October 2023 Timeline

100 Years Ago: October 1923

• Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gafke and small daughter and son, and Miss Nell McGill motored to Baraboo Sunday where they were the guests at the Collin Wilkinson home for the day.
• A fire which threatened the home of Dr. and Mrs. E. S. Johnson Saturday morning was the cause of calling out the fire department. An over-heated oil stove in the laundry was the cause. The fire was gotten under control before any damage was done.
• Miss Emily Knudsen, who has been studying the Morse Code of Telegraphy at the Western Union in Madison, left Saturday morning for Chicago where she will continue her course at the
  Western Union School of Telegraphy, also taking an additional course in Multiplex.
• On Monday evening the Mother’s Club of Fitchburg gave a surprise party for Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Fahey. It was a real surprise and the guests arrived at the Fahey home with a sumptuous supper. Cards were the evening’s entertainment and a fine time is reported.
• Mrs. W. J. Bossingham, Mrs. Howard Zink and Miss Edna Peterson motored to Cross Plains Saturday and spent the day with Mrs. Zink’s sister Mrs. Mabel Paddock.
• Dwight Starry, the little son of. Mr. and Mrs. Jake Starry, met with a serious accident last Saturday forenoon while playing with the other boys. During the play, his leg was accidentally broken. He was taken to Madison where an X-Ray was taken. The break was above the knee
  and it was found that the bone was broken lengthwise, in two places and it was necessary to make a ten inch incision and wire the bones. The little fellow is at Methodist hospital and will have to remain there for three or four weeks. He is doing as well as can be expected under the
  circumstances and his many little friends sympathize with him and hope that his recovery will be soon.
• The interior of the M. J. Wischhoff jewelry store has been redecorated making a very pleasing appearance and showing to better advantage his excellent stock of jewelry, cut glass, electrical appliances and Victrolas.

50 Years Ago: October 1973

• The village board unanimously passed an ordinance annexing 210 acres to the village.  The new addition is west of the village, a part of the former Lathers farm.  The property was purchased by the Ennal Corporation with platting and development expected to begin within two years.
• A new independently-owned local enterprise, in the form of a Skogmo family clothing store will open today on South Main St.  The store will be owned and operated by Roz and Bob Haak.  The new store will carry a full line of men’s woman’s and children’s clothing, piece goods, sewing notions and domestics, plus a full line of tennis shoes for the entire family.
• October 17, a tractor with 2 row corn picker belonging to Carl Bryant caught fire on the Clifford Elmer Farm on Rutland-Dunn Town Line Road.  It took 45 minutes to extinguish the stubborn fire of corn stalks and gasoline from the ruptured tank.  The firemen saved the two large tires and the picker but the remainder of the tractor was a total loss.

• Actions by the Village board:
  • The final plat of the Bavery Addition to Netherwood Heights received approval subject to the fulfillment of conditions set by the planning board.
  • Laverne Ringhand was appointed to fill the position of Municipal Justice until the next election.
  • Authorization was given to the park Committee to hire Denny Johnson and John Neubauer as winter recreation directors and organize the program.

25 Years Ago: October 1998

• The Oregon School Board set the stage to reconvene a citizen committee to find ways to overcome crowding in the Oregon Middle School. The committee was asked to consult with an educational planner – not just an architect – so that they would be more open to alternatives than just building a new school. “I expect this committee to look at the full range of options,” the superintendent said, noting that they might consider all-year schooling and split-shift school days as alternatives.
• The 4th grade class at Netherwood Knoll Elementary uncovered these wooly mammoth bones in the fallout shelter at the school. They worked as paleontologists to draw, preserve, and number the bones. The last step was to piece them all back together. They were amazed at the size of this baby mammoth. An adult would have been four to five feet taller. The students had been studying the Ice Age and the effects it had on our state. They researched and wrote about several Ice Age animals.

• Proposed staff increases in the village of Oregon drove the budget proposal calling for a 28 percent increase to the mill rate. That included $82,000 for salary and fringes for a village administrator, $32,000 for support staff in the clerk’s office, adding a public works employee for slightly more than $40,000, increased funding for police officers through the COPS Grant at just more than $44,000, an increase in the clerk of court hours and two limited term employees in the Parks Department.
• The Oregon High School FFA began its 71st year. The FFA organized their program of activities for the school year and participated in other activities such as leadership workshops and judging contests as well as fund-raising activities. FFA enables students to achieve success through educational endeavors, community service and goal setting. FFA members, working through local agricultural education programs, build career skills, develop leadership initiative and gain confidence to succeed in the future.
• The sophomore class won the float competition for the Homecoming parade.

• Attempts to continue the Oregon School District’s five-year-old Oversight Council failed as the Board of Education voted 6 to 1 to eliminate that level of site-based management. The Oversight Council was one of six community member, administration, school board and teacher represented committees created in the mid-1990s to bring site-based management theory to the Oregon School District. The concept had worked well in four of the district’s schools, but the Oversight Council had been plagued with an inability to accomplish simple tasks and attempts were begun to look at its effectiveness and see whether it was needed or whether an alternative committee could be formed.

10 Years Ago: October 2013

• Museum finds unexpected treasures in Paulson Estate:  The Oregon Area Historical Society was a beneficiary of the Florice Paulson estate.  They have spent hundreds of hours over the past two months sorting through things saved in the basement  and attic of her home on Jefferson Street. They found historic artifacts, family treasures and sudry objects dating back to the time of Florice’s grandparents, and even great grandparents. 

• Wisconsin School Music Association presents the 2013 WSMA Student Composition Project winners, including two students from Oregon:
  • Luke Pearson from Oregon Middle School won 3rd place in the Piano Solo Category for the composition  Waves of the Ocean.
  • Katrina Fischer from Oregon High School won 4th place in the Instrumental Ensemble Category for the composition Chi.