This Month in History
October
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)
Oregon has a new blacksmith firm. Chas. Schoen, who had been employed by Sarbacker & Sprague, entered into a partnership with J. F. Genin. There business will be at Genin’s present location.Charles Marcks, an architect of Madison, was in Oregon to complete plans for the new D. C. Salisbury house located at 611 North Main Street.

Need a “good square meal?” The Danish Lutheran women will be serving chicken pie dinners, roast chicken and veal for supper on October the 7th. at The Woodman’s Hall.

50 years ago (1960)
E. A. Kozlovsky, District Superintendent of Oregon Schools, was honored by The Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators for his 25 years of service as a school administrator; making him a member of their “Quarter Century Club”.

Residents were reminded that now was the time to winterize their cars at Oregon’s “House of Service”, Tarkenton’s South Side Auto and Truck Repair, located at 990 Janesville Street. The specials for tune ups were $17.65 for 8-cylinder cars and $14.65 for 6-cylinders. Plugs, points, condenser and labor were included.

King’s Clothing Store in Brooklyn was having a going out of business sale.

Erfurth’s Body Shop started marketing Rupert auto safety seat belts for $12.95. Drivers were warned not to gamble with their lives, but to use these new safety belts. Norman Erway was shown demonstrating a belt that he had recently purchased.

A Civil Defense Committee was organized in Oregon. The members of the committee were Arthur Ames, director; Joe Lockwood, Chief of Police; Donald Bunnell, Fire Dept. Chief; Syl Farris, Superintendent of Public Works; and Donald Doyle, Jr., who was in charge of radio and communications. Each family in the community was encouraged to learn more about the civil defense program and how to protect themselves in case of a nuclear attack.

The OHS football team finished their season 8 and 0, becoming the 1961 Madison Suburban League Champs. This was their first title in 17 years. They ended the season scoring 212 points with only 14 points being scored against them. At their Homecoming Game they had beat their rival Sun Prairie, 61-0. Their leading scorer was quarterback, Dale Manion. Other leading scorers were Denny Hanson, Bob Purdy, Dick Gouker, and Marlin Bavery. Head Coach Erwin (“Boob”) Kissling noted that he had never coached a bunch of boys with such team sprit and great desire.

The OHS Band Mothers held a fund raiser by selling corsages for the Homecoming Dance for $1.00 each. Mrs. John (Virginia) Black and Mrs. Richard (Nina) Noyce were taking the orders.

This was the last academic year that the Brooklyn High School would function as a separate entity within the Oregon School District. The last officers of the Brooklyn High School Classes were: 1) Freshmen Class, Larry Garvoille, Pres., Don Kanable, V.P., Judd Nelson, Sec. and Ken Heller, Treas. 2) Sophormore Class: Charles Elsner, Pres., Carolyn Olson, VP, Beth Kanable, Sec., and Fred Brown, Treas. 3) Junior Class: Phil Mortenson, Pres., Bob Garvoille, VP, Barb Tracy, Sec., and Sandy Farnsworth, Treas. 4) Senior Class: Richard Thickpenny, Pres., Bob Dreher, VP, George Byrne, Treas. and Donald Hoesly, Sec. The Brooklyn Cheer Leaders were Sharon Lamb, Shirley Lamb, Gloria Loftus and Sandy Farnsworth (A Team) and for the (B Teams) Janet Dreher and Julie Armstrong.

25 years ago (1985)
The new pastor at Peoples’ United Methodist Church is the Rev. Myke Christensen. He and his wife, Ruthann, had moved here from Chetek, WI.

Elva Booth retired from Valley Bank of Oregon (present day M & I Bank). She began working for the bank in 1962; serving in various capacities over the past 23 years. In particular, she recalled those twelve years she had worked at the motor bank (as the drive-up was called then), greeting early bird customers every morning at 7:00 a.m.

Former Oregon veterinarian, David Hall, became Director of the Henry Vilas Zoo. Dr. Hall had been a veterinarian at the Oregon Medical Veterinary Clinic on Park Street in Oregon for ten years.

For the second year in a row, the OHS marching band placed first in their class (AAA) at the Wisconsin School Music Association Marching Band Tournament held in Wausau.

