100 years ago (October 1920)
Oregon young people are showing their livestock. Edna Coggins Noel and Owen Merrick will be exhibiting at the Junior Live Stock Exhibition in Madison. Brown Swiss, Holstein, and Guernsey calves will be shown. It is reported that over 300 boys and girls have entered exhibits. W. L. Houser, president of the organization, commented, “It will be a show of the training skill, judgement, industry, patience and perseverance of youngsters who have been given a chance to demonstrate their ability and the results of agriculture and animal husbandry training in modern civilization.”
The second of the series of dances by the Married Folks Club will take place at the Opera House. Lever’s Harp Orchestra will furnish the music. There will be a basket lunch with coffee served free, but everyone must furnish his or her own sugar and cream. Tickets will be $1.00.
The Misses Nyna Criddle, Syvia Johnson, Frances Tipple, and Dorothy Hanan were in attendance at the South Central District Christian Endeavor Convention held at Lodi.
It was recorded in the School Notes that in the grammar room a bit of excitement was caused by Helen Cusick’s new shoes
An auto driven by Supervisor A. Linn of Stoughton tipped over on the Oregon-Stoughton road near the Shampnor corner. The machine tipped over in making the turn at the foot of the hill.
The only one seriously hurt was Mrs. Landswerk.
Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Gilbert returned from Indianapolis, Ind. where he attended the G. A. R. (Grand Army of the Republic) national convention.
It was noted that $3,000 of indebtedness remains on the G.A.R. Hall located on Monona Ave. in Madison. With the roster of members becoming ever smaller, it is hoped that the recent financial campaign (“Tag Day”) will yield enough to take care of the obligation.
Clement Criddle received a midshipman appointment at the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis.
The appointment was made by Congressman J. G. Monahan of this district.
The First National Bank of Oregon sponsored their annual seed corn exhibit. The judging will be done by a member of the College of Agriculture at the U.W. Madison. The prizes will be $10 for first; $5 for second; and $3 for the best 10 ears.
The Fairmont Creamery Company, one of the largest in the U.S., has opened a cream buying station in Oregon. At the station, which is in charge of Mr. Perry Netherwood, the cream will be weighed, tested, and paid for. A very attractive feature of the Fairmont’s method of doing business is to pay cash for each shipment, using that day’s basis for paying .
The public library board submitted the following proposed expenditures for the coming year: librarian’s salary $170.00; janitor $40.00; fuel $35.00; rent $125.00; books and magazines $100.00; lights $12.00; binding $23.00; and misc. $8.00.
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50 years ago (1970)
The Annual Powder Puff Football Game was played, where the girls play and the boys cheer from the bleachers. All the proceeds will be used to finance Oregon’s AFS student and possibly send an Oregon student to a foreign country this summer. The Powders won over the Puffs 8 – 6.
Civil Defense Director, Harold Wendt, intends to start a civil defense program that will be open to the public. The classes will include medical self help, Red Cross first aid, radio monitoring, and auxiliary police training.
Allan Gasner reported on his and Dorothy’s 22-day trip to Europe as part of the people-to-people travel group of the Wisconsin State Banking Leaders.
An Open House was held at the new middle school on Soden Drive and at the two additions to the high school. About 1500 area citizens attended. The principal of the middle school was Frank Nauyokas. Henry Appel was the high school principal The Board of Education and administrative staff were Edward Lawry, clerk; Ron Kneebone, vice president; Phil Peterson, president; Leo Buchner, treasurer; Lee Bailey, business manager; Phillip Helgesen; district superintendent; Roland Cross, assistant superintendent, and other directors, Richard Behnke, Milo Schneider, and Roy Shenefelt. The new middle school was built for 600 students for grades 4-6. The school was designed to have four focal points with learning corners with four units or pods directly related to it. The concept became known as “the open classroom”.
The Chamber of Commerce, with help from the Jaycees, Rotary, and Optimist Club, sponsored a contest for signage at the entrances to the Village. The winning entry was submitted by Dan Reneau whose design was in the form of a “key” welcoming visitors to “the Horse Capital of Wisconsin” plus listing some of the (“key”) upcoming events.
The OHS Cross Country Team were league champions. Members of the team were Wayne Kruetzer, Dan Deegan, Rick Sterna, Paul Renninger, Hans Plummer, Dan Ahrens, Mark Aylesworth, Paul Black, Steve Gray, Bob Brickner, Tim McNurlen, Bob Armstrong, and John Black. Their coach was Merritt Bohse.
King and Queen for the Homecoming activities were Jim Outhouse and Peggy Packard.
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25 years ago (1995)
Gasner Memorial Park will be the new name given to Hillview Park, just south of the S. Main and Scott Street intersection. The Village Board voted unanimous to rename the park in honor of longtime resident and community leader, Al Gasner.
Opponents of the Lyman Anderson Quarry found themselves put off and delayed a second time due to a lack of an attorney’s opinion by the Oregon Village’s Board.
Gunnard Swanson, 5th grade teacher at Prairie View Elementary School, was honored at the State Capital as one of the three elementary mathematics teachers from the State of Wisconsin in competition for the 1995 Presidential Award for excellence in the teaching of mathematics.
Twenty Oregon musicians were members of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras. Those participating were Ian Honeyman, Allison Gipp, Katy Powers, Erin Vanderpan, Geri Nolden, Tanya O’Malley, David Skegen, Matt Pickett,Curtis Ruellden, John Coullard, Andrew Stein, and Christina Peterson. Those from the Middle School were Annelisa Guies, Christina Klharti, Catie Honeyman, Justin Gray, Aaron Gooze, Joseph Okada, Ann Bukowski and Tom Elmer.
Scott and Cindi Norton opened up Fun-N-Games (an arcade for youth) at 112 Janesville St. (the former Oregon Observer office and currently Gerlach Wholesale Flooring),
Leyla Sanyer, orchestra director at the Oregon School District, is one of the Wisconsin educators developing new standards in the humanities to improve education in Wisconsin.
The First Presbyterian Church continued the celebration of their sesquicentennial with a special service enacting as it would have been in the mid-eighteen hundreds.
The students of the Netherwood Elementary School celebrated Turtle Week. This came about because of the recent development of a turtle pond in the enclosed arboretum area of the school. The pond was made possible though a gift from John and Sharon Yanna in memory of their son Adam . The dedication of the pond took place October 16th.
The chiropractic office of Dr. Norris Breitbachi, at 167 North Main Street, began an expansion project, which is expected to double the size of the existing structure.
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10 years ago (2010)
The Oregon Public Library celebrates 100 years of service to the community. Read the Companion Piece written by JoAnn Swenson of the OAHS.
Russell Neath, a former long time resident of Oregon, along with 100 area World War II veterans enjoyed a Badger Honor Flight—-a round trip with all expenses paid to Washington D. C. to visit the wartime monuments. His daughter, Mary Norwell, accompanied him.
Marechiel Santos-Lang announced that she will be leaving her post as director of the Chamber of Commerce.
The OHS football team rolled over Stoughton 34-14 in their homecoming victory. Josh Brauns threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another. The Homecoming King and Queen were Taylor Behnke and Elizabeth McBride.
Gloria Sweet and Mari Johnson opened complementary interior design businesses (Home Town Design Center) at 327 Market Street.
The Village Board voted to join other Dane County communities in creating a new emergency radio communications system. The new system will be designed to improve communication capabilities among law enforcement, public works departments, and other emergency systems.
Alexander Molzahn became an Eagle Scout. State Representative, Jon Epenbach, awarded him the honor at the Oregon Area Historical Society.
He also designed and built two display cases to display the material. About 40 people attended.