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Miscellaneous set
Silence in Nature
Watertown
Democrat, 09 22 1859
It is a remarkable and very instructive
fact that many of the most important operations of nature are carried on in an
unbroken silence. There is no rushing
sound when the broad tide of sunlight breaks on a dark world and floods it with
glory, as one bright wave after another falls from the fountain, millions of
miles away. There is no creaking of
heavy axles or groaning of cumbrous machinery as the solid earth wheels on its
way, and every planet and system performs its revolutions. The great trees bring forth their boughs and
shadow the earth beneath them; the plants cover themselves with buds, and the
buds burst into flowers, but the whole transaction is unheard. The change from snow and winter winds to the
blossoms and fruits and sunshine of summer is seen in its slow development, but
there is scarcely a sound to tell of the mighty transformation . . . There is a
lesson for us here: The mightiest
worker in the universe is the most unobtrusive.
Adult
School Crossing Guards
Watertown Daily Times, 08 22 1959
The Watertown Police Department is looking for
reliable adults to cross children for the 2009-2010 school years. Applicants must have reliable transportation,
a phone, and be available mornings and afternoons on school days. Background
checks will be conducted. Applications
can be picked up at the Police Department and returned no later than September
4, 2009, at 5:00 PM. For more
information call 206-4221. The Watertown
Police Department is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Kind
Hired by City as New Police Officer
Watertown Daily Times, 08 21 2009
The Watertown
Police Department has hired Scott Kind as a new police officer.
Kind, who is filling a current vacancy
in the department, previously worked at Quad Graphics in Lomira.
Kind, 36, is a graduate of Goodrich High
School in Fond du Lac. He has an associate’s degree in Criminal Justice from
Kaplan University and graduated from Fox Valley Technical College’s Basic Law
Enforcement Academy in 2009.
Kind is currently
assigned to the police department’s field training program where he will train
for four months. After the successful
completion of the field training program, Kind will be assigned to one of the
three shifts in the patrol division.
Watertown
Fire Department
Combustible Gas
Detector
Watertown Daily Times, 08 22 2009
Donation to department
The Watertown Fire Department has received a $1,000 combustible gas detector through a donation from
Chickens Unlimited recently. The state-of-the-art sensor offers firefighters
the ability to detect and gauge a wide range of hazardous gases. Pictured from left are Eric Howlett [became
President, Clyman Fire/EMS Assn, 12/2009], Jerry Hepp and Dan Fredrick of Chickens
Unlimited; Watertown Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Bill Schwenkner and
Fire Chief Henry Butts.
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More on Watertown
Fire Dept ↓
Watertown
Fire Department
Visits
Watertown Public
Library
Watertown Daily Times, 09 30 2009
The Watertown Fire Department paid a visit to
the Friday morning story time at the Watertown Public
Library. Firefighter paramedics
Tanya Reynen and John Duvernell along with Lt. Tim Gordon showed the children
their firefighting equipment and fire truck.
Logan Chavez is pictured getting an up-close look at the fire truck,
courtesy of firefighter paramedic Reynen.
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More on Fire
prevention week ↓
Watertown
Daily Times, 10 08 2009
Children at
Great Expectations Early Learning Center learned more about fire prevention and
safety as part of National Fire Prevention Week. Watertown firefighter Tanya
Reynen visited the center teaching children about the
equipment firefighters use.
Ora
Kuckkan
Watertown Daily Times, 08 22 1984
Ora Kuckkan,
914 Reinhold Street, Watertown, has been elected to the position of auditor of
the M&I Bank of Watertown. She
succeeds Mabel Kube who recently retired.
Mrs. Kuckkan has been with the bank for nearly 18 years, starting out as
a clerk. She then was advanced into
proofing operations and general bookkeeping. In 1971 she was appointed
commercial teller and in 1979 was transferred to the note cage with
responsibilities in the accounting and collection operations.
New
Hot Lunch Service Equipment
Watertown Daily Times, 08 22 1959
Three of Watertown's elementary schools will get new hot
lunch service equipment as a result of action taken by the board of education
last night. The board adopted a
resolution empowering the committee on buildings and grounds to secure the
necessary equipment, the cost not to exceed $10,000. The three schools to share in the federal hot
lunch program are Webster, Lincoln and Schurz.
The old Douglas School will not be included until its contemplated new
building is completed because the present school has no facilities for such a
program. The lunches will be prepared at
the high school and sent to the three schools.
Professional
Office Space
Watertown Daily Times, 08 22 1999
The Watertown
Plan Commission Monday approved a plan by developers to renovate a vacant
building at 615 E. Main St. into professional office space for up to eight
tenants. Developers Jane and Vern
Smebak, Marcos Gallardo and Georgia Meyer applied for the permit to redevelop
the building. Eyewear Unlimited and
Rehab in Motion are two businesses that would move into the building that is
the former site of Hollywood Video.
Robert and Ann Krystyniak are owners of the building and are planning to
sell the building to the developers if plans are approved.
New
Douglas School
Watertown Daily Times, 08 21 1959
Watertown
faces a substantial outlay in the construction of the new Douglas School in Center Street on a site
which the city acquired early in his decade and which, under a long range
building plan, is to be completed in 1961.
That fact was brought out last night when the first design for the
proposed school was laid before members of the board of education. It was disclosed that with the school
construction due to get underway next year, the building general school program
outlined years ago will be right on schedule.
The site for the new school was called “ideal” by Joseph Durrant,
architect, representing Durrant and Bergquist of Dubuque, Ia.
Resignations
Watertown Democrat, 08 14 1873
Mr. A.
Luboueveau has resigned his position as Principal
of Union School No. 2, and Mr. John Kaltenbrumm, a teacher of the Northwestern University has been appointed
in his place. Mr. Amos Baum, School
Commissioner of the Third ward, and
President of the Board of Education, has resigned his office.
Luther
Prep Prepares for
Opening of 2009-2010
School Year
Watertown Daily Times, 08 24 2009
The 40-acre
campus of Luther Preparatory School was
buzzing with excitement this past weekend as students throughout the country
began arriving for the school year.
Registration
and opening activities took place all weekend long. Faculty and staff kept busy registering the
students. The Boosters welcomed parents
and held a social. Tutors and senior resident assistants handed out keys and
showed the students from 25 states and 10 foreign countries all around the
dorms. Recruitment Director Nate Scharf
greeted families and gave tours.
There are 100
students enrolled in the freshman class for a total of 353 students in the
ninth through 12th grade college preparatory high school. The students come from as far as Korea and
Antigua to as near as Watertown. Luther Prep is entering its 144th year of
preparing and encouraging all of their students toward full-time gospel
ministry. Annually an average of 50
percent or more of the graduates continue at Martin Luther College in New Ulm,
Minn., in the pastoral and education tracks.
This year
there are three new faces on campus. All
three have been given a two-year call as tutors. Their responsibilities include living in the
dormitory supervising the floor of approximately 40 students. As tutor their job is varied. They help, counsel, watch over, teach, coach,
drive school bus and supervise the students in various areas from classroom to
dorm to cafeteria to free time. The
tutors are either teacher or pastor graduates in the Wisconsin Evangelical
Lutheran Synod.
Sarah Janke,
a 2005 Luther Prep School graduate, received her degree from Martin Luther
College with an elementary education, English emphasis major. She will be teaching English and assisting
with the track team.
Rachel Meyer,
a 2003 Luther Prep graduate, received her degree from Martin Luther College in
2007 and taught for two years in Wuhan, China, where she also conducted weekly
Bible classes for Chinese friends and taught English to seventh graders at
Meijia Foreign Languages School . She will be teaching English as a second
language, physical education and English, as well as coach the junior varsity
volleyball team.
Aaron
Schumann, a 2001 Luther Prep graduate and a 2005 Martin Luther College graduate
with a pastoral, pre-seminary degree, continued at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary
and graduated with his master’s in divinity this past spring. Schumann will be teaching freshman and junior
religion, and be the assistant JV baseball coach.
Main
Street Bridge Repaired
Watertown
Democrat, 09 01 1859
Main Street Bridge
is now being thoroughly repaired and when finished will be once more a safe
structure for teams and wagons to pass over without danger of having planks fly
up and tip over carriages or frighten horses.
To get the first cost out of that institution we must use it fast and
use it much. As there is no reason to
believe that posterity will ever do anything for it, so there is just as little
reason to suppose posterity will ever have the use of it. That makes it all even and right.
Program
Directors
Bethesda Lutheran Home
Watertown Daily Times, 09 03 1984
Work is underway at the Bethesda Lutheran Home to develop two new programs for
mentally retarded non-Bethesda residents in the areas of diagnostic evaluation
and information. According to Medical
Director Dr. John Heffelfinger, two wings of the Ritter Building, one of the
several structures at Bethesda, are being converted into a Diagnostic and
Evaluation Center and a Christian Resource Center. The development of the centers, said
Heffelfinger, is Bethesda's response to the need for more available information
on retardation. The diagnostic center
itself will facilitate two very important needs, he said - proper diagnosis of
a person's retardation and testing to determine the true potential of that
person's development.
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More on Bethesda
↓
Improve Level of Care
Watertown Daily Times, 08 24 1999
The Watertown Campus of Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services has been
restructured to improve the level of care for clients and streamline operations
at the 95-year-old facility. Each of the
seven living areas on campus will be headed by a program director, said Debborah
Zubke, North Central Regional administrator, who works at the Watertown
campus. Each director will oversee a
team that will include teachers, social workers, recreation specialists,
psychology specialists and chaplaincy representatives.
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More on Bethesda
↓
Bethesda
Name Change
Bethesda
Lutheran Communities
Merger
of Bethesda and Good Shepherd Communities
Watertown Daily Times, 09 01 2009
Dr. John E. Bauer, president
and CEO of Bethesda, speaks to employees this morning as the organization
celebrates the change in its name to Bethesda Lutheran Communities.
Bethesda
Lutheran Homes and Services began business today as Bethesda Lutheran
Communities. The change is the product
of the full and complete merger of Bethesda and Good Shepherd Communities as
well as a yearlong branding and identity study.
Good Shepherd Communities,
which operated in four western states, had been a wholly controlled subsidiary
of Bethesda since 2006. The merger and
related name change were approved at a special meeting of Bethesda's membership
in May and became effective today. Good
Shepherd has been tied to Bethesda since its founding in 1949, however. A family traveled from California to
Watertown to inquire about placing their son on a waiting list for admission to
Bethesda. Unable to meet their son's
needs, Bethesda provided consultation and funding assistance to establish Good
Shepherd Lutheran Home of the West, later known as Good Shepherd Communities.
“The words ‘Bethesda' and
‘Lutheran' were simply deemed to be core to our identity,” says Dr. John E. Bauer,
president and CEO of Bethesda. “‘Communities' is a natural choice not only
because of the Good Shepherd Communities legacy, but because it accurately
describes our ministry. Our work is
found in neighborhood communities around the country and we work to build up
faith communities that welcome and nurture spiritual lives.”
