MENU100 Years Ago
Life in Viroqua from the Vernon County Censor:
OCT. 3, 1923
The Viroqua school band has been tendered a very special honor – an invitation to play at the State Teachers’ meeting which will be held in Milwaukee on November 8th. Needless to say, the invitation was accepted. The state will stand part of the expenses, and the rest will be made up by donations from our public spirited citizens and the boys themselves. Ours will be the only band there.
The new armory of the local unit of the National Guard, the 107th Engineers was opened last week, a public dance being given three nights of the fair... The boys of the guard expect to install a ventilation system immediately, decorate and improve as fast as funds can be provided and ultimately make this the finest dance hall in this section.
...for the third consecutive year, the weather smiled on Vernon’s fair. A time or two it looked threatening, and two little sprinkles occurred, but it was over in a jiffy and nothing marred the attendance or exhibit. Perfect weather, record attendance, speedy racing, good baseball, the best of free attractions, splendid music, a crowded midway, a crowded art hall, fine machinery exhibit – all these conspired to make this fair a tremendous success...over $1800 has been expended the past year in necessary improvements, and it is hoped that this can be paid and a balance left to apply on other improvements. There are two pressing needs... One is securing of more parking space for autos and opening of a second street to the grounds. The other is additional grand stand room... These improvements, however, cost money, and now that the society is out of debt they would like to keep it in the healthy condition.
SEPT. 26, 1923
Viroqua’s new high school building is commencing to present quite a pretentious appearance. The first story walls are nearly completed and the workmen are now preparing the false work for the second concrete slab. The two big boilers have been placed in position and the two big steel I-beams are in place.
With construction work on the Bann & Fehlburg building and the new Perfect Oil Co. station now going forward together with the erection and remodeling of quite a few residences, the city of Viroqua is quite a busy place these days.
Bud wins the Pennant! Before a large crowd of fans, at the Viroqua Fair Grounds, last Sunday afternoon, the crucial game of the 1923 series of the Kickapoo Valley League was pulled off – and a grand game it was. Eight of the nine innings were scoreless...all the scoring was done in one inning – Bud getting four runs and Westby two.
The new fire station in Viroqua is completed, and it is a handsome little building, located on Jefferson street, immediately west of the City Hall. The dimensions are 40x30 ft. and it is two stories high... Upstairs there are six nice rooms... Harold Hall moved his family into these rooms last Friday... The two large double doors downstairs are opened and closed by means of spring and pulleys... The fire engine can be run out at one of these doors and the hook and ladder wagon at the other... The cost of the completed building was about $6000.
Cool fall weather is with us and we are stocked up on sweaters and sweater coats. You can find what you want here. Surenson & Thompson, The Farmers Store.