Oregon Area Historical Society

March 1951

Local News

On Sunday afternoon and evening Mr. and Mrs. Chris Olson held an open house at the home of their daughter, Mrs. F E. Madsen, in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary.

Mary Ann Parr and Chris Olson were married on February 26, 1901, at their home in Oregon, the Rev. Arthur Amey reading the marriage service.  They were attended by Miss Edith Maltpress and his brother Sufus Olson.

Mr. and Mrs. Olson have two daughters, Mrs. Madsen and Mrs. Clyde Powers; eleven grandchildren, Barbara, Betty, Rita and Susan Madsen, all of Oregon, Mrs. Larry Kopp, Albany, Mrs. Clifford Tofte, Stoughton; Charles Powers, U.S. Navy, Key West, Florida, Doris, Virginia, and Harvey Powers Oregon.  There are also five great grandchildren.

The Madsen home was beautifully decorated with golden colored flowers as was the serving table which was presided over by Mrs. Sufus Olson and Mrs. Mattie Mahaffey.  Other friends and relatives assisted in the serving. 

More than 150 relatives and friends came to extend good wishes to this admirable couple who are a credit to this community and much beloved.

TB Tests

Rather than take ten minutes to read and fill out the public health form giving their child the benefit of a free TB skin patch test, six parents in the Oregon area have allowed their offspring to remain undetected as potential tuberculosis victims. 

Last week Miss Edith May, Dane County nurse, read 496 tests, including eight pre-school age children, to find 15 positive reactors.  This means that the child has at some time been in contact with the bacteria causing tuberculosis.  Any of these 15 children may have active TB and may develop an active case in the future or may now be a carrier causing spread of this disease to healthy children.  

Parents of all 15 children have been notified of the positive reading and will be visited by a representative of the health department, stated Miss May.

Freshman News

The members of the freshmen class are busy getting off to the right start in their various courses for the second semester.  Some of the students complain that they have never studied so hard.  In general science, the freshmen are studying the properties of water, its sources, and the mechanics of water. The boys seem to enjoy this unit more than the girls.  In English class they are studying short stories, and grammatical construction of sentences and paragraphs.  The study of WWI and the League of Nations is challenging the Civics 9B section and the Progress of Man is fascinating reading that the Civics 9A section is currently enjoying.  The freshmen girls are beginning to make skirts and blouses in their homemaking class.

First Recorded Birth by Transfer of Fertilized Egg to “Foster  Mother”

Dane Iowa County Breeders Cooperative has just received word of what is believed to be the first birth of a calf through the transfer of fertilized “egg” from one cow to another, the “incubator cow.” The information came from the American Breeders Service of Chicago, whose artificial breeding bull studs furnish semen to the Dane Iowa Breeders Cooperative.

Wanted

Good-appearing Protestant non-drinking man and wife about 45 to 50 for work in Madison home of two adults; wife good cook and second floor work, man for serving and first floor work and driving car, with some garden work.  Pleasant living quarters, good pay.  Answer by mail to A-L care, East Side News, Madison. Give past work and references in and outside Madison.

Hospital News

Bernhardt Frederickson, who had been in the Stoughton Community Hospital for three weeks following a heart attack, was able to be brought home by ambulance last Friday.  His condition is improving but he will be confined to his bed for another three weeks.

Dixi Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs. Field Smith, suffered serious injury Thursday when he was bitten by a boar as he was doing the evening chores.  The animal tore the flesh of his leg into the bone. He was taken to Methodist hospital, Madison, where a bone surgeon treated him. His father, who was in Nebraska visiting relatives, was called by Mrs. Smith and he arrived home the next day.  Dixi is reported to be improving.