Originally founded in Watertown
in 1904, the name Bethesda did not appear until 1924. It existed as Bethesda Lutheran Home until
1992 when the name was changed to Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services. Today, the newly merged organization of
Bethesda Lutheran Communities has 3,000 employees and an annual operating
budget of $149 million. Bethesda's corporate
headquarters will remain in Watertown.
Now in its second century,
Bethesda provides services to 2,000 individuals with developmental disabilities
throughout the country. Together with
partner agencies, they also provide support in numerous international locations
including Romania, Latvia, Russia, Kenya, Tanzania, Kazakhstan and the
Dominican Republic.
Proposed
New City Hall
Watertown Daily Times,
01 16 1958
The site of the old Armory Building, now the Recreation Building,
in Main Street between North Seventh and North Eighth Street, has been proposed
as the most logical location for a new City Hall for Watertown. The recommendation has been proposed by the
architects, Durrant and Bergquist of Boscobel, Wis., and Dubuque, Ia., who some
months ago were delegated by the City Council to study the matter of a solution
to the present overcrowded and largely outmoded City Hall
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More on Proposed
New City Hall ↓
Watertown Daily Times, 09 02 1959
Two sites are under
consideration and available for the construction of Watertown's long-discussed
and proposed new city hall—when and if the
city council at last goes ahead and decides to build. That was announced last night following the
regular meeting of the council when City Manager C. C. Congdon presented to the
councilmen the first “layout” for the building.
As yet the council has not authorized a new city hall and it is still in
the planning stage. The information
presented by the manager merely reflects the various department spaces and
facilities that have thus far been proposed for the new building. The two sites which have been made available
are the old armory location in Main Street, now
utilized as the city recreational building, and the old
Webster School site in Western Avenue.
Plans for a new city hall, which have been discussed for years, reached
a point more than a year ago when two miniature models of such a structure were
prepared and studied by the council.
Harvey
Krueger
Watertown Daily Times, 09 02 1999
Harvey Krueger is a guy you can
count on, an old-fashioned kind of fellow with values to match. If he says he will be there, count on it.
Despite the cerebral palsy that has crippled his limbs and impeded his speech,
he has attended Easter Seals Camp Wawbeek near Wisconsin Dells every year for
the past 60, only missing the first year the camp opened. He was awarded a plaque this year by Easter
Seals which called him a dedicated camper.
“Harvey is as proud of being here for 60 years as we are of him for
coming back and being such a great part of Wawbeek,” said Ken Saville, Easter
Seals vice president for camping and respite services. Krueger, 72, has also been a reliable guy at Bethesda Lutheran Homes and Services where he is a
foster grandparent for two children. He
doesn't let his handicaps deter him from attending, knowing that the children
and staff are waiting for him. For the
past 12 years, he has volunteered four hours a day, five days a week, receiving
a small stipend which allows him to also get disability payments.
Erosion
Study
Watertown Daily Times, 08 31 1999
A first-ever erosion study of Riverside Park and Tivoli
Island has been recommended by the Watertown Park, Recreation &
Forestry Commission. The recommendation
to contract Bonestroo & Associates to study erosion at the park and natural
island preserve at a cost of $9,700 will go before the Common Council in
September. Any construction on an
erosion control program would not take place until 2001. Bonestroo said that Tivoli Island, a heavily
wooded and passive recreational facility, has already experienced significant
land loss. Flat, peninsula-type portions
of the island have disappeared from sight.
David
R. Ross
Watertown Daily Times, 08 29 1959
David R. Ross today was
announced as the new principal of the Watertown
Junior High School. Mr. Ross is a
native of Stevens Point where he attended grade school. His high school days were spent at Concordia
College High School of Milwaukee. He
then returned to Stevens Point and the Wisconsin State College there. That institution conferred upon him the
bachelor of arts degree from the department of letters and science and also the
bachelor of science degree from the department of education. Mr. Ross took his master's work at the
University of Wisconsin earning his M.A. degree in administration.
Ed
Kusel
Watertown Daily Times, 08 29 1999
A man who first entered
kindergarten at Lincoln Elementary School
in 1924 showed up on the front steps again Friday morning, his two grown sons
in tow. Ed Kusel made the pilgrimage to
Watertown from Florida, along with his sons Kent of Boston and Scott of North
Carolina. The trio traveled the halls of
the small elementary school, with Ed Kusel visiting children in classrooms and
his sons snapping pictures and rolling videotape. “We're strangers in time
who've come back to reminisce,” he said.
“I hope my boys can take with them some of this.” The school was the
first stop on the Watertown tour, Kusel's mother's former home on Cady Street
and the former Watertown High School were also on the agenda.
Brandt/Quirk
Park
Watertown Daily Times, 08 27 1999
An initial review of plans for
the youth baseball complex in the developing Brandt/Quirk
Park revealed a shocking conclusion - the center will cost about $200,000
more to construct than previously estimated.
“This was a shocker,” said John Steber, director of the Watertown Park,
Recreation and Forestry Department.
Steber said the initial estimate for the 11-acre Brandt Baseball Center
was $612,000. Now, the planning firm
Bonestroo, Rosene, Anderlik & Associates is saying the same facility will
cost $812,611. Steber said the
additional cost stems from an oversight by Bonestroo in its initial
estimate. That figure did not include
$78,365 for a storm sewer and field drainage system. There were also a number of other add-ons
that increased the cost projection, he said.
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More on Brandt/Quirk
Park ↓
Watertown Daily Times, 09 30 1999
The Watertown Tennis
Association has kicked off a $100,000 fund-raising effort for the development
of Brandt/Quirk Park with a $7,500 donation.
Those funds have been given to the Watertown Area Community Foundation
where they will be held until the goal is reached. The $100,000 drive from the private sector is
part of an overall $1.3 million financing package for the 2000 full development
of the city's newest community park.
Watertown
Unified School
District Enrollment
Watertown Daily Times, 08 28 1999
Enrollment from the first day
of school in the Watertown Unified School District
this week showed 32 fewer students.
Overall student population on Wednesday was 3,795, compared to 3,827 on
the first day of school last year. Business Manager Dennis Mudler said he
expects the enrollments to come in near projections by the time the district
reports its final student population to the state on Sept. 17. The biggest
single shift in student population is a decrease of 59 students at Riverside
Middle School. Watertown High School is
experiencing an increase of 30 students, while elementary levels decreased by
three students on the first day of classes.
Common
Council
Watertown
Democrat, 09 08 1859
Arthur Webb, for services as watchman,
$4.00
Debating
Club
Watertown
Democrat, 09 15 1859
The debating club of
the Young Men’s Association was
reorganized on Monday evening last. The
regular debates will be resumed on Monday evening, September 19th, 1859, at the
rooms of the association and will be continued regularly once a week until
spring. There will also be an essay read
at each meeting. Question for the next
meeting: “Resolved, That a person is not
bound to obey a law which his conscience condemns.” Disputants, Hiram Barber, Jr. and Ira A.
Leonard. The first essay will be read by
Myron W. Reed. All who feel sufficient
interest are invited to be present, as the doors will be open to the public
generally.
Thomas
Fitzgerald Passed Away
06 23 1916
The following obituary notice on the
death of our young friend, Thomas Fitzgerald, son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael
Fitzgerald of Watertown, is taken from the last issue (June 15th) of the Watertown Gazette:
“It is our sad duty this week to report
the death of our friend Thomas Peter Fitzgerald, which occurred at the home of
his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Fitzgerald, 702 Sixth street, this morning at
11 o’clock, after an illness of about fourteen months with lung trouble.
Mr. Fitzgerald was born in the town of
Lebanon the 29th day of March 1890 and removed to this city with his parents
about thirteen years ago. He received
his education in St. Bernard’s parochial school and Sacred Heart college in
this city and after leaving school was associated with his father in the wholesale cheese business.
November 4, 1913 he was united in
marriage to Miss Alice Duffy of Chicago.
Besides his wife and one son, he is
survived by two brothers, and two sisters.
The brothers being; Edward of Minneapolis and William of this city and
the sisters are Rose and Mary also of this city.
Mr. Fitzgerald was a young man of a
bright, genial and whole-souled disposition and one whom it was always a great
pleasure to meet. His hosts of friends
in this city and elsewhere, learned of his death with extreme sorrow.
He was an insurance (missing word)
Watertown Council No. 1478, Knights of Columbus, being at one time treasurer of
this council, members of which will attend the funeral in a body. Arrangement for the burial are not completed
at this writing.
The Gazette
joins his many friends in extending their sincere sympathy to his wife and
parents in their sad bereavement.”
The funeral services took place at St. Bernard’s
church in Watertown, last Saturday, June 17th with interment in St. Bernard’s
Cemetery.
We unite with the Gazette and
with the many Juneau friends of the bereaved wife, parents, brothers and
sisters in their hour of great sorrow.
Herman
Krueger Will Run
07 14 1916
Mr. H. E. Krueger, city assessor
of Watertown, and at present one of the deputy sheriffs of Dodge County, is a
candidate for the nomination for sheriff, on the Democratic ticket at the
September primaries. Mr. Krueger is well
known throughout the county and he has many friends who will pull hard for him.
Whitmore
& Persson Garage
Auto Thief at Large
06 30 1916
Tuesday’s edition of the Watertown
Leader said:
“Up till Monday afternoon no information
was received as to the discovery of the man who sold a Ford run-about to Harley
Whitmore of the Whitmore & Persson Garage.
The car was the property of the Chicago Telephone Company.
The thief is a young man of about 23
years of age, slender, of less than average height, and wore a blue suit and a
slouch hat. He gave his name as Earl
Noonan. He sold the car for $100.00.
After receiving his pay for the car the
man made a hurried departure. The
suspicions of several people were aroused when he was noticed throwing his coat
into the river as he crossed the Main Street bridge. The last seen of him was as he turned south
on Washington Street.
The West Road was scoured as he was seen
there about 1 o’clock but proved in vain as none of the farmers in the vicinity
had seen him
Mr. Whitmore telephoned to
Chicago as the car bore a Chicago license and learned that the car was the
property of the telephone company.”
Edward
Burke
07 14 1916
Mr. Edward Burke, a former resident of
Watertown and Richwood, died at his home near Blanchard, North Dakota, on
Tuesday, July 4, 1916, from the effects of a paralytic stroke which he received
on Sunday, July 2nd. He lived only 36
hours after being stricken down. Up to
the time of the unexpected fatal stroke he was in splendid health and his death
came as a great shock to his family and all his relatives.
Deceased was a brother to the late P. T.
Burke and John Burke, pioneer settlers and well known farmers of the town of
Sheilds and he was a first cousin to John Kelley of this city. He was an industrious, upright, honorable man
and his death is deeply deplored by all who knew him, including a large number
of old friends around Richwood and Watertown.
He was born in the county Galway,
Ireland, in 1847 and came to America when an infant, with his parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Michael Burke. The family lived in
New York state for a few years and came to Watertown in 1853. Later they moved to Juneau County, Wis.
