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Welcome to our Timeline. Here we will share tidbits of news that happened 25, 50, and 75 years ago in the Oregon area that were published in the local paper, The Oregon Observer.

 

The Timeline is compiled by Oregon Area Historical Society volunteers.

November 2024 Timeline

75 Years Ago - November 1949

Local News

Card of Appreciation

I wish to thank my many friends and customers who patronized me at the Texaco Station during the past 18 years. I have now taken over the Standard Station near the parking lot on Main Street and will appreciate any patronage or favors shown me. 

-Ed J. White and Son

 

Note of Appreciation

On behalf of the American Legion, I wish to express our appreciation and gratitude to Mr. Churchill and his high school band for their cooperation when the American Legion caravan visited Oregon on October 23.  Oregon was the only village on the entire route to have a band out to meet the caravan.

-Hans Nedlose, Commander

 

Alton Custer, Bill Booth, George Peterson, Ed and Gehardt Lundey and Sammy McMicken spent Saturday and Sunday at Puckaway Lake duck hunting.  They were joined by Bob Cusick of Milwaukee at Portage. 

 

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Gefke, Miss Margaret Dvergedal and Ronnie Erfurth accompanied friends from Verona to Evanston, Illinois Saturday where they attended the Wisconsin Northwestern game. They drove into Chicago after the game for dinner and met, quite by accident, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Michel of Cambridge. Mrs. Michel is the former Lois Ogilvie.  

 

Mr. and Mrs. P.H. Dvergedal and Miss Margaret were Sunday dinner guests of Mr. and Mrs. Ole Egner at McFarland.  They were also recent dinner guests at the Erick Alme home at Stoughton.  Mr. Alme had visited in Norway the past summer where he had met and visited with the brothers of Mr. Dvergedal. 

 

Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Lalor Celebrate Fiftieth Anniversary

 

Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Lalor celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on Tuesday of this week. For them celebration of the day began with 8 o’clock mass at Holy Mother of Consolation church followed by a family breakfast at the Hoffman House, Madison. An open house for relatives and friends was held at the home from 3 to 5 and from 7 to 9 in the evening. 

Mr. and Mrs. Lalor who were married in the Oregon church on Nov. 8th, 1899, have three children, Mrs. Lee Munchow, Madison; Mrs. Harold Knudsen, Chicago and Wm. P. Lalor of Janesville. 



Other news

Norwegian scientists have located a cure for alcoholism.  The new product, Antabuse, was discovered by accident.  Dr Eric Jacobson, a Dane, while searching for a drug to kill intestinal worms took a small dose of the drug as an experiment on himself.  A few hours later he dined with friends and during the course of the dinner drank a glass of wine.  He became ill. He made further experiments and asked a number of friends to join him in the experiment. The result was such that Alcoholics Anonymous clubs adopted the drug.  It is proving very effective in reclaiming men who have fallen into the drink habit. 

 

Random Shots

Nature gives everybody five senses – touch, taste, sight, smell and hearing. Everybody needs two more – horse and common. 

One of the reasons for the great number of divorces in this country is that although both parties promised to take the other for better or for worse one of them turned out to be much worse.

The less hours we work the more money we have to receive per hour to live and the more money paid per hour for labor the higher the cost of all manufactured things. We can never enjoy low prices with short hours of work.  Work, after all, is the only thing that is going to dig us out of the hole we are in.

50 Years Ago: November 1974

Oregon Businesses

Thirty years ago, the “Corner Store”, one of Oregon’s biggest and diversified mercantile establishments owned by F. E. Madsen was sold to John V. Kohlman of Madison and James Worringer of Lodi. About a year later Kohlman bought out his partner to become sole owner in the grocery, meat, and locker plant operation. In 1955, Paul Kohlman purchased the store from his father. In November 1966, Paul constructed a new, modern, and larger supermarket building located on Park Street a block east of the village hall. It was re-named Paul’s Supermarket. This week, the Kohlman’s store is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a big food and meat sale. In addition to the hundreds of money-saving bargains, there will be free Pepsi, free balloons, and free Schoep’s ice cream cones. Paul, together with his grocery manager Marv Jensen, meat manager Lee Henriksen and produce manager Kerry Henriksen invite the public to drop in this weekend to participate in the celebration of their anniversary.

***

Oregon School District News

Referendum

Voters of the Oregon Consolidated School District will be asked to approve a $2.2 million bond referendum on November 18th. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. in the lobby of the Oregon High School. Reasons given for the referendum by the school board and citizens committees working with the school board for the past three years are that there is now a critical need for space at the Oregon Senior High School and important program needs at the Brooklyn Elementary School.

At the high school there is a serious lack of cafeteria space, classroom space and physical education space. Presently there is no space for either music storage or orchestra practice space, and library space is well below accreditation requirements. 

At Brooklyn, the problem is the lack of facilities for art and music, which are presently taught in individual classrooms with no adequate working space and no storage at all for art or music projects. An Instructional Materials Center (IMC) addition would allow much better use of present space for classrooms. 