Recipe

Sandwich Loaf

1 loaf of sandwich bread                         1 c. red salmon, flaked

1 c. natural American Cheese, grated    ¼ c. green pickle, chopped

3 Tbsp.  pickle relish                               ¾ c. Wisconsin Blue cheese, grated

2 Tbsp. pimento, chopped                      stuffed olives, sliced

1-1/2 c. dressing                                       ½ lb. Wisconsin cream cheese

                                                                     Cucumber pickle – sliced

Remove all crusts from loaf of bread.  Cut in four lengthwise slices.  Combine cheese, pickle relish, and pimento. Moisten with dressing. Spread on one slice of bread, cover with a second slice.  Combine salmon and pickle, moisten with dressing.  Spread on the second slice, cover with the third slice.  Tint blue cheese with green food coloring. Combine with olives.  Moisten with dressing. Spread on the third slice, cover with the fourth slice.  Blend cream cheese. Season with salt and paprika.  Moisten with dressing.  Spread over the entire surface of the loaf.  Place in the refrigerator overnight.  Garnish top and sides with olives, sweet cucumber pickles and pimento. Place on a large platter and garnish with hearts of lettuce and small clusters of crisp parsley.

Random Shots

It’s a funny thing about temper.  You can’t get rid of it by losing it.

Lincoln’s philosophy of government of the people, by the people and for the people, is now threatened by those politicians who are determined to substitute a new and dangerous philosophy of government over the people.

The old age pension isn’t so big that you can afford to be disrespectful to your children.

If it’s your idea to live a peaceful, quiet, uneventful life, you’ve picked the wrong time to live.

March 1976 

Oregon School District

Student News:

Since February was American History Month, the staff and students at the Oregon Middle School decided that it would be appropriate to have an activity to help commemorate our country’s 200th birthday. So it was that on February 23rd, the Middle School decided to have a “Spirit of 76 Day” where teachers and children could dress in red, white and blue, or in a costume of their favorite historical character. 

Oregon musicians performed well in the solo-ensemble music festival held in Evansville this year. They competed with students from Lake Mills, Columbus, and Evansville.

Solos and ensembles are judged according to tone, intonation, rhythmic accuracy or balance, interpretation, articulation, diction and bowing. This year a new ruling from the WSMA made it harder for a student to get into the State Music Contest in May. For the first time in many years, students needed to earn a “Star First” to reach the state level. A “Star First” is gained by getting five superior ratings in the above categories, or four superior ratings and one very good rating. 

Oregon High School Sports News

Oregon senior, wrestler Guy Gibney, became the first state champion in the school’s history. Gibney set the tone for the match, getting an early takedown. However, it was not until the end of the second period that Gibney began to dominate. Before getting his pin, he was leading the match with a 10-1 score. Gibney also ranks as the school’s top all-time takedown artist and last season pinned seven out of seven conference opponents.

Village News:

Record Ice Storm Paralyzes Area

The worst ice storm in the history of the area caused damage roughly estimated at $10,000,000 early last week to farm, business, and residential property. Starting with a freezing drizzle last Tuesday, by evening trees and shrubs were shimmering with ice. With the steady freezing mist continuing throughout Wednesday, ice accumulation on trees and wires proceeded to build up as weather warnings kept informing residents of the forthcoming dangers.

By Wednesday night tree limbs were starting to fall, dragging power, phone, and cable TV were going down with them. During the day on Thursday, it became evident that the Thursday night temperatures would be ideal to cause catastrophic adherence of ice. Power service to all parts of the area started to become interrupted as trees fell on the main line and on service entry lines. By Thursday night, the sounds became like a steady series of explosions as huge limbs, tree trunks and whole trees snapped from the unbearable weight of the accumulated ice. 

Residents huddled in their homes, some with fireplaces or wood burners, as the rush for lamp oil, flashlights and batteries drained all local stores of available stock. Many others, with no other means of heat, merely tried to stay calm, go to bed and pile on the blankets, while hoping the morning would bring better news. In Oregon, many of the streets and homes were out of power for from one to two days before restoration of service. In Brooklyn, the power was out for about three days and in the rural areas, both farms and development areas are still out as of Tuesday this week. Predictions are that power is being restored now, but the more isolated or worse damaged area may be out for the remainder of the week. 

Wisconsin Power and Light line crews worked around the clock to restore service under severe conditions, as crews from out of state were recruited to assist in the operation. By Saturday progress was being made, when high winds developed and hampered the tired workers’ efforts, many times causing them to backtrack and do many of the restoration tasks over again. The power company crews were reported as going for 30 or more hours without sleep, grabbing three or four hours and then back on again for another long stretch. 

