Oregon History Timeline for July 2020

100 years ago (1920)

C. W. Netherwood was chosen to chair the Annual School Board Meeting.  The treasurer’s report showed that the total expenditures for the past year were $18,858.52, which included the purchase of the Ira Johnson property for $4,000. The usual nine months of school for the coming year was approved.  E. F. Kramer was elected clerk for the ensuring three years.  The proposition to furnish free textbooks was voted down.  The school board was authorized to engage a music teacher for the coming year.  It was voted to levy an appropriation of $12,500 for school proposes. Five hundred dollars of that amount will be for the expenses of the music program. 


Oregon will have a bakery.  H. Quamme who had been foreman of the Federal Bakery in Madison moved his family to Oregon and will open a bakery in the Netherwood Building.


Miss Charline Wackman who had been playing at the Shubert Theater in Minneapolis this past season has returned to her home in Oregon.


The biggest dance of the season will take place at the Oregon Opera House. Music will be furnished by Mussch’s Ragador Orchestra from Fort Atkinson.  Tickets are $1.00 and spectators 25 cents.


The school clerk has finished taking the school census.  The total number of children in the district is 226: 102 boys and 124 girls.

Mr. and Mrs. P. C. Herrick are moving from the Mrs. Etta Hughes house on North Main Street into the Garvoille house on Janesville Street.  The former tenants, Bennett Johnson and family, are moving into the Richards house on North Main Street, which they recently purchased. 

Andrew F. Cline has been appointed special “speed cop” for the village.  Automobile speeders are warned not to exceed the speed limit.  If you “hit” over 15 miles per hour you are subject to arrest and fine.  

Wm. Fincher, Thos. Fahey, Gilbert Amidon, C. Walker, and Nick Keele left for Detroit.  They will be driving cars home for the Fincher Garage.

50 years ago (1970)

Oregon Barber Shop held a Grand Opening July 1-3.   The business, located at 114 Janesville Street,has been purchased by John McNabb.from its former owner, Cletus Brown.

The Oregon Medical Clinic now has a staff of three full time doctors:  Dr. Lloyd S. Kellogg, Dr. F. N. Dukerschein, and Dr. J. L. Raneses. The clinic now uses a direct paging system at night and on weekends to notify the physician on call when the office is closed.

Capitol Super Speedway offered two special events on their opening nights: On the first night USAC Midget Racing was held and on the second Jim Wagner’s Auto Thrill Show which included the auto leap of death, motorcycle 8-man jump, and the T-Bone dynamite crash plus late model and hobby stock racing.  

Members of the Oregon Teener Baseball Team for 1970 were Jerry Anderson, Jim Maier, Dave Statz, Marc Geiser. Robin Rogers, Mark Rowe, Tom Erwin, Dave Freitag, Dave Farris, Randy Cox, Harley Lemke, Steve Kneebone, and batboy, Ken Cox.

Firemen from Oregon, Brooklyn, Verona, and Fitchburg fought a huge barn fire at the Oregon State Farm.  It destroyed a large barn containing about 17,000 bales of hay according to farm superintendent Gerald Navis.  The loss was estimated at $200,000.

The Jaycees installed brick corners to the Lease Memorial Park Shelter following its rededication to Jim Lease.  Those helping with the project were Larry Rhead, Dick Haynes, Bill McKernan, Joe Milz, John Wendt, Jim Wolowicz, and Tom Shackelford.  

Dr. L. D. Mahr announces the opening of The Oregon Veterinary Medical Clinic at 561 North Main Street.

Seven local families enjoy a vacation at Nelson’s Golden Rule Resort.  The families included those of Eldon McClure, David Mandt, Dale Crotty, James Canon, Roger Lawry, Ron Harrington, and Russell Bavery.  

Ross Larson has sold his paint and wallpaper store to George Lundey.

Oregon’s 2nd Annual Penny Days featured 5 big Kiddie Rides and other concessions in the downtown area on Friday, July 31st and all day Saturday.  The Rotary Club sponsored their annual outdoor fish fry Friday night.   A special at the Oregon Barber Shop was a vibrator scalp massage for a nickel.   WMAD had live broadcasting from the downtown area.