Voters of the Oregon Consolidated School District turned down a $2.2 million bond referendum by a count of 674 to 655. 

Other Local News

Jaycette Country Bazaar and Luncheon

Come one, come all to the Country Bazaar and Luncheon on Saturday, November 16, 1974, at the United Methodist Church Educational Building from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at a cost of $2 for adults and $1 for children ten and under. Advance tickets may be purchased at the Brooklyn State Bank, the Bank of Oregon, or from any Oregon-Brooklyn Jaycette. Proceeds from our 1973 bazaar enabled us to sponsor a Project Concern child in Tijuana, Mexico. Project Concern is a charitable non-profit health care organization which provides public health education and nutritional training that helps change the lives of hundreds of thousands of people each year. 

Genesis Apartments Going Up in Brooklyn

The third Genesis, Inc. building is now under construction in Brooklyn. The general contractor for the new unit is Robert Jenkins, Oregon. He is working with other local building contractors for plumbing, foundation concrete, ceramic and floor covering, heating, electrical, excavating, flat concrete, brick, and lumber. 

The 16-unit complex consists of all 2-bedroom apartments. Completion date is targeted for February 1, 1975. Applications for occupancy of the apartments are being accepted now at the Brooklyn State Bank. This unit is financed through the Farmers Home Administration (FHA), with interim financing provided by Brooklyn State Bank. Occupancy is open to residents of the Oregon Consolidated School District and the Brooklyn rural routes only. FHA recently authorized no income limitation to senior citizens regarding occupant eligibility.

25 Years Ago: November 1999

Local News

Village proposes 3.84 percent tax increase

Oregon residents will have an opportunity to comment on the village’s proposed 2000 budget, which includes a 3.84 percent tax rate increase, at a public hearing Nov. 18th

Under the proposed 2000 budget, the tax rate would be raised from 6.32 in 1999 to 6.56 in 2000.  “I think a 3.84 percent increase is reasonable and modest in light of the 4 million dollars’ worth of borrowing the village has done to finance storm water projects and building expansions,” said Michael Krembs, president of the Oregon village board.

Krembs does not anticipate strong public opposition to the increased tax rate. “We didn’t get a lot of opposition to the budget last year.  Most people look at a 3.84 percent tax increase and think it’s in line with the rising cost of living,” said Krembs. 

In response to a request from middle school students spearheading the initiative to build a youth center in Oregon, the village has budgeted $7,000 to cover 25 percent of the youth center’s cost in its first year of operation.  The students estimate it will cost $28,000 a year to operate the youth center. 

“This funding is contingent upon the group finding a suitable facility to house the youth center and raising 75 percent of the first year’s operations costs themselves.  We have no vacant buildings in the village to donate to the project but hope that someone in the community will step forward and donate the space.  They need about 2,000 square feet, and it can be a fixer upper,” said Krembs.

Oregon residents should call Michael Gracz, the village administrator, if they have any suggestions regarding a facility to house the youth center. 

Board of Education hires police liaison

At the urging of Oregon Chief of Police Douglas Pettit, the board of education approved the position of a police-school liaison officer Monday night. The liaison officer will work primarily at Oregon High School but will also visit other schools in the district when needed. 

“I think that all of us are aware of the things that have occurred in the world, in this region, and in the school district recently. In my 24 years of law enforcement, I think it’s time to put a full-time liaison officer at the high school. I’ve been disturbed by some of the things I’ve seen going on there. Now is the time to put this position in place,” said Pettit.

According to a draft of a job description that Pettit presented to the board, the officer selected for this position will have a minimum of two years full time active duty with the Oregon Police Department.  The draft also states that “this officer should have a measurable impact on the amount of juvenile crime, criminal damage, vandalism, and injury caused by altercations between students.”

School administrators at both Oregon High School and Oregon Middle School also voiced support for the addition of a full-time police-school liaison officer in the district. 

Street Talk

As we celebrate Veterans Day, November 11th, do you have a suggestion on how we should honor our veterans?

Leroy Schumacher – Oregon – Come out on Veterans Day.  Seeing people at the monument is really the essence, where they show their support.  When I say this, I feel a warmth come over me.  

Mary Lou Lamb – Brooklyn- We need to have something honoring vets, Veterans Day and Memorial Day, that’s nice.

Gladys Meister – Brooklyn – This thing they had at Walmart in Verona for building a monument for World War II veterans, was nice…more people should know.  They should teach more in school.

Virgil Lamb – Brooklyn – Everybody should fly their flags on Veterans Day and Memorial Day…they’re hashing it out in the federal government whether flag desecration should be illegal; it shouldn’t be an issue.

Ervin Meister – Brooklyn – There should be more knowledge of the flag.  I see people chewing gum when others are saying the pledge of allegiance. (He added that the Brooklyn Oregon Legion is seeking veterans to add to its post.)

Bill Brown – Oregon – To me, being from the Vietnam veterans, as far as honoring veterans, the women should be recognized more than they are.  Civilian women that served…they should be recognized too.