‘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
MARCH 11, 2010 – CouleeCap, the non-profit agency working on a flood recovery project in Gays Mills, is rapidly approaching completion of two five-unit townhouse apartment buildings at the site located on Highway 131 near the northern edge of town. The demand for the 10 units is strong, according to Michele Engh, a CouleeCap housing specialist. Preference for the apartments is being given to people whose residences were judged to be substantially damaged and secondly to other residents of the flood plain in Gays Mills who suffered significant, but not substantial damage in the flooding.
TWENTY YEARS AGO
MARCH 9, 2000 – “Read Across America” was a successful, fun-filled series of events at North Crawford Elementary School last week. Several teachers including Sally Achenbach, George Andres, Kathy DiPadova, Kay Lynch, Julie Kruizenga, Jean Ottaway, Sue Presser and Barb Reidle worked hard to organize the week. Events included Green Eggs and Ham for breakfast; The Book Trade; Who wants to be A Seuss Millionaire?; The Lorax - a dramatic reading; a choral reading of Green Eggs and Ham; a presentation of the Green Eggs Rap by Andrew Cox and Jake Grimsled; I Spy; Character Picture Board; and Principal Rick Fatura dressed up as the Cat in the Hat, which the children loved.
THIRTY YEARS AGO
MARCH 15, 1990 – Canisius Johnson is the state winner of the Rural Knowledge Bowl, for which he has won a trip to Washington, D. C. Johnson was one of only five in the local district qualified to take the final test, where his score was the highest in the state. A junior, Canisius is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Johnson, Rt. 1, Soldiers Grove… The Soldiers Grove Village Board meeting was attended by Sherrie Olson. who talked about the swimming pool at the Old Oak Inn. The pool is in imminent danger of being closed and turned into a dining hall. Olson reported that the cost just for heating the water and air in the building is running around $5,000 per month, partly the fault of an improper ventilation system. After some discussion and considering that the pool is an asset to the community, a committee was formed to look into the matter of raising funds to install a proper ventilation system.FORTY YEARS AGO
MARCH 13, 1980 – Two sixth grade classes at North Crawford are housed in facilities behind the main school at Soldiers Grove. One building is the old Trout Creek school, moved to the village about 10 years ago, first for storage, then for a band room and now for a classroom. The other is a relocatable building, and was moved to the site from its former location at the old Gays Mills Elementary School grounds. There it had served as a classroom and lunchroom… ‘Making Slacks’ will be offered in Seneca for four consecutive Monday afternoons. The consumer home economics mobile classroom from Southwest Tech will be parked at the bank in Seneca from 1-3 each Monday to present the class. The course is open to all adults of the area.
FIFTY YEARS AGO
MARCH 11, 1970 – It is important that we know the reason for the rapid change in the tobacco allotment program and the strengthening of price for our tobacco. There is a shortage! Why? How did it happen so fast? All of the commercials on TV and radio discouraging smoking cigarettes have been effective. More men, and especially young men, are chewing tobacco. When consumption goes up and production goes down, a shortage develops rapidly. This is exactly what has happened in the case of Wisconsin tobacco. No one could foresee this rapid change, but it is here. In fact, this year nine million more pounds of Wisconsin tobacco will be chewed than produced. In order to raise more tobacco, we must have the allotment acres.
SIXTY YEARS AGO
MARCH 10, 1960 – The Vernon Telephone Cooperative has purchased land from Frank Davis at the north end of Readstown on Highway 131 and will erect a building for the dial telephone system to be installed in the next several months… Crawford homemakers and other interested area residents are invited to an electrical heating meeting to be held at the Crawford Electric Cooperative Gays Mills.
