This Month in History
February
The following material was compiled by Gerald Neath for the Oregon Area Historical Society from material published in the Oregon Observer.
100 years ago (1914)

The Library Board and Woman’s Club held a reception at “the public library hall.” On a cold blustery January evening the hall was filled to capacity to hear a lecture by the Hon. A. H. Sholts entitled “Lights from American Literature”. Following the lecture a lunch was served during which Donald McGill provided Victrola music. (A Victrola was one of the first phonograph machines that became very popular at this time that played music from discs.The Oregon Business Men’s Club protested to the Village Board against the granting of a electric light franchise to any company composed of non-residents and went on to recommend that if any franchise be granted it be to residents and property owners of the Village. An electric company from Evansville had recently been in the area taking a survey of the residents concerning electrical service. R. Pease appeared before the board recommending the establishment of a local electric company.

A fire broke out just prior to the foreclosure sale of J. F. Genin’s blacksmith shop. However the fire was gotten under control before much damage was done and the sale went on as scheduled. The property was sold by the sheriff to the mortgagee, Nettie Horton, for $750.00.

Local butter maker, A. C. Hillstad, received one of the highest scores for his butter (91.66) at the annual meeting of the Wisconsin Buttermaker’s Association held in Madison.

At the Wisconsin Horse Breeder’s Association Horse Show held in Madison, Eugene Barry took first prize for his draft team in the over 2,800 pounds class with the Fincher Bros. coming in second in the same class.

An application was filed with the state banking department to charter a new bank to be located in the Village. The signers to the application were W. L. Ames, A. H. Sholts, R. C. Tipple, J. J. Lindsay, and H. E. G. Kemp.

An ad in the paper encouraged people to move to western Canada where there were free 160 acre farms located in the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

50 years ago (1964)

The PTA Fun Night, “Ells A-Poppin” was under the able direction of Don Bates and Durlin Pawlisch. One of the skits had Ann Bossingham and Betty Booth donning their gay nineties bathing suits.

The FFA sponsored their annual “Sweetheart Ball” at the High School Gym, featuring Sammy Eggum and his Orchestra. Admission was $1.00 for singles and $1.50 for couples.

Ted Feller announced that he has leased the Gulf Service Station on Janesville St. and will be operating under the name of Ted’s Gulf. ( The station was located at the present day Cousin’s Subs and D-Chai, LLC.)

Lappley Chevrolet Co. advertised that customers had 45 different models of Chevrolets from which to select, from the Corvette Sting Ray Sports Coupe to the full line of luxury Impalas.

Members of the Oregon School District formed an AFS Committee and applied to the American Field Service for a charter to enable the district to host foreign exchange students. Members of the committee were Mrs. Gerhard Lundey, chairperson, Mrs.Francis Powers, Mr. Bryant Wackman, Florence Kellor, Mr. Henry Appel, Mrs. Eugene O”Neill, and Atty. Jay Winter.

Sunnyside Hatchery opened for business. The owners, Karl and Maxine. Wilke, stated that there would be approximately 30,000 chicks a week hatched at their new plant.

John Struck, president of Oregon Feed and Supply, announced that an open house will be held at the new fertilizer blending plant on Market Street. The new facility will enable farmers to have their fertilizers blended to their exact specifications.

Norris Breitbach, D.C. held an open house at the new Breitbach Chiropractic Office located at 167 North Main Street. Breibach, in his third year of practice in Oregon, had remodeled the former restaurant to accommodate his office.

A total of 5,074 area residents obtained their second round of Sabin polio vaccines. As with the first round, the clinic was held at the High School Gym with all-volunteer help.

25 years ago (1989)

The Badger Conference Wrestling Tournament was held in Oregon. OHS wrestlers, Scott Pernot and Jason Sweeney , both captured conference championships in their respective classes. Both wrestlers have recorded 26 wins. They advanced to the Regional Competition where they both captured first place in their respective weight class.

Cal Callaway, former OHS football coach, was inducted into the Wisconsin High School Football Coaches’ Hall of Fame. He came to Oregon in 1965. During his 18 years as head football coach he had a record of 108 wins, 46 losses, and 10 ties along with ten conference championships. He also served on the organizational committee for the Wisconsin High School Coaches Association as well as being active in many other W.I.A.A. activities.

The Oregon School District spelling bee winners this year were Michael O’Brien, Lisa Barriolhet, and Jason Barnes. Stephanie Holmes was named as an alternate. The three winners will advance to the Regional Spelling Bee in March.

The OHS Boy’s Basketball team scored a win over Waunakee to end their season (13-3); giving them a share of the Badger Conference Title with Monona Grove and Stoughton. Leading scorers in the Waunakee game were Steve Merry (26), Mike Statz (15) and Rick Gnewuch (10).

Dr. Bill Plummer is the fourth Oregon recipient of the Paul Harris Fellowship Award given by the local Rotary Club in recognition of service given to Rotary International and the local community.

FFA students received five weeks of micro-computer instruction related to agriculture and business and the storing of records on diskettes. Those participating included Steve Clark, Don Marshall, Chris Schmidt, Troy Sherven, Ritchie Lloyd, and Allan Phillips.

Those qualifying for the Oregon Golfer’s Bowling Tournament (Scratch Division) were Bud Frye, Kevin Bailey, Bill Marshall, Ed Smith, and Ken Noyce. Qualifying in the Handicap Division were Bob Everson, Mike Nelson, Ron Bailey, Junior Fosso, and Phil Schultz

10 years ago (2004)

Noe Arteaga of CostaMex Productions requested permission to turn 21,000 square feet of Rob Gooze’s Oregon Sports and Fitness building into a music venue/convention hall in addition to renting other spaces in the facility for community events. A conditional use permit and a liquor license was approved by the Village Board.

J J Development Group LLC (Jim Miller and Shane Sparks) reported that the development of Brooklyn Sunrise Plaza is on scheduled and will be opened in the spring.

OHS Players presented a production of “Heaven Can Wait”. The cast included Ryan McDaniel, Scott Clark, Shelby Kissling, and Kelly Pfelfer.

The 6th. grader’s Girl’s Basketball Team took 2nd. place at the MATC Tournament, losing only to Sun Prairie by two points. Members of the team were April Cook, Kayla Lein, Allie Heifner, Juliayn Reitzler, Abby Nehls-Lowe, Kelly Hanson, Heidi Noyce, Bryn Anderson and Jenna Kleitsch. The team was coached by Dorothy Reitzler.

The Oregon School Board reviewed the need for installing surveillance cameras in the District’s facilities.

The results of the Spring Presidential Primary were as follows: Village of Oregon—-John Kerry 775, John Edwards, 686, and Howard Dean 311——Village of Brooklyn, John Kerry 56, John Edwards 42, and Howard Dean 27 and the Town of Oregon, John Edward 411, John Kerry 308, and Howard Dean 195. The Republican, George W. Bush, had no competitors. The De Jope casino referendum lost in the Village and Town of Oregon, but passed by a small margin in the Village of Brooklyn.

After Stoughton turned down Wal-Mart’s request to build a Super Center there, Oregon area residents formed an organization, advocating that steps be taken by the Village to prevent a large box store from being established here.

The OHS Boy’s Basketball Team claimed a share of the Badger South Conference Title with wins over Barbboo (64-58) and Monroe (57-54). Leading scorers contributing to the team’s success were Brent Riese, Derrick Bavery, John Fahey, and Derek Breidenbach.

The Dane County Zoning and Natural Resources Committee denied a conditional use permit requested by H & S Corp. to establish a quarry in the Town of Rutland along U.S. Hwy. 14. across from Hill Road.


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