95 Years Ago – January 8, 1931
Archie Baland, mechanic at the Owen Auto Co., and builder of an aerosled, thrilled a large crowd of spectators at the large field at the Clark County Asylum grounds, Sunday morning, when he got the sled under power at a speed of about 45 miles an hour.
85 Years Ago – January 9, 1941
Last night, debaters, representing the Owen, Withee, Thorp, and Stanley high schools, members of the Cloverbelt League met in a debate held at the Withee High School
75 Years Ago – January 11, 1951
Persons who viewed the scattered wreckage of a 1941 Ford car along the Soo Line right-of-way, three miles north and one mile west of Withee Saturday morning, or later at the Altenberg Auto Company, Withee, can’t understand how anyone came out alive from the wreckage. Riding in the car which struck the Soo Line’s freight train No. 43 at 10:15 p.m. Friday were three brothers, Alvin, Ben and Don Pribbernow, Withee.
Robert A. Bjornstad, son of Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Bjornstad of Owen, took Mary Ann Liberty of Montello, WI, as his bride on Wednesday, December 27 at a 10 o’clock Mass in St. John’s Catholic Church, Montello.
Youngsters of the community now have two rinks on which they can skate. One is located on a vacant lot owned by Eddie Lehnen in the Third Ward, while the other is a large area that has been cleared of snow on the Mill Pond.
65 Years Ago – January 13, 1961
Wednesday forenoon Mayor Celand Melbinger obtained his nomination papers from city clerk, J.J. Crowley, and began circulating them. When they are filed it will inaugurate his fifth campaign for the office and in the four previous ones, he has been the successful candidate.
55 Years Ago – January 14, 1971
Today J.R. Barager informed Bertel Miller, president of the Owen-Withee Board of Education of his resignation from the Board. Barager has been elected to the Board on two occasions and this was his 18th year of service. In submitting his resignation, he said he does so with regret but that the move was necessary because of an employment shortage in his own plant and does not have the time to give the position what it demands in order to do a good job.
The enrollment in the Owen-Withee Public Schools was stabilized considerably during the month of December. Enrollment is now 1,128 students.
45 Years Ago – January 8, 1981
City Police Chief Al Jalowitz and deputies Bruce Johnson, Everett Lindgren and Larry Crooks were sworn in last week by city clerk Kathleen Frederickson for their duties as Owen city officers.
35 Years Ago – January 10, 1991
Cpl. Ricky Lee Mengel, son of Robert and Sheryl Mengel, Owen, left November 29 for Germany, where he was scheduled to stay for three years. Instead, he received orders to leave for Saudi Arabia, December 26.
25 Years Ago – January 10, 2001
Janice Arndt has brought her bell collection to display at the Withee Public Library. Ring in the New Year by stopping in to see this unique collection of bells.
15 Years Ago – January 12, 2011
Cindy Cardinal is the new O-W Enterprise associate editor, having left her job as Owen deputy clerk to work at the newspaper.