The subject of this sketch, after
reaching manhood, spent many years in the vicinity of Watertown. In 1874 he married Miss Ellen Riordan of
Richwood and located on a farm there for about six years. In 1880 the family moved to North Dakota,
where Mr. Burke purchased a section of land and where he became one of the
leading farmers of the vicinity of Blanchard, his nearest town.
He is survived by one daughter Mrs. John
Hall of Lancaster, California and one son, Robert Burke. His wife died several years ago.
The Burke family became widely separated
and the brothers and sisters of whom there were ten in all—seven brothers and
three sisters, resided from Alabama to Western Canada and at this time only
three or four members are living.
The body of Edward Burke was brought to
Watertown last Saturday evening and was laid to rest in St. Bernard’s Catholic
cemetery last Sunday afternoon.
Peace to his ashes!
Watertown
Turners
100 years
Watertown Daily Times, 09 16 1959
The Watertown
Turners will be 100 years old as an organization in 1960 and plans have
begun to stir for observing the event.
Harley Lehmann, president of the Turners, has named a steering committee
to launch the movement for the centennial.
Fred Loeffler has been named chairman, Waldo Potter, secretary. Other members are: Orval Steffen, Clifford
Hanson, Marvin Bredow, Don Gerth, Emil Kihslinger, William Schultz, Howard
Weihert, Charles Graff, Ernest Kubly, Duane Steffen and Henry Schaller,
publicity.
Millennium
Celebration
Riverside Park
Watertown Daily Times, 09 16 1999
A wintry millennium celebration
in Riverside Park that would heat up with a
midnight fireworks extravaganza received support from a city committee this
week. The finance committee of the
Watertown Common Council recommended the city contribute $3,000 toward the Dec.
31 party. The common council will vote
to approve the contribution Tuesday during its meeting. The celebration's anticipated cost is
$9,000. If the city contributes $3,000,
the remaining $6,000 would come from private donations.
Seventh Annual Fair
Jefferson County
Agricultural Society
Jefferson County Fair
Watertown
Democrat, 09 22 1859
Last week the Seventh Annual Fair of the
Jefferson County Agricultural Society took place near the pleasant village of
Lake Mills. The grounds were finely
adapted for this purpose and the carriage way surrounding them is
one of the best we have ever seen and was in fine order. There was a better show of fruit, corn and
vegetables than we expected to witness, while the grain was of course superior
both in quality and the varieties that were exhibited. The stock generally was fair, with some few
specimens that it would be hard to surpass.
Under the circumstances the display was successful and creditable to
those who made it. If the farmers
generally would take more interest in these annual exhibitions of their skill
and industry, they would find themselves the gainers.
Winter Wheat
Watertown
Democrat, 09 22 1859
We are told that the farmers in this
vicinity have sown winter wheat pretty extensively this fall. In most localities it can be successfully
grown and when it is practicable to raise it, the crop is more profitable than
spring wheat. All who have land adapted
to its growth should make the experiment.
John
Schlueter Injured
Watertown Gazette,
09 03 1909
Last week Thursday evening John
Schlueter
was quite seriously injured while returning to this city from Waterloo on the
7:12 passenger train on the Madison branch of the C.
M. & St. P. Ry. The air brake
got out of gear in some way and it brought the train to a sudden stop, throwing
Mr. Schlueter against the seat in front of him with such force as to severely
injure his wrist and breast. The seat on
which he was sitting was broken. Another
passenger on his way to La Crosse had his shoulder injured. Mr. Schlueter is getting along nicely and is
able to be out.
Repairing
Waterloo Fire Engine
Watertown Gazette,
09 03 1909
Frank Mallach and Charles Nienow,
two of Kunert Co.’s [Dornfeld-Kunert Co
] trusty employees, were busy last week
overhauling the Silsby steamer of Waterloo.
Our neighboring city got good service and we predict that their old
engine will do good work after Fred and Charley complete their labor. The Waterloo engine is a straight-frame and
among the 400. Our Rotary shop number is
526 and was new from the factory in 1876.
It is evident the Waterloo engine is nearly forty years old. Our Silsby has been out of service for
months, a leaky door ring in a Fox boiler not four years in service and worked
in only four fires perhaps. The boiler
on the engine at Waterloo is nearly forty years old and has the original
firebox, door-ring and shell. Who can
set up the claim that the Silsby company does not turn out good work?
Col. P. H. Swift
03 10 1916
Col. P. H.
Swift, a civil war veteran and for a time editor of the Watertown Leader, died in Madison,
Thursday, March 2nd and was buried in Oak Hill cemetery, Watertown last
Sunday. The Col. was widely known and
highly respected.
Buckshots Bar and Grill
114 N. Water St
Watertown
Daily Times, 08 22 1959
Sally Kelenic and Rob Geiger, owners of the Moose Head Pub and Settler's Bay, will be
opening their newest establishment, Buckshots Bar and Grill, in early October.
Buckshots Bar
and Grill will feature loaded burgers and appetizers, as well as a limited
casual bar menu in a smoke-free environment. A wide variety of domestic and
imported beers and wine and cocktails will also be available.
The
establishment will be located at 114 N. Water St., the former home of Rally
Time and Don’s Bar.
www.buckshotsbarandgrill.com .
Part-Time Christian Counselor
Watertown
Daily Times, 08 22 1959
St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church,
215 N. Sixth St., will install another member to its ministry team on
Sunday. Ronald Paynter will be installed
as a part-time Christian counselor for St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church,
215 N. Sixth St. This new program is
self-funded. Members who make use of
this service will pay for the services offered. Insurances will be accepted.
Paynter is a
native of Bozeman, Mont. He received his
bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Michigan Technological University
in Houghton, Mich., and his master’s degree in clinical counseling from Montana
State University in Bozeman. He has
served as a counselor for 25 years.
Paynter specializes in family, AODA and grief counseling.
Edward H. Huenefeld
Will Resume
Practice Here
Watertown
Gazette, 09 10 1909
Edward H.
Huenefeld, veterinarian, son of Charles Huenefeld of Watertown, will open an
office in this city and resume the practice of his profession. He will be permanently located within a few
days, but those desiring his services in the meantime may leave word at the
residence, 701 Ninth Street, or phone 281-x.
Mr. Huenefeld is a graduate of one of the best veterinary colleges in
the country and is well equipped for practice, having had several years
experience in the treatment of diseases of domestic animals.
↓ More on Edward H. Huenefeld ↓
E. W. Huenefeld,
M.D.C
Watertown
Gazette, 01 21 1910
[advertisement]
E. W.
Huenefeld, M.D.C., Veterinarian.
Graduate Chicago Veterinary College, 1906. Up-to-date Veterinary Dentistry and well qualified
by education and experience to everything in that line. 701 Ninth St.
Prahl’s Carriage Paint Shop
Watertown
Gazette, 09 10 1909
Last Friday
night someone stole a road wagon from in front of Prahl’s carriage paint shop
in Jefferson Street. It was the property
of James D. Casey, who was having it painted for the Watertown fair. It had two yellow and two black wheels.
Every Evil in Town
Watertown
Gazette, 09 10 1909
An Ohio
editor condensed into a brief space a great truth when he wrote the following
paragraph: “Don’t attempt to ask the
editor to write up and rebuke every evil in the town or community, but when
convinced that such duties need attending to write an article for your paper
and sign your name to it for publication.
The man who is too big a coward to thus express an opinion is the very
one who will stand on the street corner and talk loudly about the cowardice of
the editor.” –Watertown
Gazette
Auto Owners Re-Register
Watertown Gazette, 09 10 1909
Madison,
Wis.—To avoid delinquency under the new registration law, automobile owners
throughout the state are busy sending in the application for
re-registration. Each applicant is
required to accompany his missive with $1.
The time in which automobile owners may pay in compliance with the law
is Sept. 16. After that those who have
failed to pay will be liable to penalties.
Baby Wants a Home
Watertown Gazette, 10 01 1909
Rev. P.
Peterson, superintendent of the Orphan’s Home Finding Association of Wisconsin
was in Watertown this week on his annual visit.
He said that he would be glad to find some good homes where a baby would
be welcomed. So, if there are any good
homes around Watertown which would like to adopt a baby son or daughter, they
should write to the office.
Watertown Police
Starting Explorer Program
The City Connection, Fall/Winter 2009
The Watertown Police Department is in the
beginning stages of starting a police explorer program for local teens. Chief Timothy Roets of the Watertown Police
Department was approached in 2009 by the Boy Scouts of America about beginning
an explorer post. After staff discussion
Chief Roets authorized the initiation of an explorer program at the Watertown
Police Department. Chief Roets believes
that the police explorer program will fit well in, and enhance, the community
policing philosophy of the Watertown Police Department.
Exploring is a subsidiary program of the Boy
Scouts of America open to young men and women ages 14 to 20. Police Explorers join the program due to
their interest in the field of law enforcement.
Police explorers learn about various aspects of law enforcement and gain
a better understanding of the criminal justice system. This provides a learning platform for those
interested in law enforcement to educate them and determine if they want to
pursue law enforcement as a career. Even
if an explorer does not choose to go into the field of law enforcement they
benefit by developing more assets and skills to tackle whatever they choose to
pursue as a career.
Police
explorers not only learn about law enforcement and the criminal justice system,
they also contribute to the community.
The Boy Scouts of America Explorer Program emphasizes community service
initiatives. Through community service
initiatives the explorers are able to improve the community they live in
through teamwork.
Explorer
posts elect their own officers who officiate meetings and are responsible for
post activities. The Watertown Police
Explorers will meet monthly except for July and December. The meetings will be approximately 1-2 hours
and will cover various aspects of law enforcement and the criminal justice
system. The explorers themselves are
advised by a committee of Watertown Police Department Employees. The Watertown Police Department Employees
advise and guide the explorers, as well and arrange for education in the
specific areas of law enforcement and criminal justice system the explorers are
interested in.
A survey to
measure interest in the program was administered by the Boy Scouts of America
through Watertown High School at the beginning of the School year
Will Decorate Church
Watertown Gazette, 09 17 1909
The members
of the Burnett Lutheran Church have entered into a contract with Mr. J. B. Murphy of Watertown to make
extensive improvements in the decoration of their church building. Besides a new coat of paint, the ceiling and
walls will be handsomely decorated and new stained glass windows will replace
the old ones. When completed, the
building will be one of the finest country churches in the state.
Test
Watertown
Gazette, 09 10 1909
At 11 o’clock
Tuesday night the chief of the fire department turned in an alarm of fire
from box 21 at the corner of North Fourth and Main streets to test the ability
of the department to respond promptly.
