MENU100 Years Ago
Life in Viroqua from the Vernon County Censor:
JUNE 29, 1921
Love worked overtime by fine young folks.
_ Alvin R. Sherrick and Miss Harriet Chatfield. Blair is the foreman of the Censor printing office.
_ Alvin Milton Ellis of Spokane, Wash. and Miss Dorothy Trowbridge.
_Curtis Bevington of St. Paul and Miss Dorothy Packard.
_ Harry W. McClurg and Viva Jenniings.
Coon Valley will soon need a traffic cop. Last Sunday evening 97 cars passed the C.M. Stafslien home in one hour, 55 between 7:30 and 8:00 PM.
M.J. Wisbakken and Syver Blihovde were in Westby last Tuesday on business.
P.E Mitby of Cashton visited at H.Runnings the first of the week.
Otto Otteson and family spent last week at the Wisconsin University witnessing the graduation of Miss Thelma.
Westby: Mrs. Millie Dahl, Mrs. Irvin Holman and Mrs. Huldak Peterson are among those who left on Monday to attend the summer session of the Normal School in LaCrosse.
Harry Tulloch’s hard hitting bunch of Warriors came up from Genoa Sunday and walked all over our ball team. The score was 7 to 2 and by the way they wholloped the ball were fortunate that it wasn’t worse.
Walter Bean, Henry Flikke, and Theo. Stevens are home from Wisconsin University.
We believe two of the most essential things to enjoying the Fourth of July are ice cream and a hammock under a shade tree. The Sauer Hardware.
JUNE 22, 1921
On Monday afternoon, Coon Valley vicinity experienced a heavy hail storm.
Mail carriers Martin and Ed Anderson are enjoying a vacation.
Miss Lucy Allen and Joe Hanson were married at Winona on June 12. The bride is a niece of J.L. Gorman.
Another resident of Victory section laid down life’s burden when on Saturday last, Chas. H. Willenberg passed away. He was born in Germany January 31, 1832 and came to America in 1852.
Wm. Hall and Emily May, both of Readstown were married June 12, Sunday.
JUNE 15, 1921
Immense crowd attends barn dance at the Asylum last Tuesday night and made merry until an early hour.
During Tuesday mornings storm, lightning struck Sam Lake’s tobacco shed, badly splintering a post and some rafters, but fortunately did not set it on fire.
One hundred and twenty names appear on the ever-lengthening list of Civil War veterans who have passed on.
Coon – Nils Blihovde, an old and respected resident of this community, was laid to rest at the Coon Valley Cemetery on Saturday afternoon.
Franklin -- The newly-weds, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Solverson, are nicely settled in their new home.
Andrew Hoffland has purchased a new Flivver.
Obituaries: Mrs. Blaine (Tena Hanson) Wheeler, born Dec. 17, 1890; Harry Sewel, born in London, England, July 7, 1844 died June 6, 1921. He was from Ontario, Wis. Chas. H. Willenberg, born in Germany on January 31, 1832.
Preparation of Viroqua’s new golf course is about half completed. Quite a number were out Sunday trying their hand at the game.
Rev. Evans led twenty-one of his Boy Scouts on a delightful outing to Mapledale last Wednesday. Mrs. Evans took the Camp Fire Girls to Will Lindemann’s farm.
George Forde and sister Nellie, of Ferryville were here Saturday on business.
JUNE 8, 1921
Fourth of July celebrations are planned for Genoa, Westby and West Prairie.
Movement of Vernon County’s 1921 tobacco crop from plant bed into the field commenced last week.
Fred Wrobel has moved his household goods to La Crosse where he has obtained employment.
To our mind one of the really big important happenings of our county life was staged at the fair grounds in Viroqua last Saturday when more than 2,000 people assembled to witness the first rural community commencement – 106 girls and 69 boys.
Ole Traastad and daughter Mabel went to Onalaska last Friday to bring Thomas Traastad home. He attended the Agricultural School there.
The Coon Valley Legion post met last Tuesday night. Harry Smeby and Earl Spellman were named delegates to attend the State Convention.
The marriage of Miss Bernice Kellogg and Bernard Rumsey took place at the bride’s home in the town of Kickapoo.
JUNE 1, 1921
Last Wednesday afternoon a terrific storm cut a path through the towns of Franklin, Kickapoo and Clayton, taking pretty much everything except houses in many sections. Accompanying the wind was a cloudburst that did tremendous damage to roads, bridges and valley farms. In places the hail stripped the trees of every leaf and banked up against building a foot deep, breaking numerous windows...
The damage from the wind was severe. All the bridges from Andrew Olson’s place to Soren Briggson’s were taken out and tremendous damage done to the valley. At Briggson’s place the flood took his barn and carried it down the valley. A harnessed team and a 300-pound hog were in the barn. The team escaped alive within a mile from where it started, and the hog was found alive on the railroad track next day. The barn was torn to pieces...
Monday afternoon the crowd passing the light pole near the Fortney hotel could feel a strange sensation in their feet. Gerald Owen passed especially near and received a hard shock. Instinctively he grasped the pole with both hands and received the current through his body. His hands were burned, he was knocked down, and was in a dazed condition for several hours... Officer Berlie Morris says he notified the company of the condition of the pole several days ago, but nothing was done.
Tuesday, one of the mail planes lost its bearings in the fog and descended near Bloomingdale to find out where it was at. The fog was so thick the propeller converted it into a fine spray and made vision impossible, the pilot said.