The Town of Dunn declared the week of October 12th. as “Alice Watts Week” in recognition of her conservation efforts. She was active in supporting the southwest Lake Waubesa Wetlands, the Murphy’s Creek watershed and three springs behind her home on Lalor Road.

St. John’s Lutheran Church rededicated a restored 103 year old bell. The church bell had originally been in the steeple of the Danish Lutheran Church in the Town of Rutland. After that church closed, the bell was obtained by St. John’s in 1929 and hung in the steeple of what was then their small white church located on Washington Street. It was recalled that Soren Thompson, a church deacon, was the frequent bell ringer. Through the efforts of twelve women from the Esther-Rebekah Circle funds were raised for its restoration and return to St. John’s at the church’s present location on Netherwood Street.

The Oregon Farm Center moved from its Market Street location to their new location on Hwy 138. Larry Roosli, president of the corporation, commented that the company was changing from a small grain operation to a storage facility. The new facility has been qualified as a government storage facility by the Commodity Credit Corporation. The Farm Center was originally the Oregon Feed and Supply which Roosli and Ken Mack bought in August of 1979. In 1980 they also purchased the Oregon Milling Company, which was also located on Market Street.

Andy Palmer and Tina Zorko were crowned King and Queen of the OHS Homecoming. The American Cancer Society held their annual Jail’n Bail event on the Oregon area. Over $13,000.00 was raised. Volunteers responsible for its success included Buzz and Peg Hanson, Katy Bill, Police Chief Doug Pettit, Duane Berg, Don Turner and Jo Yluisaker. The three jail birds pictured in the paper were Lynda Farrar, Gerard Pehler and Jeanette Forman.

10 years ago (2000)
Gibe McCaughey was appointed the new director for the Oregon Youth Center. The center had been without a director since March. Maggie Schmeltzer, president of the Youth Center Board, expressed the hope that key changes would be made to make the center’s mission more effective.

The investigation of burglaries during the past month at local businesses continues. There were break-ins at Rosie’s Main Tap and Maria’s Pizza with an attempted break-in at the UW Health Clinic.

The Village installs a drop box in the parking lot at the Waterman Triangle Park. Residents are encouraged to drop off their sewer and water bills there as well as other forms and correspondence.

The OHS cross Country teams, both the girls and boys, placed lst. at the Stoughton Invitational. Leading the way to their first place finishes were Briana Schnell for the girls and Nathan Pinger for the boys. With Coach Doug Debroux expressing his confidence in both teams for the coming season, the boy’s went on to capture their first conference crown since 1995 and the girl’s finished third in their conference with Briana Schnelle being named conference champion.

The OHS girl’s swimming team scored a 119-50 victory over Stoughton, placing them at the top of the Badger South Conference with a 4-0 record. Oregon finished first place in every event. Participating in the event were Erin Heaton, Erica Knuesel, Brittany Shutes, Jamie Kurtz, Ana Chen. Their head coach was Scott Krueger.

A new scoreboard for the OHS football field was dedicated at the Homecoming game. The four persons recognized for making it possible were John Cuta, Jerry Luebke, Scott Krueger, and Tom Kirchdoerfer.

The Village Planning Commission approves Daniel Fleming’s request to annex 395 acres of the Town of Oregon for his Bergamont development and sent it to the Village Board for final approval. However it was noted that several issues would need clearing up before final Board approval.

Arlen Milestone, a 21 year charter member of the Brooklyn/Oregon Lion’s Club, was awarded a Melvin Jones Fellow recognition for his humanitarian services, especially for the time he spent in the Philippines assisting with cataract procedures.

The Oregon School District Board voted (4-3) to swap a parcel of the school district in Fitchburg slated for development for an undermined parcel of commercial land located in the Madison School District. This was done in order to avoid the need to build new schools to accommodate a larger enrollment as the result of the proposed Nine Springs Development.

Oregon Fire Chief, Randy Sellnow, announced that the Oregon Area Fire/EMS received a grant in the amount of $46,656.00 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the purpose of initiating a wellness and fitness program as well as for purchasing equipment for an exercise room to be included in the new fire station.


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