Local firemen hauled water to farmers to save livestock.  Trucks and tractors were utilized for supplying vacuum where possible for milkers. Some farmers were able to obtain generators to pull them through the milking operations. Some attempted to milk by hand, which is not too successful after the cows are trained for mechanical milking.  Some milk spoiled due to lack of cooling, and some had to be dumped because milk tankers could not find electricity to plug into for operation of their pumps.

During the cold nights and days community buildings in the area and other public buildings which had heat were opened to those who needed warmth and water. In suburban developments water as well as heat was a big problem as there was no way to operate the private pumping systems.

With limitations on time this week it is impossible to scratch the surface on all the many specific instances of damage and hardship in the area, but some of the photos in this and succeeding issues will tell the story. Latest reports as we finish the composition of this issue on Tuesday this week are that moderate to heavy snow is now predicted, which may add to the dilemma just as recovery is being made. 

Bi-Cen Briefs- by Joan Wethal

03/4/1976: One of the early area settlements was at Lake Harriet. The cemetery there is one of the oldest in the area. The earliest burial was probably about 1851. Many old pioneers were buried there. In 1857, according to reports, two men drowned in Lake Harriet who were never identified and who were buried in the cemetery. At one time, the cemetery was also filled but many bodies were removed and moved to other cemeteries. Lake Harriet was named after Mrs. Harriet Hayes whose husband and his brother, Plympton and Enoch, first settled there. 

 In the winter of 1861-62, John Muir taught at the small log schoolhouse called Lake Harriet School. The local citizens were probably a little worried about entrusting their children to him. He wore long hair and ragged clothes. Muir was an inventor. He devised a wooden alarm clock – only it did not ring. It tilted the bed spilling Mr. Muir on the floor each morning. In the schoolroom was another invention, a wooden clock that signaled it was time to start the fire each morning. There was another device to feed the horses and cows at a specified hour. Mr. Muir’s ways must have been strange for the early citizens. 

03/11/1976: On May 23, 1878, a disastrous tornado struck Wisconsin. It began near Mineral Point and moved northeastward into Dane County. The storm built up all afternoon and when it finally struck, observers reported the air was filled with flying debris. Homes were destroyed and at one home a child was picked up and hurled 80 feet through the air. He was somehow unharmed. It flattened tombstones in the cemetery and uprooted many trees. People came from miles around to view the damage which was extensive from Mineral Point north. A second tornado on May 11, 1914, was nearly parallel and about a mile south of the first. In that storm twenty-one of the twenty-two tobacco sheds in its path were demolished. 

Fire was dealt with in the early days by shouting the word “fire” which was repeated by everyone within hearing. Water was obtained at the nearest source and had to be pumped by hand and carried in buckets. A steady stream of buckets was developed and called a bucket brigade. Later hand pumps were used and were especially useful for roof fires to prevent their spread to other buildings. The fire department was organized in 1894. 

Business News:

A full-page ad from Paul’s Supermarket on March 4, 1976 (50 years ago !!) 

Dean’s 2% Milk – $0.61 /half gallon

Hash Brown Potatoes – 2 lb. package – $0.49

Bananas – $0.17/lb.

Center Cut Pork Chops – $1.25/lb.

Armour Bacon – 12-oz pkg/$1.39

Salmon Steaks $2.69/lb.

Clubs and Organizations

Oregon Chamber of Commerce:

New officers of the Chamber of Commerce for the following year are President, Louis Fahey; Vice-President, Russell Bavery; and Treasurer, Dennis Farrar. New directors introduced were Dennis Farrar, Norm Champion, and Wendell Smith. Remaining directors are Gerald Arndt, David Brown, Jeff Bergey and Gerald Swinehart. 

The twelfth annual meeting of the Chamber was held at the Stable Supper Club. Members and guests enjoyed dining, listening to key announcements and reports, and winding up with dancing and socializing. 

Honored at the meeting were Oregon’s two doctors, Dr. Kellogg and Dr. Dukerschein. Current Chamber president, Archie McCallum, presented the doctors with a plaque, along with a message of appreciation. 

