95 Years Ago – July 24, 1930
The Favorite Cheese Factory, located northwest of the village of Withee, was damaged considerably by fire early Friday evening, causing a loss which will run into the hundreds of dollars. The fire was first discovered on the lower floor of the building, in the cooling room for the storing of cheese, and had at that time gained considerable headway, burning in between the walls. Mr. Banz had the factory and its contents, insured for $4,500, which will cover his loss, and as soon as the insurance company has made their adjustment of the claim, work will be started in repairing the plant.
Wm. Hoeper, an employee of the Griebenow-Weirich Co. while at Sackets Lake Sunday, saved a young lady from drowning. Mr. Hoeper had to dive into 15 feet of water to rescue her, and more than 200 people witnessed his heroic efforts to save her life.
85 Years Ago – July 25, 1940
According to figures recently released by City Clerk J.J. Crowley, the valuation of the city of Owen real estate and personal property has been set at $760,210.
The scheduled appearance of a communist speaker to be brought to Owen for a talk on “Keep America Out of War” and “How to Protect Our American Civil Rights” as arranged by Emil Luchterhand, secretary of the Clark County unit of the Communist Party, was canceled last Saturday night because of public outrage.
75 Years Ago – July 27, 1950
Carolyn Boening, 19, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Weideman, was an apparent amnesia victim Tuesday. Miss Boening wandered into Ravenwood Hospital, Chicago, unable to remember her name or where she had been.
65 Years Ago – July 28, 1960
There are many theories being given as to what started the interior of the car owned by Peter Christophersen, Withee, afire Sunday afternoon but no one has come up with the correct answer, at least in the mind of fire chief Harry Dempsey. The Christophersens parked their car to play golf and in doing so left it with all windows rolled tightly shut. The day was extremely hot and it is believed that the sun’s rays through the windshield may have started the fire.
55 Years Ago – July 23, 1970
Sometime during the electrical storm that hit the area Saturday night six Holstein milk cows of the Matt Nowak herd, route 2, Owen, were struck and killed by lightning. The loss was realized when the cattle were being brought in for milking Sunday morning.
It doesn’t happen every day but eventually one of those rarities comes up such as the one at the Owen fire station Tuesday forenoon. Chief Dempsey got word of a fire at the fire hall and when he hurried there, he found two Glendenning trucks—one of which had a fire in its trailer units. A lift truck was borrowed from Post Co. and the load moved about enabling firemen to get to the smoking cargo at the front of the truck.
45 Years Ago – July 24, 1980
A welcome to Owen party for Dr. and Mrs. William Hopkins will be held Thursday, July 31 at 7 p.m. at the Junior Fair Park pavilion.
A program designed by a local teacher and conducted at the Owen-Withee High School this past year is receiving national and state attention. Inquiries have been received from Gov. Lee S. Dreyfus and a school district in Kansas regarding the Uplift Class, at O-W High School, a dropout prevention program developed by Dave Nelson, 34, a teacher in the O-W School System the past seven years.
35 Years Ago – July 26, 1990
New lights are being installed at the Withee Ball Park. They arrived in time for the men’s tournament this past weekend.
Charlotte and Dave Hatlestad recently installed new coolers and freezers at Hatlestad’s Hi-Way Grocery which will enable them to provide their customers with a bigger selection of convenience foods.
25 Years Ago – July 26, 2000
The new Owen water tower is up but not yet running. A coat of white paint with ‘Owen’ in black and red lettering will complete the tower. Friday the huge Peter’s crane was on the tower site to raise the tank or water reservoir. The height of the tower is 163 feet and the crane had to go up to 210 feet to place the top half of the reservoir.
What a thrill for Amy Crowley on Wednesday night. Amy turned 90 and Patricia Steiner sang “Amazing Grace” to her as well as “Happy Birthday to You.” Soon she will be taking her first airplane ride as she and other relatives will be flying to Oregon to attend her great-granddaughter’s wedding.
15 Years Ago – July 28, 2010
The Owen-Withee Junior/Senior High School is beginning an exciting new program this fall that will offer students in grades 7-9 an opportunity to improve on their learning skills, study habits and overall academic performance. Coming midway through the first quarter of the 2010-2011 school year, the After-School Academic Program will be launched as a means to help students with test taking, goal setting, reasoning, organization and other important education skills.
Administrator of Owen-Withee Schools Bob Houts and Owen-Withee School Board member Rick Eloranta endured a 13-hour plane ride on June 21, landing in Beijing, China, to visit kindergarten through 12th grade schools and cultural centers in the Chinese province of Henan.