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October 22: 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

OCTOBER 21, 2010 – The North Crawford Playhouse is getting ready to present ‘Anything Goes’ a musical comedy with music by the great Cole Porter and based on a book by Guy Bolton, P.G. Woodhouse, Howard Lindsay, and Russell Crouse. With cast members Ryan Lundburg, Jerrid McDaniel, Taylor Mickelson, Jerred Powell, Lena Kvigne, Megan Gillespie Rosa Thill, Nichelle Martin, Anastasia Cox, Samantha Rudie, Aubrey Stevenson, Sheri Schwert, Sydney Wilkins, Sara Paczok, Anna Schellhorn, Riley Barlow and Rowan Williamson… The election for the Crawford County Sheriff will be a race between an 18-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, Chief Deputy Dale McCullick, 41, a Democrat, against Prairie du Chien Police Officer Mark Fulcher, a Republican… For the fifth year in a row, the Seneca Indians are Ridge and Valley Conference Volleyball Champions. Team members include: Sawyer Roberts, Kalli Boland, Danielle Withey, Heather Wall, Abby Kramer, Jennifer Aspenson, Brianna Brockway, Molly McCullick, Kylie Kansler, Carissa Bell, Allison Ostrander and Logan Lessard, Head Coach Dawn Ray, Coach Angie Mabb, Coach Shelly Davidson.

TWENTY YEARS AGO

OCTOBER 19, 2000 – The Eighth Annual Apple Box Derby was held Friday. The cars raced down County X in front of the school with the help of a starting ramp at the top of the hill. Pictured are Brittany Dull and Jack Schwarte on the starting ramp. Brittany was the winner of the elementary division. Art Winsor was the overall winner and topped the junior high division. Wendell Showen and Darren Maribell won the senior high division… The Kickapoo Exchange Food Cooperative is holding a big spaghetti dinner followed by a Halloween Dance at the Community Building in celebration of their 25-year anniversary. Organizers Laura Negronida and Elizabeth Hutchinson announced that the band Fly-By-Night will reunite with many of the original members to provide music, and costumes are encouraged.  

THIRTY YEARS AGO

OCTOBER 25, 1990 – The last couple of years Utica Township has found it nearly impossible to find anyone to hire to maintain the Towerville Cemetery in rural Soldiers Grove, and this summer trees and grass again became a problem. The town board decided to make a call for help and many volunteers stepped forward including Arnold Grimsled, Elling Sherry, Shirley Latham, Tim Olson, Alan Sime, Bob Stevenson, Lyle Latham, Everett Latham and Pearl Swiggum. It’s possible that the last burial there could be that of George W. Davis, owner of a wool-carding mill in the village, who died in 1929. The cemetery was established in 1856 as a burial ground for the Tower family and the first grave was that of John H. Tower, who with his brother, Thomas, founded and named Towerville.   

 FORTY YEARS AGO

OCTOBER 23, 1980 – Roxanne Gudets, a senior at North Crawford High School, is a finalist in the 1981 Miss Wisconsin National Teen-Ager Pageant. Miss Gudets is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Verner J. Gudets, Gays Mills… Boys and girls at Mt. Sterling School had various learning activities in correlation with ‘Nutrition Through Social Awareness’ for National Hot Lunch Week. First and second graders put on a Danish folk dance and the Mexican Hat dance for visitors. Grades three and four enjoyed a visit from Mrs. Charlotte Moore who shared information about Alaska. Several parents had noon lunch with the children… The Marion Shaw home in Soldiers Grove is being raised as part of a flood-proofing project. The home is being raised nine inches, then everything will be moved from the basement, the floor slab will be broken up for drainage and the basement area will be filled with sand so the house will have only a crawl space. Baker Creek overflowed in 1977 and filled the basement with water, as it has many times in the past, necessitating the filling of the basement and raising the level of the back yard.

FIFTY YEARS AGO

OCTOBER 22, 1970 – An excerpt from this week’s ‘Thumbing Thru Early Crawford:’ Two best print dress patterns will be given away each week in May by W.A. Vaughan, on Wednesdays to the farmer’s wife bringing the largest number of eggs, and on Saturdays to the one bringing eggs (not less than 12 dozen) the greatest distance from Wauzeka.

SIXTY YEARS AGO

OCTOBER 20, 1960 – Meeting at the Gays Mills High School cafeteria Monday night, a group of parents and teachers studied high school report cards and made recommendations for changes. After discussing purposes of the report card and items to be reported to parents, the committee designed a card that will be used. Attending the meeting were Art Armundson, Mrs. Dave Boland, Mrs. Orris Churness, Mahlon McClurg, Lloyd Holliday, Arnold Molldrem, Ed Cain, Mrs. Art Ehorn, Mrs. Peter Humlie, Mrs. James Kegel, Frank Halloran, W. F. Bertram, D. C. Beardmore and E. S. Gorman… Children of the Gays Mills Elementary Schools were treated to a free watermelon party under an old oak tree at the Floyd Ford home Monday evening. Thirty children attended and each received a free melon to take home to the rest of the family.