Oregon History Timeline for September 2019

Compiled by the Oregon Area Historical Society

100 years ago (1919)

Henry Gilbert has purchased from Peter J. Christensen the paint shop building on Main Street.   He will take possession of it on March 1st.

Elwin Pledger, who was struck by an auto last Friday, received an injury to his ankle and leg. He is reported getting along nicely.

The Oregon Equity Warehouse Co. received another carload of Occident Flour and a carload of salt.

Mrs. Louis Anderson has purchased Peter J. Christensen’s house on South Main Street now occupied by Chris Olson and family.

The Eighth Grade Class elected the following officers: Harold Dunn, president; Stanley Christensen. vice-president; Sylvia Johnson, treasurer; and Mildred Paterson, secretary.

The class chose purple and gold as their colors and the sweet pea as their flower.

 


Miss Nell McGill was appointed postmistress of the Oregon Post Office, August 29th, taking effect Oct.1st.

Sofus Thompson, Sofus Nelson, Arthur Paulson, Nell McGill and Peter Paulson are shown sorting mail (1923).  Rural Free Delivery (RFD) was a great advantage to the farming community.

Some rural carriers included Sofus Nelson, H.V. Chappel, John Gilbert, Peter Paulson, Soren Thomson, Will Minch and Ted Elliot.


School starts a new year. The high school faculty consisted of U. T. Cady, supervising principal, Catherine Chapman, Beatrice Smith, and Helen Dresser. Miss Dresser from Sturgeon Bay took over for Miss Bertha Merrian who recently resigned.   Teaching grade school classes were Valley Ralph (7th and 8th grades); Hazel Hindes (5th and 6th grades; Lanoir La Flex 3rd. and 4th grades; Edna Lewis, (1st and 2nd grades), and Mary Burt, kindergarten. George Theobald will again be the school’s Janitor.

The anticipated school enrollment was 10 kindergartners, 33 first and second graders; 16 third and fourth graders; 30 fifth and sixth graders; and 42 seventh and eight graders. The high school anticipates having 25 freshmen, 20 Sophomores, 20 Juniors, and 16 Seniors.


 

This past year (July 1918 thru June 1919) the Oregon Public Library reported that 3516 books were checked out by adults and 2558 by children. Mrs. John Gilbert and Mrs. Geo. McDermott were appointed members of the library board for the ensuing three years.

Wm. F. Grady purchased the Geo. Faulkes farm of 61-1/2 acres near Story [town], including all the personal property. Mr. and Mrs. Faulkes will occupy the house until spring when they will move to Chicago.

Sofus Olson has installed a new motion picture machine in the opera house. It was noted that . .”the larger cities have nothing on Mr. Olson when it comes to the latest improvements in his picture house. He goes after the quality and gets it.”

Mat Mayan has sold his house on South Third Street to Dan Murphy. The house is now occupied by the Andrew McWatty family.

 


Sheldon Tusler and Margaret Utter celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary. They were married in the Town of Rutland in 1859 by the Rev. James Pope.   A reception for the occasion was held in the local opera house.


 

J. H. Lalor reports that his herd of swine has contracted cholera. The disease seems to be spreading throughout the state and farmers will do well to take every precaution against the disease.

W. B. Richards and son, Roy Richards, have sold their farm known as the Geo. Litch Place, to T. G. Cretney of the Madison real estate firm of Graves and Cretney. The farm contained 305 acres at $175.00 per acre. The Richards purchased the farm last spring at $140 per acre, which included the livestock and machinery.

 

50 years ago   (1969)

The Annual Horse Show was held, sponsored jointly by the Chamber of Commerce and the Southern Wisconsin Timed Events Association. It featured midwest championship pole bending and barrel racing. Seventy classes were held during the two-day event. Entries were from Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Iowa.

The two PTA’s meetings together are introduced to the district teachers.. Officers of the High School PTA were co-presidents, Mr. and Mrs. Urban Johnson; vice president, Arnold Blahnik; secretary, Mrs. Allan Gasner; and the treasurer, Mrs. Carl Liller. Officers of the Elementary-Junior High PTA were president, Orrill Ferguson; Mrs. Russell Bavery; secretary, Mrs. Ralph Benjamin and Mrs. John Swenson, treasurer.

Customers were reminded of the new location of the Earl Reeve Jewelry Shop. It is now located between The Ben Franklin Store and Squire Clothing on South Main Street.

The Faculty Slow Pitch Team defeats Christensen Insurance (9-1) for the championship. Members of the Faculty Team were Frank Nauyokas, Tom Mueller, Ron Miller, Karl Ahrens, Henry Appel, Harold Flaaten, Ted Boucher, Cal Callaway, Jack Statz, Roger Pribbenow, and Bill Noltemeyer

Boy Scout Troop #50 held their Court of Honor at the Village Hall. Presenting the awards were Scout Master, Ralph Kreutzer and Assistant Scout Master, Ralph Lance.