Also recognized at the Chamber dinner was Paul Kohlman, proprietor of Paul’s Supermarket. Kohlman was awarded the “Oregon Chamber of Commerce Small Businessman of the Year.”  It was presented by last year’s award recipient, Butler Delany. The selectee each year is picked by a committee of the Chamber. Kohlman is a charter member of the Chamber and was its first treasurer. He has served twice on the Board of Directors, including a term as president in 1971. Paul started assisting his father in the operation of the Corner Store in 1944. After four years’ service in the US Navy during the Korean War, he returned to purchase the business in 1955. In December 1966, he built the modern new store, Paul’s Supermarket.

The Miss Oregon Pageant is scheduled for Saturday, April 24 at 8 p.m. in the Oregon High School cafetorium. It will feature seven contestants. These young ladies will be charming the pageant with their talents, grace, and poise as the eleventh annual pageant sponsored by the Oregon Chamber of Commerce takes place. Last minute arrangements are now being made for rehearsals, a decision on the title this year, and the publication of the detailed program book. Further details will be forthcoming in succeeding issues of the Observer. Contestants for this year’s pageant are Kathy Lynn Denton, Debbie Lance, Annette Bossingham, Linda Dwyer, Julie Rygh, Peggy Jo Brown, and Pamela Morrick. 

March 2001

Baldwin Holds Listening Session in Oregon

Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin visited Oregon Wednesday afternoon and welcomed the public to a listening session at the Oregon Village Hall.  For Baldwin, Oregon was the tenth stop on a 17-town Listening Session tour of southern Wisconsin last week.

About 20 people showed up for the session and had the opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns, though it was Baldwin who did most of the talking. “I’m here to listen more than talk,” she kept reminding her audience. In spite of the reminders, most of the 45-minute session was occupied with Baldwin’s responses to questions raised by the mostly female audience.

Gateways, civic campus frame downtown area

One of the Village of Oregon’s biggest assets is its cohesive “civic campus” arrangement, with several important public buildings in the proximity to each other – the Post Office, the Senior Center, the Oregon Public Library, the Village Hall and the school district office’s all within a few minutes’ walk as well as the historic buildings on Main Street, the village water tower and the open space areas.

Another positive feature, according to city planners from Vandewall & Associates who addressed the Planning Commission last week, is the “series of gateways” leading to the downtown, signaling the transition from neighborhoods to commercial centers. “Those gateways are very important although there’s an abrupt transition to the south that needs to be improved somehow,” said Brian Munsun, who’s been studying the recommendations from the village forum in January conducting interviews with local businesses and residents. “It’s the civic center of the community and it needs to be the entertainment center of the community,” Munsun said of the downtown.

He also noted the intersection in the heart of downtown is a difficult place for pedestrians to move around and cross the street as well as the parking issues.

Paulson lends historical perspective

At 83, Florice Paulson has become active again in community affairs because of her love for the Oregon community and its history, and because of what she perceives as a potential threat to the things she loves.

Paulson, who was born in the village in 1917 and lived here most of her life, accepted a position on the village’s Historic Preservation Commission in December in hopes of contributing a historical perspective.

“I was interested in them not tearing down a lot of stuff here in Oregon. They’ve torn down enough already,” Paulson said Saturday in an interview at her Jefferson Street home, where she traces her family roots back three generations. Paulson’s grandfather, C.A. Hanan, had been the Oregon Village President in the 1920’s and the chairman of the Dane County Board before that. 

She graduated from kindergarten in the new Red Brick Building and graduated in 1935 from Oregon High School in that same building. Later she taught there for 14 years.  She retired in 1970 but substituted for six years after that. 

She had been involved in lots of community groups and was the 2nd president of the Oregon Area Historical Society. She worked on establishing it and purchased the building that houses the museum. 

Paulson is committed to maintaining the Red Brick Building, the Water Tower, and the WWI memorial.  She stated, “my concern is that people recognize the value in a historical sense, of what it means to the people who’ve lived here to have a part of their heritage preserved.”

Rising up and taking shape

The new Oregon 5-6 school on South Perry Parkway is getting closer to completion. The building is scheduled to be turned over to the school district in July and will be ready for use next school year.