Dr. Joseph O’Connell
Watertown Gazette, 09 17 1909
Dr. Joseph
O’Connell has opened an office at the corner of Main and North Third streets
[300 E Main]. He has removed from North
Milwaukee, where he has practiced medicine with eminent success for the past
five years, and previous to that he had one year’s experience as physician at
St. Mary’s Hospital in Milwaukee. He is
an old town of Emmet resident, being a brother of Frank O’Connell, chairman of
that town, and of Dr. James O’Connell of Ponca, Neb. He comes to our city well equipped in
knowledge and experience to attend to all who may need the services of a
doctor, and his many old friends in this city and vicinity extend to him a most
hearty welcome to Watertown and predict his career here will be a successful
one.
1913, 300 E
Main, physician
1907, physician of first
hospital
1934, 116 E Main, physician
Watertown Journal
William Reber
Enjoyed Auto Ride to Fort Atkinson
Watertown Gazette, 09 24 1909
Last Saturday
afternoon Col. Solliday, W. D. Sproesser, A. J. Carlin and James W. Moore enjoyed a ride to Ft.
Atkinson and back in Col. Solliday’s auto . . .
. . . A visit
was also made to the new printing plant of Ex-Governor Hoard, which is one of
the very finest in the state. The
building was erected at a cost of about $75,000, and it is well equipped with
modern machinery and type for the publication of that popular farm journal, Hoard’s Dairyman.
The plant is
one of the finest we have ever seen, and all things indicated that the
ex-Governor is prospering and we are glad of it, for no one deserves better the
good things of this world than W. D. Hoard.
Here we were proud to note that this immense printing plant has for its
foreman R. C. Guetzlaff, a former Watertown boy, who years ago carried papers
for William Reber and learned to stick type on the Watertown Journal when Mr. Reber was its editor. Mr. Guetzlaff is married and has one boy and
is thorough at his business, knowing the printing trade from A to Z. The Gazette editor is always glad to hear of
Watertown printer boys getting to the front, as so many of them have.
Cross Reference:
An Alvin Guetzlaff
was a carrier for the Watertown Daily
Times in 1937
Of Mr. Guetzlaff’s experience in this
city in the “art preservative,” he tells his own story as follows:
“My father’s first name is Fred. and
he has lived out in what is called “Silver Creek” for more than forty
years. His age is 73. After leaving school in spring of 1889 I went
to work for Bill Reber (Watertown Journal) until February or March, 1892,
going to Weltburger; worked there for
about two months. Went to Milwaukee in
the spring of 1892 and remained there until June, 1894; worked for News, Cedarburg, Wis., for 4 years
(having a post-office in connection).
Left with second call Spanish American War and came back March, 1899,
spent the summer at my parent’s home, Watertown and again in fall 1899 going
back to Milwaukee, where I remained until July, 1908, then coming to this city
(Fort Atkinson).
“I will never
forget the old days working for Mr. Reber, who certainly was a very
good-hearted fellow, but he should have had a few of the odd “thousands” he
spoke so much about, which, he said, were due at any moment (from Europe) so
when the day arrived he could get the paper out of the express office. Then followed the carting of forms to your
office, besides a lot of other inconveniences, and on day of publication
carrying papers up to ten, eleven and twelve o’clock in the evening. Although a kid at the time, when he bought
press and boiler-engine, I was the engineer and at times Mr. Knaack [*], who
had a small store on ground floor, came running upstairs thinking an explosion
was almost due, and I believe it very often was—there may be a cause for Mr.
Knaack being gray or bald-headed.
[*] believed to be Edward A Knaak, grocer, 300 1/2 Main;
Watertown Journal was at 300 Main (both as of 1895)
“Another good
run for me was to the brewery with a boy’s little express wagon to borrow
enough coal to raise steam to run press.
A lot of other things which today makes me believe I am quite a hero,
having a start such as it was and still at the business.
“I want to
say, Mr. Moore, all this is not for publication, but just a reminder of my
young days such, as I believe, very few today experience; and I must say that
it is quite an honor to me when you say “it will not be complete without
mentioning you.” I’ll say no more but
when I come to your city to visit my dear old parents I certainly will call at
your office and if nothing else we may “smoke up.”
Very truly
yours,
Richard C.
Guetzlaff
Hilgendorf-Nowack wedding
Watertown Gazette, 09 24 1909
Dr. Louis H.
Nowack and Miss Clara Hilgendorf were married Tuesday evening, Sept. 21, 1909,
at the home of the bride’s parents, H. Hilgendorf and wife, 809 Main Street, by
Rev. H. Sterz. William Gehrke and Miss
Gussie Auwers officiated as groomsman and bridesmaid. Only immediate relatives were present, to
whom a supper was served after the wedding ceremony. The bride has for six years past been the
affable and efficient assistant librarian at the public library,
and she is well known to most of our people, all of whom hold her in very high
esteem. The groom is the son of Mrs.
Bertha Nowack and has recently opened a physician’s office in this city, where
he has passed all his life, excepting the time he was absent from the city
studying medicine. He is one of our
city’s most esteemed young men and both he and his bride have the best wishes
of all who know them on this happy occasion.
They remained in the city and have gone to housekeeping at 809 Main
Street.
Bott Building
Watertown
Gazette, 09 24 1909
T. F.
Sullivan, who formerly conducted a café in this city in the old Bott building
in West Main street on the site now occupied by the D & F Kusel Co. plumbing department, died at
International Falls, Minn., last week Wednesday. He left here about 25 years ago and is well
remembered by many of our citizens. He
was 56 years old and is married to a sister of Luke, John and Miss Tessie
Byrne. His wife and eight children
survive him. John and Miss Tessie Bryne
were present at the funeral in International Falls.
Charles MacKay
Appointed
Superintendent of Water Works
Watertown
Gazette, 10 01 1909
At a meeting
last Saturday of the Board of Water Commissioners Charles MacKay was appointed
superintendent of the Water Works Department of the city. Mr. MacKay is an expert meter reader and is
well versed in many things pertaining to the water works system of Watertown
and we predict his management will result in making this part of our city
government more than self-sustaining. No
appointment made in Watertown of a public nature in years has given such
general satisfaction as does the appointment of Mr. MacKay.
Support of a New Police Facility
Watertown Daily Times, 10 06 1999
Watertown's police station does not meet national
and legal requirements for female employees and the developmentally disabled, a
committee in support of a new police facility says. The committee, Building For Your Safety, is
telling Watertown people to say “yes” to a new police facility when they vote
on the referendum Nov. 2. That day
residents will be asked to decide whether they want the city to build a $4.3
million police facility and complete a $700,000 partial renovation of the
municipal building.
Network Schools
Watertown Daily Times, 05 21 1999
The Watertown Unified School District will
receive a state loan of almost a half million dollars to network its
schools. The $436,837 loan, through the
TEACH program, was announced by school business manager Dennis Mudler. With TEACH loans, school districts are
required to pay back only half of the amount - $218,419 in Watertown's
case. Mudler said the six-year loan will
be at an interest rate of 5 percent.
Asbestos
Watertown Daily Times, 10 02 1984
The Watertown School District has joined the
almost $1 billion class-action suit against manufacturers to recover the cost
of removing asbestos from school buildings.
“We are participating,” Dr. Richard Stolsmark, superintendent of
schools, said. He said he is hopeful the
district will recover at least a portion of the approximately $140,000 cost to
remove asbestos-containing ceiling materials from Watertown High School and
Schurz School last summer. But he added
that it could be years before the lawsuit is settled.
Petition Drive
To Gain Regular Amtrak Stop
Watertown Daily Times, 09 15 1999
A petition
drive is being launched here to gain a regular Amtrak stop for the Empire
Builder, the long distance train that travels daily through Watertown on its
way between Chicago, Minneapolis and Seattle.
The drive is being coordinated through the Watertown Daily Times.
Petitions will be available at the Daily
Times office beginning on Friday.
They will also be available at the municipal building, chamber of
commerce office and M&I Bank of Watertown.
An effort will be made to gain over 1,000 signatures to present to Gov.
Tommy Thompson who also serves as chairman of the board of the national
passenger railroad corporation. Thompson
has been made aware of the petition drive.
↓ More on Amtrak Petition Drive ↓
Support for Amtrak Station
Stop in Watertown
Watertown Daily Times, 10 02 1999
Gov. Tommy
Thompson should have been at the Amtrak station in Columbus on Sunday. Had he been there, it would have been clear
there is tremendous support for an Amtrak station stop in Watertown and that
interest in passenger trains is at a high level. Sunday over 400 people, many of them young
children clutching their favorite stuffed animal, came to Columbus for a short
demonstration ride to Watertown. So big
was the crowd that it overwhelmed the station agent and Amtrak personnel. It took nearly half an hour to board what
Amtrak personnel estimated at over 350 people for that short run of about 20
miles in about 18 minutes. Many others
left the station to drive vehicles back to the Watertown stop on South Third
Street to pick up the passengers.
↓ More on Amtrak Petition Drive ↓
5,700 Signed Petitions
Watertown Daily Times, 11 19 1999
Over 5,700 people have signed petitions urging Gov.
Tommy Thompson to convince Amtrak's board of directors to make a permanent stop
for the Empire Builder. The Watertown Daily Times sponsored a
petition signing effort to show support to the permanent stop. At the present time the Empire Builder
travels right through the heart of Watertown once a day in each direction but
does not stop. In a one month period a
total of 5,704 people voluntarily signed the petitions urging the permanent
stop. In connection with the petition
drive, a special prize was offered for the person securing the most
signatures. The winner of that contest
was Dave Schmeichel of 506 1/2 S. Third St., who collected 2,593 signatures.
Blue and White Sunday
Proclaimed in Watertown
Watertown Daily Times, 05 14 2009
Watertown Mayor Ron Krueger has declared Sunday as
Blue and White Sunday in recognition of the law enforcement officials in the
city.
Calvary Baptist Church, 792 Milford St., will host a
tribute called “Blue and White Sunday” during its Sunday service to honor the
committed public servants.
Calvary Baptist Church desires to express the
gratitude of the entire community for the courage, dedication and outstanding
performance of the law enforcement personnel in Watertown and the surrounding
area, Krueger said in his proclamation.
Watertown’s
police officers are in the forefront of the
effort to maintain peace, tranquility and the rule of law within the community
and they have dedicated their lives to protecting and serving the area, even in
the face of great personal risks, Krueger’s proclamation also read . . .
Timothy J. Roets
Deputy Chief of Police
Watertown Daily Times, 05 12 1999
A veteran police officer of nearly 17 years with the Watertown Police Department has been
promoted to the newly created position of deputy chief of police. The police department and Watertown Police
and Fire Commission have confirmed the promotion of Timothy J. Roets at its
meeting Monday. “I am proud to serve the
department and city in a new role,” Roets said.
Roets was hired on Aug. 10, 1982.
After being assigned briefly to the patrol division, he was transferred
to the juvenile bureau. He was promoted
to sergeant on Jan. 16, 1985, and assigned to the detective division.
