SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 – North Crawford Elementary School Principal Brandon Munson appeared happy and a bit overwhelmed last Thursday night as he described the enormous response to the school’s after-school program, which is set to begin soon. Eighty children have registered for the program, substantially more than the 30 the district had anticipated. The program’s coordinator Amy Allbaugh and Munson are actively working their way through staffing, transportation and other issues facing the start-up of the ambitious program… The Bell Center Backers, including John Wittman, Barb Ashe, Marion Wittman and Kathy Johnson enjoyed a ride through town during the Friendship Fest Parade courtesy of Rick Schuck and his tractor… Ryan Olsen, Gays Mills, found a delectable ‘chicken mushroom’ in the Kickapoo woods last week. He harvested the mushroom for a wild mushroom feed at the Optimo Café in Viroqua last week. Olsen’s grandfather taught him how to find, identify and eat wild mushrooms, a skill that his grandfather had developed as an orphaned child.
TWENTY YEARS AGO
SEPTEMBER 21, 2000 – At the regional National Telephone Cooperative Convention held recently at Lake Geneva, Lorraine Orrick of Gays Mills received a 50-year award for participation, achievement and dedicated service to NTCA. He has been active in the telephone industry for 50 years during which he served as President of the Richland-Grant Telephone Cooperative for over 20 years, was President of Wisconsin Statewide Telephone Cooperative Association for five years, and a member of the National Telephone Cooperative Association, Government Affairs Committee, for seven years… Dale Eitsert was honored as employee of the month at the North Crawford School Board meeting. Eitsert spent the summer doing all the mowing for the district, enabling the custodians to finish their inside work earlier.
THIRTY YEARS AGO
SETEMBER 27, 1990 – Molly Becwar will be crowned the 1990-91 Apple Queen on Saturday night at the Apple Festival Street Dance. She is the daughter of Ronald and Beverly Becwar of Rt. 1 Gays Mills, and the sister of Amy Becwar, the present Apple Queen… Lorna Koroll of rural Gays Mills has been doing stained glass artwork for 10 years. She has made many pieces including a reproduction of the famous lamps built by Louis Tiffany, the man who invented a way of putting stained glass together without the use of lead… Judy Everson of rural Ferryville is pictured with the new Crawford County Resource Directory prepared by the Crawford County Extension Homemakers, as a service to the elderly. The book is being distributed free of charge at all nutrition sites and some business places and contains information helpful to mature adults age 60 and over. Judy researched and compiled the information in the book with the help of committee members Ann Tamling, Lillian Fritsche, Dianne Bird, Sharon Fisher, Marie Wagner, Dorothea Walker, Luanne Neuman, Kathy Leard and Lynn Russell.
FORTY YEARS AGO
SEPTEMBER 25, 1980 – Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Lomas, Rt. 2, Gays Mills, announce the engagement and approaching marriage of their daughter, Bernice Ann to Joel Lund, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Lund, Jr. Rt. 1, Gays Mills. Miss Lomas is employed at the Gays Mills Veterinary Clinic and Lund is employed at Advance Transformer in Boscobel. The wedding will be October 18 at Luther Memorial Church in Gays Mills… A favorite apple recipe by Marjie Jurgensen-Apple Crisp: 1 cup flour, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup butter, 6-8 apples. Mix the flour and sugar together. Work in the butter with a pastry blender, fork or fingers until it’s crumbly. Wash, pare and slice apples. Spread the apples evenly in the bottom of a buttered shallow baking pan. Spread the crumb mixture on top of apples. Bake oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until apples are soft and the crumb mixture is a golden brown. Serve warm–plain or with cream or ice cream.
FIFTY YEARS AGO
SEPTEMBER 23, 1970 – Mr. and Mrs. Vilas Drake, who for several years have operated a vegetable stand at the west end of the bridge in Gays Mills, recently constructed a new market and have added to their wares. Pumpkins, squash, sorghum, honey and Indian corn are now stocked. Earlier in the season, they have sweet corn and tomatoes in any quantity and area residents have become dependent on the Drakes for their garden produce. Charles Drake, father of Vilas, assists at the market and says, “I enjoy visiting and it’s a good way to meet lots of nice people.”
SIXTY YEARS AGO
SEPTEMBER 22, 1960 – Neighbors and friends of the family of the late Mr. Knute Wangen gathered Saturday afternoon in an impromptu tobacco harvest bee at the Wangen farm and put in almost two acres of tobacco. At one time during the afternoon, 35 helpers of all ages were counted in the fields and shed. Cloudy weather prevented harvest of the entire crop. Helping Mrs. Wangen serve lunch to the crew was her daughter, Mrs. Al Soucheck, Stoddard… Ed Nachtigal, who farms near Gays Mills, was baling hay with a round baler when the twine broke. In an attempt to re-engage the twine, his glove was caught in the mechanism, pulling his left arm in to the shoulder. Struggling to keep from being drawn into the machine his right arm was drawn in up to the elbow. The tractor motor then stalled. A neighbor, Earl Lester, raking hay in the same field heard Nachtigal’s cries for help and summoned aid. Dr. Joseph Syty of the Hirsch Clinic gave the unfortunate victim a medication to deaden the pain and extricated him from the machine. Nachtigal was taken to a Richland Center hospital where he is recovering.