25 years ago (1995)

Oregon hosted the MACBDA (Mid-America Competitive Band Directors Association Grand Championships).  

Oregon was host for the 6th Annual Soccer International Tournament.  The tournament involved over 110 teams from four states.

The Oregon Village Board awarded the construction of the village’s new waste treatment plant to D. C. Smith Construction of Fond du Lac.  The winning bid was for $5,928.000.

The Oregon Straw Hat Players presented the musical “Pippin” directed by Jace Nichols.  The three female principal roles were played by Kelli Clement, Annette Nichols, and Justine Mortrud. The set designer was Kurt Schnabel. 

The new library construction is making process. The facility is being built by Connery Construction at an estimated cost of $600,000.

The Lions Club names its raffle winners.  The raffle proceeds are for the benefit of the new library. The first installment of their $10,000 pledge. The winners were Vince Rust ($500); Bill Ruth ($250); Pat Bradley ($150); and Mary Mathey ($100).

The Oregon School District residents turned down (96-64) the current five area geographic system and replaced it with a four area geographic system for the selection of school board members.

The Oregon Veterinary Clinic celebrated 25 years of service to the area.  The clinic opened July 21, 1970 and operated out of Larry Mahr’s residence until moving to its location at 1145 Park Street in 1979.   Joining the staff at this time were Dr. Judy Halverson and Christine Pederson. 

Jim Copus, owner of Madison Pre-hung Doors, was recognized by the State of Wisconsin DNR for his firm’s pollution prevention process.  Making the presentation was DNR Secretary, George Meyer.

Oregon resident, James L.Treichel, was honored by the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board for over 28 years of service to the state and its residents.  

Three area soccer players on the Oregon Demolition U-14 team, Josh Hulburt, Eli Paster, and Nick Pedracine, were selected to be part of a U.S.A. select All-Star Soccer team.

10 years ago (2010)

Twenty-five students in the Oregon High School Construction Exploration Class built a shed to be used for the community garden plots on the village’s west side.  The shed will store gardening supplies for the garden plots located near the People’s United Methodist Church.  Funding for the structure came from a $1,900 grant from the Community Action Coalition, a Madison non-profit group.  Boettcher’s Towing Service of Brooklyn donated time and equipment to help move the shed from the OHS to the site. 

Local business owners, especially those of bars and restaurants, express concern over the statewide smoking ban. 

The Friends of Badfish Creek began a new invasive species project funded by a grant from the Dane County Environmental Council.  Volunteer workers included Christine  Scheishorn, Jim Danky, Lynne Diebel, Sharon Beall, Bob Diebel, Rob Raether, Tory Allhands, and Jean Mazzara.

The Straw Hat Players presented a production of the 53-year old musical “The Music Man”.   More than 60 actors from Oregon, Madison, and other nearby towns made up the cast. The production was directed by Wendy Jones Hill.  

Members of the Oregon Tuggers sponsor events to raise money to help fund their trip in September to the World Tug-of-War Championships in South Africa.

The Village Board approved to go ahead with traffic signals for the intersection of Braun Road and North Main Street. The work will be done by the City of Madison at a cost of $125,000 to $150,000.

The Oregon Public Library will benefit from $107,611 in broadband improvements as part of the $23 million American Recovery Act, bringing improved broadband technology to the communities.

The Oregon U14SC girl’s softball team went undefeated to win the 2010 Belleville Summer Smash Softball Tournament.  Team members were Halie Osborne, Sarah Anderson, Katie Marshall, Danielle Halverson, Dani Moore, Randi Ortman, Hayley Davenport, Cosette Sommers, Kaitlyn Wallin, Mikayla Berge, Sophia Knaack, Hayley Christensen, Hayley Merale, Allie Greene, Sierra Herate, and Madison Klonsinski.  Jerry Anderson was the coach.   Assistant coaches were Dave Halverson, Larry Moore, Marie Faust.

Team Mulligans took first place in the Oregon Minor League World Series.  Team members were Patrick McCormick, Jr., Garrett Schmidt, Steele Mellum, Shane Sullivan, Dillon Hein, Branden Blanke, Jack Zander, Brett Wannebo, Billy Outhouse, Tyler Markham, Collin Braatz, Kieren Connery, and Zach Cameron.  Their coach was Justin Zander.