Volume of Calls
Watertown Fire Department
Watertown Daily Times, 05 15 1999
In the first quarter of this year, the Watertown Fire Department received the
largest volume of calls since the department was first formed in the 1860s, the
days when horse-driven pumper wagons responded to fires. And the calls will not
decrease, Watertown Fire Chief Dick Olson said. To handle the load, he is
requesting more staff and an additional ambulance. Olson said he will be making
a formal presentation to Watertown Mayor Fred Smith and the finance committee
for three additional staff members and an ambulance for the year 2000. People
called for service 532 times during January, February and March, up 26 percent
from the same three months in 1998. In those first three months of 1998, 452
calls were made.
Tregaron
Watertown Daily Times, 05 14 1959
The three daughters of the late Joseph
E. Davies have purchased that portion of his Washington
estate, known as Tregaron, the proceeds from which are to go in equal amounts
to the Joe Davies Scholarship Foundation and the Washington National Episcopal
Cathedral. Announcement of the sale to
the daughters was made this morning in Washington. The daughters are Mrs. Millard E. Tydings,
Mrs. E. Fountain Brown and Mrs. Robert Grosjean. The sale price was not disclosed, but it was
reported that the sum is greater than the highest of three appraisals made by
three Washington realtors.
1909 State Fair
Watertown Gazette, 09 10 1909
Special features for the Wisconsin State Fair:
Match race between “Dan Patch” and “Minor Heir,” the two
fastest race horses in the world.
Head-on railway engine collision.
In front of grand stand, “The Burning of Chicago.”
Visit and address by President Taft [Sept 17].
Letter from Ernst M. Wood
Watertown Gazette, 10 01 1909
Ernst M.
Wood, former resident of Watertown and a former member of the Phoenix Fire Co. [file on Watertown Fire Dept], writes as follows to
a friend in this city:
Chicago, Sept. 26, 1909
Dear Friend:
Some of the notations on one of your recent letters caused
a smile to spread over my features as I read over again and recalled some of
the amusing expressions which were current at the time there was so much
rivalry between the East side and West side fire companies in the old home
town.
The promptness with which the Phoenix company responded to
alarms of fire and the speed with which they got there was undoubtedly a
surprise at times to the faithful boys in No. 1.
If they only knew how it was done, they would have discovered that “the
Irish” laid awake at nights and slept with the Silsby and studied possibilities
and made careful preparation for every condition that might be presented to
them, so they were seldom caught napping.
Occasionally
when they could swing into First Street, right past the No. 1 house, while the
Ahrens boys were hitching up, it was certainly a galling experience for some of
the boys who composed the company on the East side.
Yet those
East side boys were good, earnest, hardworking fellows and they truly acted as
a spur to the Phoenix boys and brought out the sterling qualities of the latter
to a much greater extent than would have been the case had there been no
rivalry existing.
As far back
as I can remember, there was an antagonism between the German boys on the one
side and the Irish boys on the other, which sometimes assumed annoying
proportions to all concerned. This has
reference in particular to the school boys, and either nationality that might
be caught on foreign ground was sure to get a race for his temerity or a bloody
nose in the encounter that followed.
These hand-to-hand conflicts gradually disappeared as the youngsters
grew into manhood, but the fighting spirit still continued and resulted in the
good natured rivalry which followed the purchase by the city of two steam fire
engines when the city fathers had only intended to buy one.
We can all
look back now and smile at the enthusiastic reception which was given to the
Ahrens engine and the chilly atmosphere that surrounded the Silsby when these
two competitors arrived in the city of Watertown in 1876.
The days that
followed were gala days and we all enjoyed the tests and trials and contests
with which the “spritz” machines regaled us.
The citizens seemed to have little other occupation than to watch the
various performances of these two engines in the many tests that were to decide
which one was to be purchased by the city.
Then, when the city council, or rather the board of street
commissioners, decided to purchase both engines it proved a matter of great
civic pride to feel that we were possessors to two such efficient fighting
machines.
The city
rolled over in its long sleep, but did not fully awaken until long years
afterward; not until the members of those fire companies, many of them long
scattered to the four corners of the earth, not until a younger generation had
grown up, another element of advancement had filtered into the atmosphere, a
new spirit of progress coursed through the veins of the people, and then the
slumber of generations seemed to be satisfied.
The old
nightmare of the railroad bonds had become a thing of the past, the spirit of
improvement became infectious, capital was encouraged to venture within the
gates, streets were paved, sewers built, water and electric light service
installed, store fronts improved with plate glass windows, new buildings
erected, restful comfortable homes built in all parts of the city.
Meanwhile,
smiling cheerfully upon it all, are the beautiful shade trees, the well kept
lawns and general air of prosperity which completes a picture of joy and
comfort and happy environment that sends a thrill of pride into the hearts of
the old timers whose privilege it is to gaze upon the beauties of the old home
town that knew them in the years which are past and gone.
The Ahrens
and the Silsby boys, the sack and hose companies with the boys in the little
supply company, were all working for the welfare of the city, and no matter
what the shortcomings of the one or the other, there was a unity of purpose
which helped to make better men of them and at the same time provided a fairly
good quality of protection to the property of the citizens at large.
There is not
one who took part in the events of those interesting times but who can look
back upon them with a certain inexpressible feeling of joy and pride that
lingers in the memory with fondness, born of the home-loving spirit and I wish
them success wherever they may be.
To those who
are still in the old home town, give my kind regards and best wishes.
Yours very
truly,
E. M. Wood
Strawberry Season
Watertown Democrat, 06 30 1859
The
strawberry season this year is a poor one.
There is not half the usual yield and the current price is from twenty
to twenty five cents a quart.
Green Peas
Watertown Democrat, 06 30 1859
Green peas
are hawked about our streets daily at from two to three dollars a bushel.
Fischer & Son to Enlarge Store
Watertown Gazette, 06 25 1909
The great reduction sale at the store of Charles Fischer & Son Co. is now going
on, previous to extensive improvements to be made in this popular business
house. The show window of the store is
to be enlarged and lowered so that a much larger and better display of goods
can be made; the rooms in the second story formerly occupied by the late Harlow
Pease as law offices are to be added to the Fischer store and will be used for
their carpet and drapery department, which are now located on the third floor,
and the third floor will be used exclusively for ladies’ ready-to-wear goods,
and other extensive improvements will be made.
Fischer & Son’s business is growing from year to year so that they
now occupy every inch of room in the three-story block and basement at 102 West
Main Street [106 W Main].
Watertown League of Women Voters
Watertown Daily Times, 09 09 1959
At its first general meeting since gaining recognition as
a local league, the Watertown League of Women Voters elected five officers and
six board members. The officers are Mrs.
S. William Winogrond, president; Mrs. John Becker, first vice president; Mrs.
Bernard Traeger, second vice president; Mrs. Donald Krezek, secretary; and Mrs.
Thomas Block, treasurer. The new board members who will choose their portfolios
at the October board briefing supper meeting are Mrs. Ralph Ebert, Mrs. Nelson
Fischer, Mrs. Fred Luhman, Mrs. Gerald Mallach, Mrs. Vane Peck, and Mrs. Marvin
Schilling. Elected to fill the non-board positions on the nominating committee
were Mrs. Sam Luchsinger, Mrs. Ronald Moser and Mrs. Charles Yeomans.
New Head Start Center
Watertown Daily Times, 09 09 1984
A preschooler who can’t balance on a beam, sort blocks by
color, follow simple directions or see clearly may be headed for problems in
school. That preschooler can get help
through the federal Head Start program, which is opening a new center this year
in Watertown. The new Head Start center
located at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 413 South Church Street, will open next
Monday, Sept. 17, under the direction of teacher Judy Dill. The Watertown center, the second in the
Jefferson County Head Start program, will serve 48 local youngsters. The Head Start center in Whitewater serves 77
Jefferson County preschoolers.
Eighth Grade Graduating Exercises
Watertown Gazette, 06 25 1909
Turner Opera House was packed with people
last Wednesday evening to witness the graduating exercise of the eighth grades
of our public schools. These grades are taught by Miss Ida Kopp and
Miss Catherine Ryan and that they have served our people well in that capacity
during the past year was well illustrated by the excellent program rendered
Tuesday evening by the graduates of these grades. Every number on the program was excellently
rendered and thoroughly enjoyed by all present.
The class motto was “Not Finished But Begun.”
Treatment for
Rheumatism
Watertown
Daily Times, 04 09 1915
“Bob” is Back—J. P. Holland, editor of Watertown Daily Times, has returned to
his home from Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he has been taking baths and medical
treatment for rheumatism. He is much
improved in health and will very soon “take his pen in hand” and make copy for
the Times.
“God’s Work, Our Hands”
Watertown Daily Times, 10 10 2009
Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church will launch
a major initiative this weekend, designed to build greater involvement on the
part of its membership and greater capacity for ministry in the community and
the world. “God’s Work, Our Hands” has been selected as the program theme.
For assistance with planning and coordination, the
church engaged the services of Vision2Serve, a ministry consultant group headed
by Rawhide Boys Ranch founder John Gillespie.
The goals identified in the planning process include
program expansion for the congregation and the Watertown community, as well as
mission outreach in urban and international locations. Everything from expansion of youth programs,
to community education classes and greater opportunities for international mission
trips
Immanuel leadership is looking to build on the
congregation’s strong legacy of social ministry in Watertown. The church currently provides space for
several groups serving the community, including the Watertown Food Pantry which
provides assistance to hundreds of families in the Watertown area, and the
weekly Bread and Roses dinners, offering food, clothing and other assistance to
individuals and families. The church
building was also the original site of the Watertown Women’s Center, an outreach
program that eventually grew to become the Counseling Center of Watertown.
The “God’s Work, Our Hands” initiative will have its
formal launch at the worship services.
Enrollment
Lowest in Two Decades
Watertown
Unified School District
Watertown
Daily Times, 10 09 1984
For the eighth consecutive year, enrollments in the Watertown Unified School District have
decreased, and the number of students now attending the local public school
system is the lowest in two decades.
Final official enrollment figures
for the district show a decrease of 76 students. Enrollment in the district now stands at
3,181 students, down from last year's official total of 3,257. Although the overall figures are down, for
the first time in several years elementary enrollments are slightly ahead of a
year ago. This indicates the
long-expected stabilization or moderate growth in enrollments may be near.
Methodist Episcopal Church Dedication
Watertown Democrat, 07 14 1859
Dedication—The
enlarged Methodist Episcopal Church of this city
will be dedicated next Saturday. The
Rev. W. G. Miller, the Presiding Elder of this district, Rev J. M. Leihy and
Rev. A. C. Huntley, together with other clergymen from abroad will be present
and take part in the impressive ceremonies.
Services will commence at 10 1/2 A.M. and 7 1/2 P.M. The Methodists have now a large and
commodious house of worship. The
considerable improvements which they have recently made will better accommodate
the large numbers who assemble there to engage in religious exercises. A parsonage has been added to the present
building, which will secure a pleasant and permanent residence for their
minister.
