuttle bus service has been initiated. 

FIFTY YEARS AGO

JANUARY 21, 1971 – At the 17thAnnual Northern Wisconsin Tobacco Exposition in Viroqua, John Haugen of Viroqua won the men’s contest by stripping leaves from 25 stems on five laths in 2 minutes, 34 seconds. Mrs. Clarence Hendrickson of Viroqua won the women’s contest with a time of 3 minutes, 13 seconds… Mrs. Raymond Dregne and family attended the wedding of Debra Starkey at Janesville on Saturday. While there, Donnie fell and broke his leg and is hospitalized at the Mercy Hospital. His mother remained with him. 

SIXTY YEARS AGO

JANUARY 19, 1961 – George Brockway, Gays Mills, has bought out the interests of Orville Hampton, Richland Center agricultural lime vendor, and has taken over active operation of the business. Brockway plans to have three trucks in operation by summer, and his service area will include all of Richland County… Sponsored by the Gays Mills Lions Club, the All-American Indians from Standing Rock Indian Reservation, Fort Yates, North Dakota will play the Gays Mills Area All-Stars in the Gays Mills High School gymnasium.