95 Years Ago – July 31, 1930
Creditors of the Greenwood State Bank, of Greenwood, which closed its doors seven years ago after the cashier had committed suicide, will receive a percentage of their loss in the coming few weeks as Judge E.W. Crosby, Neillsville circuit judge, has ordered that the $30,000 now on hand which has been collected by the banking commissioner, be distributed.
The Black River Tourist Park, under the ownership of John Laneville of Withee, for the past five years, was sold today to Herman Piller and Emil Niemi, who will take possession tomorrow. They plan to keep the place open day and night during the summer months, serving soft drinks, lunches, gasoline and oils, and renting the camping grounds to tourists.
85 Years Ago – August 1, 1940
The regular band concert next Monday night has been designated as a memorial concert, and is dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. John Laneville in honor of their golden wedding anniversary. Special music has been planned for this event. The concerts in Withee are drawing exceptionally large and appreciative audiences.
75 Years Ago – August 3, 1950
Common in everyone’s daily conversation is a gripe about the weather, but the cool damp days that have prevailed throughout this vicinity this summer have cast their favor upon the pea industry. Normally the pack at the Owen Canning Corporation has terminated by August 3rd or 4th but this year it is not expected to end before Saturday, August 12.
65 Years Ago – August 4, 1960
An Amish religious sect in Taylor County whose children refused to attend school movies told state officials Wednesday they want to set up their own school. The group withdrew its children from a public grade school in the town of Holway because of the showing of movies in the school. State officials after two hearings on the subject said the children must attend the school and watch the movies.
55 Years Ago – July 30, 1970
Rev. Arnold Woodring, pastor of the Owen and Curtiss Alliance churches announced to the congregations on Sunday, July 26 that he had received a call to become the pastor of the Alliance Church of Menomonie, WI, and that he would resign his churches here and be moving sometime near the end of August.
45 Years Ago – July 31, 1980
The Owen-Withee Swing Choir will be heading to the Wisconsin State Fair at Milwaukee Tuesday, August 5, where they will perform in the Activity Dome at 9 p.m. that evening.
Jodi Hatlestad, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Hatlestad, Withee, was crowned “Miss Withee” during Withee Community Days.
New owners of the Black River Pub as of Wednesday, July 23, are Al Smith and Carolyn Engelhirdt, partners in the business. They are from Hebron, IL.
35 Years Ago – August 2, 1990
The Owen-Withee School Board decided to remove the underground fuel and gas tanks this summer because requirements are so stringent they felt it wasn’t economical to have them anymore. Upon removal, it was discovered that the gas tank used for the buses had been leaking for years. It had apparently been sealed with a wooden plug approximately 10 years ago, and the wood absorbed the gas and eventually filtered the gas out of the tank contaminating the soil. It has through the years created veins towards the elementary school building.
The Senior Citizens Club met Thursday, July 26 at the Senior Center for their monthly meeting. They had a short meeting where they decided to change the name of their group. The name selected was the ’60 Plus Club.’
25 Years Ago – August 2, 2000
Laurie Paczkowski, a licensed cosmetologist is now in business at her own very attractive shop, located on County Highway O between Highways X and 29. The shop is light and airy and has two stations, with comfortable chairs done in mauve with deep burgundy accent and a wall of mirrors.
15 Years Ago – August 4, 2010
The Community Development Association met with Owen Common Council members and Mayor Tim Swiggum when they gathered for a positive meeting with Emilio Lopez, who is from Spain and was in this country on business. He is the owner of Gestamp, which is a worldwide leader in green energy. There is a chance he would be interested in purchasing the Owen Manufacturing Property for an environmentally friendly power plant.
On Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning July 27 and 28, several inches of rain coming down on the already-soaked area landscape caused the Owen Mill Pond to overflow. The pond spilled out near the ice skating warming shed and onto Madsen Street, running down into Mill Pond Park and onto Third Street, where storm drains returned the water to Brick Creek. Water also spilled over the dam and washed out to the east of the dam.