Never Attempt to get out of Debt
Watertown Democrat, 07 21 1859
The man who
owes nobody is a poor miserable being; nobody manifests any interest in his
welfare—nobody cares a continental cent whether he lives or dies. He is lean, hungry, and generally as poor and
wilted as were the pin-feathers on Job’s turkey. Look at our great men; they are all
debtors—owe everybody; our men of science, our authors, our sensation
ministers—all, the entire cahoot of them, are deeper in debt than Pharaoh’s
army were in the Red Sea. Debt ennobles
man; gives him a more expanded and liberal view of human nature; keeps him
moving—especially if he never pays rent.
Nothing will cure the consumption quicker than a strong dose of debt,
properly taken. To owe, is human; to
pay, is divine. Therefore, till man
becomes superhuman, he shouldn’t attempt to emulate divinity. The science of payment is to get in debt to
somebody enough to pay somebody else whom you owe. By this means, you avoid getting out of debt,
and yet maintain a reputation of paying.
The greatness of a nation increases with its national debt. Make a note of this at ninety days.—Quiz.
Marian University Center
in Watertown
Watertown Daily Times, 10 09 2009
Area
residents will have the opportunity to take college courses through Marian
University at a new center in Watertown.
The university held a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday with the Chamber
of Commerce.
The
university has offered classes in Watertown since 1996 at several locations in
the city. The new center at 807 N.
Church St. will be its first permanent location. In previous years classes have been held at
the Holiday Inn Express, Watertown High School and most recently at Bethesda
Lutheran Communities' campus.
Marian
University is an applied Catholic university located in Fond du Lac. The Sisters of St. Agnes sponsor the university
and have a long history in Watertown. In
1913 they began serving as teachers and administrators at St. Bernard's
Catholic Church Parish. Their legacy
includes a history of many women from Watertown who entered the
congregation. The university offers more
than 40 undergraduate and graduate programs at its main campus and a variety of
adult accelerated-degree programs in facilities throughout Wisconsin.
Watertown
residents can take courses at the local center in liberal arts for degree
completion, bachelor of science in radiologic technology and bachelor of
business administration. Majors offered
include general management, human resource management, criminal justice
administration and grief and bereavement.
The master's degree in educational leadership and professional
development courses for educators have been and continued to be offered here.
The new
center is located in the same complex as RE/MAX and includes two large
classrooms. Crucifixes in each classroom
were carved in Nicaragua where the Sisters of St. Agnes have ministered since
1945.
Our Milwaukee Friends
Stirred Up
Watertown Democrat, 07 21 1859
Stirred
Up—Our Milwaukee friends seem to be thoroughly aroused, though this is not
exactly the season when even active and enterprising people would like to be
awakened during a short period of needful and welcome relaxing from the more
intense pursuit of business. But, in
truth, it is time for the inhabitants of our commercial metropolis to look
around and see where they stand and whither they are tending.
We object to
no measures calculated to build up the largest and chief city of our noble
state, but raise our voice only against the schemes and sentiments intended to
pull down and prostrate interior towns.
The future of Milwaukee is in her own hands, and we wish her nothing but
prosperity and success—but hereafter she must stand on her own merits and
advantages, and can no longer make the rest of Wisconsin tributary to her
persevering and reckless selfishness, beyond what she is legitimately entitled
to receive from the superior inducements and facilities which she can offer to
those whose trade she solicits. There
are other places and markets to which the people at large will soon have ready
and easy access, and all will follow the first rule of their own welfare—that
is, go where they can buy cheapest, and sell where they can sell dearest. If to Milwaukee, we shall be glad—if to
Chicago, we shall not mourn.
We submit
these remarks as prefatory to a few comments which we wish to offer on a
portion of a communication to the Milwaukee
Sentinel, which that paper thinks of sufficient important to make a leader
under its editorial head. The
suggestions of the Sentinel’s
correspondent are so absurd, ridiculous, silly and impracticable as to be
really laughable and diverting—a good deal better reading [during] this hot
weather than Sam Slick or Doesticks—were it not for the bad temper and worse
taste they manifest. After demolishing
the idea of a Horse Railroad for the La Crosse depot to that of the Milwaukee
and Chicago Railroad, the writer of the article under consideration goes on to
provide a way to avert the evils impending over his favorite city, as
follows: Listen to the counsel of a sage
in the mist—under a cloud—full of fear—talking at random—beating the air—wild,
wrathy, desperate, “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
“The remedy
for all this evil was to have extended the Watertown railroad from Columbus to
Portage city, instead of extending it from Watertown to Madison, where it can
only injure the M & M Railroad by competing for the local business of
Madison without helping this city or any other place. With the Watertown railroad to Portage, then
a connection could have been made directly with the Lake Shore Railroad, which
would have made this route shorter and quicker than any other. In that case the present La Crosse railroad
from this city to Portage could have been used for its large local business and
for the accommodation of the North and North-West travel and freight.
“It would be
far better for all interested, even at this stage of the work on the Watertown
road, to abandon all that is done between Watertown and Madison and complete
the road from Columbus to Portage. This
would pay something but the other will never pay one cent upon its capital and
can in no possible manner benefit the city of Milwaukee.”
We wish it
distinctly understood, that so far from objecting to the building of the short
section of railroad between Columbus and Portage city, we very much desire to
see the work accomplished. If the La
Crosse and Milwaukee Railroad Company, or their successors, are honest, they
will redeem their solemnly pledged word to the State, and construct that
line. They have promised to do so, and
if they corrupt no more Legislatures, they will be compelled to do it before
they get a title of the land grant, to which they have not the shadow of a
claim [until] they construct this small fragment of an unfinished railroad. But the vague and silly notion of abandoning
the building of a line of railroad which is sure to prove immensely profitable
is the climax of folly.
Date set for Lights ‘n Sirens event
Watertown Daily Times, 03 21 2007
One of
Watertown’s most popular summertime events, Lights ‘n Sirens, will be held at
Riverside Park on Thursday, July 12, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Planning is
under way for the eighth annual community safety fair. This is a good opportunity for both children
and adults to get “up close and personal” with local safety professionals. The event is intended to promote injury
prevention through education and provides the community the chance to meet with
public safety personnel in a relaxed setting.
The event is
sponsored by Watertown Area Health Services, Watertown Family Center, Watertown Police Department and Watertown Fire Department.
A New Omnibus
Watertown Democrat, 07 21 1859
Mr. Peter
Bertholf has recently purchased and bought to this city a large and commodious Omnibus, which will be found at the
railroad depot every evening and morning, or whenever the cars arrive, ready to
convey passengers to the hotels or to any part of the city. It is the most elegant establishment of the
kind in the city, and we hope the enterprising and gentlemanly purchaser will
find his reward in the patronage and liberality of travelers and citizens.
[Cross Reference: Peter Bertholf, proprietor, Robinson House. s
e c Main and First, 1866-67 Watertown City Directory]
New Name for
Northwestern University
Watertown
Gazette, 07 02 1909
Northwestern University is to be
renamed. This was decided upon and a
resolution to that effect passed by the Wisconsin Synod of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church Monday afternoon at its annual meeting in Grace Lutheran
Church, Milwaukee.
It has long
been held that the name Northwestern University has become common and is
confusing. The institution is frequently
confused with Northwestern University at Evanston. On Saturday a committee was appointed to
consider the proposition of changing the name of the Watertown institution.
The committee
reported, presenting a resolution to the board of regents [to] submit a new
name to the next annual meeting of the synod.
This resolution was adopted.
The board of
regents was authorized to purchase two acres of land near the university,
suitable for professors’ residences. It
was decided that the synod undertake the erection of a new professor’s residence every year until the faculty is accommodated. Five professors have already been provided
with homes by the synod.
Glidden Tourists Reach Watertown
on Way to Denver
Watertown
Gazette, 07 16 1909
Like a small
army of mysterious, phantom creatures from another planet, garbed in close
fitting Norfolk suits of khaki, legs encased in pattees, their heads muffled in
yellow helmets and caps while they peered through tiny glass windows that
afforded protection for their eyes, the contestants in the Glidden tour swooped
down upon Watertown Wednesday afternoon.
Hundreds of
people crowded the sidewalks to see them.
The first pilot car reached here at 12:10 and from that time on till
toward the end of the afternoon all kinds of autos connected with the tour
passed through Main and West Main streets.
The speed of some of them was terrific.
Every once in
a while a “contestant” would arrive and great would be the rejoicing
thereof. For the most part it appeared
as if the entire schedule was made up of “pilot” cars. This is strictly a reliability tour and all
contestants have to make a report of all accidents, the amount of oil, water
and gasoline consumed and are given a specified schedule between all points,
and at every point a station is placed . . .
All manner, makes and price of automobiles enter the Glidden tour every year. This is the eighth annual tour and it has
become more popular every year.
Gas That Can Be Shipped
Watertown
Gazette, 08 13 1909
A most
momentous advance has been made in providing gas for light and fuel in small
communities by the discovery of a process allowing liquid lighting gas to be
produced. This material—called Blau gas,
from the
inventor’s name—is gaseous like air under atmospheric pressure and liquid like
water under increased pressure. From a
chemical point of view it comprises the same elements and compounds as coal
gas, though in considerable different percentages. It can be put into steel bottles of different
sizes and conveyed to the place of consumption.
An amount corresponding to the daily consumption is introduced into a
reservoir in which it expands to four hundred times its volume. [Blau gas (German: Blaugas) was an artificial
illuminating gas similar to propane named after its inventor, Dr. Hermann Blau
of Augsburg, Germany. Blau gas was the
buoyancy compensating fuel for the airship Graf Zeppelin]
Col. Richard Jaye
Watertown Daily Times, 10 12 1959
Announcement was made yesterday at the close of the
two day search project conducted by the Wisconsin Wing of the Civil Air Patrol
that Col. Richard Jaye, Wisconsin Wing Commander, has been promoted to deputy
commander of the Great Lakes Region, which is made up of five states,
Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. The local airport was the headquarters for
the project. Jaye, who is president of
the Syncromatic Corporation of this city, has been head of the state wing for
the last four years. Headquarters for
the wing will continue to be located here.
The Chop Shop
Watertown
Daily Times, 10 12 1999
The Chop Shop is open for business, but don't bring stolen
cars in. The dance club and bar opened
after owners Gene and Nellie Stoiber moved half of a 1987 Cadillac Sedan
DeVille and half of a Grand Prix into the center of establishment. The car would become a favorite spot for
future patrons. With the parts of two
cars in place, they had set up shop. The
Stoibers wanted the establishment to look similar to a place where stolen cars
are cut up and sold. Almost 50 hubcaps
and steering wheels are displayed on the Chop Shop's walls.
Harvest Begins
Watertown Gazette, 07 16 1909
Farmers in this vicinity have begun to harvest rye and
barley and reports say that these crops are excellent—in fact, all kinds of
crops are looking well, but just at present need rain badly. The hay crop is unusually large.
