Oregon Area Historical Society 159 W. Lincoln, Oregon, WI 53575 608-835-8961 |
This Month in History
The following material was compiled by Gerald Neath for the Oregon Area Historical Society from material published in the Oregon Observer. 100 years ago (1910) Village property owners with a dust problem who wanted the street in front of their properties sprinkled were requested to draw up petitions and have them signed by the majority of property owners of their respective streets and presented to the village clerk, G. L. Booth. Failure to do this would result in the sprinkling being discontinued. The Danish Lutheran Church (present day, St. John's Lutheran) installed a new pastor, Edward M. Nielsen [Nelson?] They had gone for about a year a half without an installed pastor. He came to Oregon after serving the Lutheran Church in Poysippi, Wis. and was described as "broad minded in his views and a genial man to meet".
50 years ago (1960) A new bathhouse and outdoor swimming pool opened on the site of the present day pool. The $90,000 project, replacing the previous pool and bathhouse, had been approved by village residents in a referendum in the fall of l959. Volunteers from the fire department--- Harold Wendt, Don Xander, Neil Denton, Lloyd Bavery, and Chief Donald Bunnell--- helped put the finishing touches on the landscaping. Father Charles Monroe of Berlin, Wis. became the new pastor at HMC Church, replacing Father Alvin Kutchera. Ron Erfurth is back racing the midgets at Sun Prairie's Angell Park. He recently won the 25-lap feature race. Local residents were heading out for a Canadian fishing trip. Norm Champion, Earl Gransee, and Dr. Robert Gross along with other friends were off on a fishing and canoe trip taking the Gun Flint Trail into Canada from Grand Marais, Minnesota. Paul Kohlman, Lou Pasley, Jim Mahoney and Herb Meyer had just returned from an eight day Canadian fishing trip. Earl and Dorothy Lawson were celebrating the 22nd. Anniversary of the opening of Lawson's Rexall Drug Store. Earl, a graduate of the U.W. School of Pharmacy, had started his career at a Rennobohm Pharmacy in Madison before coming to Oregon. Winner of the Wisconsin High School Rodeo Queen Contest at Spooner, Wis., was Joyce Thoelke, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Thoelke. Richard Gouker displayed his prize blue gill catch. Caught at Butch's Landing on Lake Kegonsa, it was just less than two pounds, 11 inches in length by 6.5 inches high. Good size for a blue gill!
25 years ago (1985) Four members of the Panther Wrestling Club---Miles Weaver, Bobby Davis, Jason Rowley and Mike Burdick---qualify to compete at the Northern Plains Regional National Free Style Wrestling Tournament in Bismarck, North Dakota. Local veterans groups from Oregon and Brooklyn raised more than $3,500 in donations for erecting a 40-foot flag pole at the World War I monument. The project also included new lighting for the flag pole and monument as well as landscaping. Maxwell ("Max") Gefke retires from dairying. He and is brother, Robert, had had a prize Holstein herd since 1921. Over the years they had sold their prize-winning cattle all over this country and abroad. For many years they ran a dairy that delivered milk to local households. The OHS AFS student, Dagmar Ulrich, from Germany gets ready to return home. Her host family had been Robert and Jeanette Rieck with their daughter Susan. When interviewed she noted that the differences between the U.S. and Germany were insignificant, however she observed, "we have no peanut butter or pumpkin pie in Germany, but we have better chocolate". The Town of Oregon Board O.K.'s zoning for a nine-hole golf course (Foxboro) to be developed by Eric Peterson.
10 years ago (2000) Larry Mahr's Country View Veterinary Service held their Grand Opening. There were 225 in the OHS graduating class. Caitlin Kiley was valedictorian and Trenton Kirchdoerfer was salutatorian. The Oregon Summer Fest Parade Committee selected long-time resident and local historian, Florice Paulson, as Oregon's Good Neighbor 2001. She participated in the Summer Fest Parade. Kristin VanderVelde is named Oregon's new Youth Ambassador. The contest is in its second year and fills the void left when the Miss Oregon contest was cancelled several years ago. She will be responsible for representing Oregon Youth at ground breaking, ribbon cutting and other events. Debbie Saley organized the event for the Chamber of Commerce. The Oregon Bowl was featuring the country music of Jess Walker on two occasions during the month.
If you enjoyed this column, consider getting involved with the Oregon Area Historical Society: Phone: (608) 835-8961 or e-mail: Also check out our website at OREGONAREAHISTORICALSOCIETY.ORG or become our friend on Facebook. |