Curb, gutter, and sidewalk construction wraps up for the season. Curb, gutter, and sidewalk were installed on North Main Street from North Main to Richards Road as well as in several other areas of the Village including Burr Oak Ave, Florida Ave, Park St, Nyaard St, and Kennedy Drive. Approval was given to obtain a parcel of land from the Culp property on Janesville Street for the purpose of extending Oak Street to Kierstead Lane.

The Oregon Consolidated School District had an enrollment of 2,492: Brooklyn Elementary 265; Oregon Elementary 1152; Junior High 416; and Senior High 659. There were 135 members of the district staff.

Dentist, Dr. W. E. Ogilvie, announced that he will be retiring and that Dr. R. W. Holiday will be taking over his practice at the same location. Dr. Ogilvie began his dental practice in Oregon in 1919, after graduating from Marquette University in 1918.

Lappley Chevrolet at 156 North Main St. announced that on September 18-20 they will hold a Grand Opening for the unveiling of the new 1970 Chevy models. Free coffee and doughnuts will be served. They also offered, while the supply lasted, a special “On the Move” stereo album for only $1.39, featuring Dianne Warwick, Glen Campbell, and Bert Bacharach.

Fran’s Sewing Machine and Vacuum Cleaner Sales and Service located on North Main Street across from the Bank of Oregon advertised that their service included free pick up and delivery.

The Sportsman’s Bar invited everyone on Sept. 20 to come and hear music of Bobby Rice and the Rice Boys.

 

25 years ago (1994)

The Friends of the Library push plans for building a new library. A $1.2 million building proposal was turned down by referendum four years ago. A new “shaved-down” version will be presented, costing $900,000. Rita Plummer was chairperson for the Friends of the Library.

The Village Board voted unanimously to build a new $900,000 library. The Village will borrow $800,000 through bonds to cover the construction of the building. The remaining cost will be raised by The Friends of the Library.

The First Presbyterian Church awarded Brienne Barrows (OHS class of 1994) and Brian Scott (OHS class of 1993) with $800.00 scholarships from the church’s College Scholarship Endowment Fund.

Foxboro Golf Club held its annual championship games. The eight new champions were Bob Gannon, Mary Krueger, Cheryl Matteson, Doug Weisenberg, Monica Mountford, Jerry Klauser, Bill Pipeer, and Dick Sheil.

New restrooms and a storage facility at the Panther Stadium was dedicated prior to the Monroe/Oregon football game. The undertaking was a major project of the Oregon Athletic Booster Club under the leadership of the project foreman, Rick Anderson.

The Town and Country Women’s Club elected new officers for the coming year. Those elected were president, Pat Lindberg; secretary, Mary Shaw; treasurer, Mary Wilson; first vice-president, Audrey Appel; and second vice-president, Jayne Johnson.

Valley Bank (formerly Bank of Oregon) now becomes a part of the M & I family of banks with 22 locations in Dane County.

The water tower located on the south end of the Village will be repaired and painted by the Lane Tank Co. of Mosinee, Wis. at a cost of $46,600.

The Oregon School Board voted to proceed with a referendum in November requesting the approval of a $21 million school construction/remodeling project, which would include major remodeling of the high school, construction of a new elementary school, and remodeling at the Brooklyn and Prairie View Elementary Schools.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held for the new Autumn Woods Professional Building. Owners, Marty and Debbi Verhelst expect the opening date to be January of 1995.

Local dentist John (“Bill”) Plummer retires.

 

10 years ago (2009)

The second phase of the downtown reconstruction project is on time and is set to be finished early fall.

Kevin Forsberg, a 2005 OHS graduate, shakes hands with President Barak Obama at the commencement ceremonies for the class of Arizona State University. While attending Oregon High School he was an all-state scholar, a Wisconsin excellence scholar, and one of the valedictorians.

NINA (Neighbors in Need of Assistance) fund hit a milestone of $100,000 in donations since its founding in January of 2003. Joe Sullivan is the program’s coordinator.

Ninety people signed a petition calling on the Village to link North Perry Parkway with South. However, expense and DNR approval are issues going forward.

The Village Animal Clinic celebrated its 20th year of serving the Oregon area. The business is owned and operated by Dr. Mike Boyle and his wife, Dr. Denise Fortier. The clinic was bought from Dr. Tom Hans in 2004 and a new building built in 2005 at its present location, 270 Netherwood Road.

Plans are being made for the OHS Homecoming. The theme is “Come Sail Away”. The football team will be taking on Reedsburg High School.

Weaver Auto Parts plan to leave their location at 114 North Main as the owners of the building, Mike and Erika Weidler, plan to expand The Firefly Coffeehouse. The Weidlers’ had purchased the coffeehouse business from Gail Henslin three years ago (2006).