Runaway
Watertown Gazette, 07 16 1909
Tuesday morning while Fred. Krueger and wife and
six-year-old son of Lebanon were driving in North Third Street, this city, a
portion of the harness on his horse broke and the animal made a mad dash down
Jones Street. At the corner of North
First Street the horse ran into a number of workmen, running over Chris.
Halpap, who miraculously escaped injury.
The occupants of the buggy were thrown out and slightly injured. Dr. Feld attended them. The horse continued in its flight as far as
the railing at the river bank and then turned south into the Bursinger
residence premises where it ran into a chicken coop and was brought to a
halt. The horse was not injured and the
buggy only slightly damaged.
Shift Holy Cross Clergymen
Watertown Gazette, 07 16 1909
Notre Dame, Indiana—The changes among the presidents and
professors in the colleges of the Holy Cross Order were announced at a final
session of the Provincial Chapter.
Rev. John Boland, pastor of St.
Bernard’s Church, becomes president of St. Edward’s College,
Austin, Texas. Rev. Father Hennessey
succeeds him at St. Bernard’s, with Father Phelan his assistant.
Rev. D. P. O’Leary, president of Sacred
Heart College, assumes the professorship at Notre Dame, while
his place will be filled by Rev. D. O’Malley, rector of Sorin Hall here last
year.
_____________________________________________
Rev. Father Boland’s administration at St. Bernard’s
Church in this city was very popular and his congregation regrets his transfer
to other fields. He had been president
at St. Edward’s College, Austin, for a number of years and built the present
magnificent college there. The members
of St. Bernard’s have never had a more popular or better pastor. He was not only esteemed by his own
congregation but by the people of Watertown in general and his departure from
this city is greatly regretted. Father
Boland says this short stay in Watertown was greatly to his liking and he would
prefer to remain here had he his say in the matter. The college at Austin is one of the largest
branch houses of the Holy Cross order and he will have a large field to display
his abilities.
His successor, Rev. Father Hennessey, is well and most
favorably known here, having been for years connected with Sacred Heart
College. During the past year he has
been located at New Orleans. We predict
for him a popular administration at St. Bernard’s. His assistant was for a short time assistant
under the late Father Rogers, and he is well and most favorably known to many
of St. Bernard’s parishioners. He will
also serve St. Joseph’s congregation at Richwood.
Rev. Father O’Leary will also be greatly missed from
Sacred Heart. He has made many fine
changes at that institution which have added greatly to its popularity and
under his administration the attendance has been considerably increased. The people of Watertown in general dislike to
see him go elsewhere and all trust his good works in his new position will be
as popular as they were in Watertown.
Father O’Leary’s successor, Rev. D. O’Malley, formerly
attended school at Sacred Heart and is well known here, being a cousin of Dr.
M. O’Malley of this city. He is a most
worthy successor of Father O’Leary and Sacred Heart under him will no doubt
continue in its present prosperous condition.
Riverside Park Popcorn Hassle
Watertown
Daily Times, 10 13 1959
The Riverside Park popcorn hassle, which was
brought into the open at the city council meeting on Oct. 6 today seemed headed
toward a solution and a report to that effect will be filed with the council at
its meeting next Tuesday night. The
issue was brought into the open by the Pitterle-Beaudoin Post No. 189, the American Legion when
its commander told the council that officers would find it difficult to sign up
a carnival for rides and concessions unless such group was given exclusive rights
to concessions at the park for the annual Fourth of July celebration which the
Legion sponsors each year. A report
received by the Times today stated
that the solution calls for the carnival company to have complete control of
all concessions on the Fourth of July midway in the park. There is nothing to bar “outsiders” to
maintain stands in other parts of the park, but they will not be permitted on
the midway.
High School Marching Band
Watertown
Daily Times, 10 13 1999
Watertown
High School's Marching Band is gearing up for the trip of the millennium - a
visit to Miami, Fla., over New Year's Eve to perform in the Orange Bowl
parade. Watertown will be one of only 10
high school bands in the world to march in the parade. The group was selected based on its
outstanding musical performance and visual impact, geography and strength of
community support. Watertown took home
first place after marching in a Branson, Mo., parade in 1995, and has performed
at the Kickoff Classic in New York City, N.Y., in 1997 and the Great Circus
Parade in Milwaukee earlier this year.
Good Shepherd Church
Free Paper Shredding Event
Watertown
Daily Times, 10 13 2009
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church will be holding
a free paper shredding for the community event on Saturday. An opportunity to make donations to the United Way of Watertown, the
Watertown Police Department K-9 project, Rainbow Hospice, Bethesda Lutheran
Communities and the Watertown Humane Society.
“We’ve really
been trying to emphasize community service more than we have in the past. I’d like to see every member and every group
of our church doing something for the community — from building a home with
Habitat for Humanity to teaching English as a second language. We don’t do acts of mercy to grow the church,
or just so we can witness to people. We do them because that’s who we are. We do them because that’s what Christ
did. Sometimes we worry too much about
the world seeping into the church, when what we should be worrying about is
whether the church is seeping out into the world.”
- Rev. David Groth of Good Shepherd Church
The Community
Gardens of Good Shepherd also came out of this emphasis.
“We were cash
poor but land rich, and thought some folks who live in apartments might really
enjoy growing their own food. We weren’t
able to offer gardens this year until the very end of the planting season.
Still, folks signed up for nine garden plots, and they seemed to produce pretty
well. Overall, people really took good care of their plots, and we always
enjoyed seeing them out there, taking in some of the
beautiful summer days we had.”
Letter from M. A. Began
Watertown Gazette, 07 23 1909
Under date of
July 14, 1909, M. A. Began writes from Effingham, Ills.:
Editor Gazette:
Enclosed find check of balance account and fix me out on your
books. All well and happy here. We have no end of rain and rushing rivers
now. I never saw as much wet weather
since the months of May and June, 1891 or 1892.
I remember those wet months in Watertown because I sold all the rubber
rain coats I had in stock. Some
oily-tongued drummer sold me four dozen rain coats in 1887 and it never rained
for four years after I got them. In the
year mentioned it began to rain in the beginning of May and kept at it up until
the last of June. There were but eleven
dry days in the two months and my coats were like cool beer in a dry town,
until but one remained. That one was too
wide and too long for any customer that called.
I had about given up hope of getting rid of it, and thought I’d have to
make a present of it to some big piker that I’d see prowling along the street
some cattle fair day, when one night an Irishman from the third ward known
among his German friends as “Kline Billey,” came in and wanted a rain
coat. I put it on him and he swirled
around like a whirling dervish and said the coat was all right, only there was
too much of it. Have you a pair of
scissor he says, I have said I, well shear off about four feet from the end of
this coat and I’ll take it said he. He
backed up to the counter and I clipped off the superfluity and rolling it into
a bundle like a side of sole leather he put it under his arm and said: “If the coat ever leaks, now I’ll have plenty
to patch it.”
Bernard’s Church Heating Contract Let
Watertown Gazette, 07 23 1909
Wednesday
evening the contract for getting in a new heating system at St. Bernard’s Church, school and residence
was let to the Downey & Kruse Co. of Milwaukee for $4273. This includes a Hawley Down Draft smokeless firebox
and boiler, which costs $650 more than other firebox and boilers considered,
but if soft coal is to be burned in the future at St. Bernard’s, and this being
a residence part of the city, it was thought the proper thing to have as little
smoke as possible. This will be the
first Hawley Down Draft plant put in here and good results are looked for.
Tobacco Warehouse Closed
Watertown Gazette, 07 23 1909
On Tuesday
the American Cigar Co. closed its warehouses
and assorting plant here and they are to remain closed permanently. It appears the company is concentrating their
assorting plants as far as possible to the tobacco
growing districts to save cost of freight and handling. Superintendent Earl will be taken care of
elsewhere by the company. Our people
regret very much the departure of himself and family from the city.
Test Oil at Reason Home
Watertown Gazette, 07 23 1909
Watertown,
Wis., July 16, 1909
Being called
to Watertown to officially investigate the explosion of an oil stove on
Thursday, July 15, 1909, at the residence of Miss Ada Reason, I find the oil
remaining in [the] can from which the oil stove [was] filled as follows:
Flash test
138 degrees.
Burning test
158 degrees.
Both tests
were thirty-three degrees higher than the government requirements and
consequently the oil was not at fault.
It is my opinion that the explosion was caused by either a defective
stove or faulty manipulation of same.
Chas. Mohr,
Jr.,
Deputy Oil Inspector
William J. Stacy
Resigns Position in Gazette
Office
Watertown Gazette, 07 30 1909
William J.
Stacy, who has been employed in The Gazette office for the past 28 years, has resigned his
position, to take effect on Saturday, July 31, 1909. He has been associated with us so long in our
office that it seems like parting with a member of the family circle to have
him leave and seek other employment. He
has always taken as much interest in the success of The Gazette as if it were his own property and during all these
long years he attended faithfully to business and seldom took a day off from
the every day routine of newspaper work.
He resigns voluntarily to become local agent for the Prudential Life
Insurance Co., which has just established an office here. We wish him success in his new line of work,
and if he attends to the business as closely as he applied himself in The Gazette office, he is bound to
succeed in any line of business, and we trust that William J. will “put in his
best licks” in his new position.
Watertown Improvement Company
Directors Elected
Watertown Gazette, 07 23 1909
At the annual
meeting of the stockholders of the Watertown Improvement Company the following
directors were chosen: W. D. Sproesser,
William F. Voss, F. E. Woodard, F. A. Hoffmann, H. Wertheimer.
Tramps Get Good Meal
Watertown Gazette, 07 23 1909
Last week
Thursday night tramps entered Joe Robinson’s restaurant in the rear of his
saloon at the Junction, and after broiling two fine sirloin steaks, frying
potatoes, making coffee, etc, to satisfy the cravings of the inner man, they
departed without relieving the place of any further valuables. They did not disturb the saloon part of the
building, no doubt being afraid to force open the door between the restaurant and
the saloon for fear of being heard.
Zindars Retires from Police Auxiliary
Watertown Daily
Times, 10 14 2009
Auxiliary
officer Dan Zindars recently retired from the Watertown Police Auxiliary after 13 years
of dedicated service.
Zindars
joined the auxiliary in November of 1996 and recently retired so he can enjoy
his off-time from his full-time job as a machinist in Waukesha.
Fire
Watertown Gazette, 07 23 1909
At about
10:30 o’clock last Monday evening an alarm of fire was turned in from box 17,
corner of Main and First streets, on account of an imitation palm being on fire
in Schempf’s drug store. Mr. Schempf had only been away from the store
a short time, and being in the vicinity his attention was called to the fire
and he went to the store and with the aid of others he removed the palm to the street where it was entirely burned.
There was no other damage. Had
the blaze not been so quickly discovered a bad fire might have been the result. It is supposed the fire took place from
someone throwing a lighted cigar stump into the palm.
Newest School Facilities
Watertown
Daily Times, 10 14 1959
Watertown on Sunday will dedicate and hold open house in
conjunction with three of its newest school facilities - the new Watertown High School addition, the new Schurz Elementary School and the newly
remodeled older high school building.
The three projects represent an investment of $2,450,000. The high school addition bond issue totaled $1,500,000,
the Schurz School bond issue for remodeling the older high school portion
totaled $550,000.
Watertown Daily Times, 10 26 1959
George E.
Watson, state superintendent of public instruction who was the principal
speaker of the Watertown High School dedication on Oct. 18, thinks the new
state law which requires all territory in Wisconsin to join a high school
district by July 1, 1962, is an excellent one.
Watson made his views known at Madison yesterday. The new bill, adopted at the last legislature
session, was signed by Gov. Gaylord Nelson this week. Nelson said that he and his staff had been in
favor of such legislation for a long time and that the state office had favored
it long before he became superintendent.
Bresse Bleu
Watertown
Daily Times, 10 14 1984
At first glance, the circumstances and surroundings may
seem a little odd. That is, it's not
every day that a foreign cheese company opens up a production plant in the
heart of America's Dairyland. But for
French-based Bresse Bleu, the world's largest producer of blue cheese, the
time, the feeling and the location are all appropriate. As a result, the firm has opened its first
production plant in the United States - on highway 26, five miles north of
Watertown, the former location of the Heim Cheese Company. The company held a semi-grand opening of the
new 5,000 square foot plant Wednesday evening with company officials from
France and members of the French press in attendance. However, the local facility formerly began
operations Oct. 1 after state inspection and approval.
↓ More on Bresse Bleu ↓
Watertown Daily Times, 01 12 2001
Bresse Bleu, a
cheese manufacturer north of Watertown, has announced it will discontinue
operations April 27. The company's 51
employees of the company were informed of the plant closing Friday afternoon,
according to Kurt Premo, plant manager.
“All of Bresse
Bleu's full and part-time employees will be kept on until that time,” Premo said. In
addition, 25 to 30 employees from temporary employment firms have also been
working at the cheese operations. “Over
the course of the next one to three months, we anticipate these people will be
affected as production dictates,” he added.
Retail Liquor Dealer’s Convention
Watertown Gazette, 07 30 1909
G. M. Gahlman, John J. Brusenbach, Robert Woelffer, Simon
Molzahn, C. F. Otto, R. Schott, Fred Bittner, Edward Voigt, Fred M. Creuz, J.
T. Heon, H. W. Kronitz, Otto G. Schott, Arthur Goeldner, Ernst Hoeffner and W.
C. Radke attended the Retail Liquor Dealer’s convention in Sheboygan this week.
Another Watertown Boy Goes to the Front
Watertown Gazette, 07 23 1909
The De Queen, Arkansas, Bee Industrial Illustrated number of June 25, 1909, contains a fine
picture and write-up of M. G. Bock, a former resident of the Milford Road, this
city . . . “He was born in 1872 in Watertown, Wis., and was educated in the
public schools of that city. At the age
of seventeen he went to work in the Northern Pacific shops at St. Paul, Minn” .
. . .
New Theatre
Watertown High School
Watertown
Daily Times, 10 15 1959
Watertown High School will present its new
theatre for inspection by the public on Sunday as part of the dedication
program and open house at the high school.
L. Nickleson was the architect and designer of the “Little
Theatre.” It seats over 700
persons. Miss Kathryn Skinner, Richard
Stark and Fred Amthor worked on the plans for the new theatre while George
Vinger advised on the carpentry. Various
schools in other areas were visited to secure ideas for the new theatre. Such visits were made by Miss Skinner, Mr.
Stark and A. E. Bentzin, the latter chairman of the building committee.
New Headquarters
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Watertown
Daily Times, 10 16 1959
Newly established headquarters of the Wisconsin
Evangelical Lutheran Synod which numbers churches in this city and surrounding
area will open in Milwaukee on Dec. 1.
St. Mark's and Trinity Lutheran Churches in Watertown are members of the
synod and St. Luke's Church also has an association. The announcement of the new headquarters was
made along with the report that the Rev. Oscar. J. Naumann, St. Paul, Minn.,
will become the first fulltime president of the synod.
Central Business Association
Maranatha
Watertown
Daily Times, 10 16 1999
More than 100 students from Maranatha
Baptist Bible College on Monday gave property owners in the
downtown area a jump start on spring cleaning scouring sidewalks to remove
unsightly weeds which have overgrown some areas. The students were responding to a request by
the Central Business Association, which hopes that the students' hard work will
be taken over by individual property owners next spring. The CBA is encouraging those with businesses
and homes in the downtown area to take steps after the winter thaw to prevent
the growth of the weeds and grasses.
Equipped with screwdrivers, brooms and garbage bags Monday, about 130
Maranatha College students blanketed Main Street and side streets to pry the
weeds from cracks. The students took on
the task with smiles and laughter, and by 7 p.m. the sidewalks and bricked
areas downtown were markedly improved.
Jefferson County Old Soldiers’ Reunion
Watertown Gazette, 07 30 1909
The Sixth Annual Old Soldiers’ Reunion will be held at
Jefferson on Thursday, August 26th. An
effort is being put forth to secure Gov. Davidson and Col. Geo. Bird as
speakers. The business meeting of the
society will be held at 10:00 o’clock a.m.
Picnic dinner will be served at 12:00 noon. At 2:00 p.m. the speaking program will
commence. At 4 o’clock it is proposed to
charter all automobiles in Jefferson and take the old soldiers and their wives
for an automobile ride in and about the city.
Remember the date and plan to be at Jefferson Aug. 26.
On the evening of Aug. 26th the S. O. V. intend to hold an
ice cream social on the court house square, the receipts from same to be used
to pay for the small balance due on the cannon and to start a fund to help
provide a room and cases to hold all the old trophies of the war—such as guns,
sabers, swords, etc., that may be found about Jefferson County. It is high time something was done to collect
in a central place all the relics of the Civil War. Let all try and attend the social.
New Rank in Fire Department
Two Lieutenancies Created by Board
Watertown Daily Times, 11 26 1964
The board of police and fire commissioners has created a
new rank in the fire department, that of lieutenant. It proposes two such members. Each position will carry a $300 a year additional
salary.
Last night, after Mayor Robert P. White brought the plan
to the attention of the council, pointing out that in view of the fact that the
city budget had already been approved, the $600 required could be taken from
the contingency fund rather than make a change in the budget, the council
agreed.
The mayor said the rank of lieutenant was comparable to
the rank of sergeant in the police department salary-wise.
Holy Land Tour
Watertown
Daily Times, 06 01 1959
The Rev. A.S. Christensen, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church, this city, is
one of 17 persons, most of them clergymen, who are preparing for a six weeks
tour of the Holy Land. The party is due to leave Madison on June 26. Prof.
Menahem Mansoor, chairman of the department of Hebrew studies at the University
of Wisconsin, will conduct the tour. The tour will actually be a “traveling
workshop,” according to the Rev. Mr. Christensen. Those making the six-week
study tour through the cradle of the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish faiths
will see famous Biblical sites of both the Old and New Testament writings, view
the world famous Dead Sea Scrolls, watch archeological excavations in progress,
hear lectures by internationally distinguished archeologists and Bible experts,
and gain an on-the-spot knowledge of Jordan and the young state of Israel.
Plan for New Parsonage Rejected
Watertown
Daily Times, 06 24 1959
A recommendation made by a special planning committee of Immanuel Lutheran Church was rejected by
members of the church last night at a special meeting of the congregation which
was held at the church. The committee
had requested authority to spend up to $4,000 for the acquisition of a lot on
which to construct a new parsonage and also requested permission to proceed
with the plans for construction. The
proposal was rejected by a 98 to 79 vote.
Jacob Sproesser
Watertown Gazette, 07 30 1909
On Monday Jacob Sproesser, son
of William D. Sproesser and wife, left for
Milner, Idaho, where he has secured a fine position with the Twin Falls
Northside Land and Water Co. He
graduated in the course of commerce from the state university, in the class of
’09, with high honors, and he is well equipped to enter the business
world. He is a most excellent young man
and all our people wish him success in his western home.
S. M. Eaton & Son
Ice Wagon
03 24 1906
A powerful team
belonging to S. M. Eaton & Son, attached to an ice
wagon, became frightened Saturday afternoon near Fifth street and ran away,
going west on Main street at a breakneck speed, colliding with a buggy near the
corner of Fourth and Main, belonging to Mrs. Amelia Brennecke who had come to the
city with her son, who fortunately were absent from the buggy at the time as
the vehicle was badly wrecked. Pursuing
their flight they struck another buggy belonging to Martin Stueber, a farmer,
in front of the store of Schempf Bros. & Co., which was also badly
wrecked and Mr. Stueber slightly injured.
Continuing their flight they struck a farm wagon
opposite the Masonic Temple belonging to O. Brennecke,
a farmer, taking off their hind wheels without injuring no one and then ran to
the corner of Main and Washington streets, where they were stopped. It is surprising that so little damage was
done and only one person injured as street at the time was full of teams and
people.
Richard Enrst Lauersdorf
Richard Enrst Lauersdorf was born August 29, 1934 at
Watertown, WI, the son of Ernst and Adela Lauersdorf. Baptized and confirmed at St. John's in
Watertown.
Graduated from Northwestern College in 1956 and from
Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 1960.
Spent a year of vicarage at Grace in Tucson, AZ.
Married to Charlene Baumgarten of North Freedom, WI
on June 26, 1960. She was a parochial school teacher, piano
teacher, is an artist, and author. Four
children: Beth - Mrs. Roger Kramp whose husband is principal at Mt. Lebanon in
Milwaukee; Dr. Mark - wife Dr. Josee from France, both teaching at Luther
College in Decorah, IA; James - wife Karen, he is regional sales rep for
Luzenac of America, living in Manhattan, MT; Anne - Mrs. Clayton Drewa of Fox
Lake, WI where she teaches at St. John's. Six grandchildren, one great
grandchild.
Served the first mission of WELS in Canada, Our
Savior's at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, June 1960 till end of December 1963. Served St. Matthew's of Ontario, WI and St.
John's of Kendall, WI, January 1964 till end of December 1968. Served St.
John's of Jefferson, WI, January 1969 till end of August 1997.
Contributing Editor of Northwestern Lutheran
1974-1998, writing the opening devotional page for those twenty years. Member of Board for World Missions 1969-1997
with service on its Latin American Committee, also as vice-chairman of the
Board for World Missions, and as the chairman of the Committee for Mission
Expansion.
1st Vice President of WELS 1987-2001 with service on
its Conference of Presidents, Committee on Assignment of Calls, Coordinating
Council, and Synodical Council.
Full time Vice President of Mission and Ministry for
WELS 1997-2001 when retired.
Author of Hebrews Commentary in People's Bible
series; of "With our Eyes on Jesus" (devotions on the twelve
apostles, and other festivals); of "Be Near Me Lord Jesus" (devotions
for Advent and Christmas); of "As Luther Taught the Word of Truth"
(devotions on the Small Catechism).