Time Machine Trip to January 1912

Hello Fellow Time Travelers,

Well it’s time to fire up the old “Time Machine Chair” and travel back in time to January of 1912.

For today’s trip Camie Bartolazzi will be sitting in the front seat operating the Time Machine.  The big wheel is spinning, the years are clicking back and in no time, we are back on East Second Street on Kaukauna’s Southside.

Charlie has left the papers for us on the chair out front of the Times office.

Charles E. Raught – Owner, Editor & Publisher

Let’s see what’s in the news this month.  

Your old newsman - Lyle Hansen

PS:  Live each day as if it is your last, as it just may be. 

January 5, 1912

Renn and Co. nearly lost a horse Wednesday when it broke through the ice on the upper river while they were engaged in scraping the surface and which was nearly drowned before it could be rescued.

Cornelius Giesbers, who came to the Fox River Valley in the party headed by Father Vandenbroek, the first Catholic priest to establish a church at Little Chute and who was one of the earliest pioneers of Little Chute and Outagamie County, died last Saturday at his home in Green Bay at the age of 87 years.  Mr. Giesbers was born in Mell, Holland, in 1824. In 1848 he elected to join the party headed by Father Vandenbroek and sailed to America. After landing in New York, the party headed directly to Wisconsin and in a couple months after leaving his native home he arrived at the banks of the Fox River at the point where the thriving village of Little Chute is now located. He is survived by seven children.

The Wisconsin Traction, Light, Heat and Power company has been endeavoring to have the village board of Little Chute pass a franchise giving the aforesaid company the right to furnish gas and electricity current to the village for lighting and power purposes.

Tragedy was narrowly averted Tuesday at the home Anton Frank when the clothes were nearly burnt off his little daughter Genafavo, age 4 years, while she and her brother were trying to light a fire in a room on the upper floor. They had a candle and the little tots clothes caught fire and the older one began screaming for help and took his sister downstairs. Mr. Frank heard the screams and caught the burning baby in his hands. He carried her to the kitchen and dashed a pail of water on her. 

A resolution was introduced and unanimously passed authorizing an empowering the Mayor to demand and take possession of the plant of the Kaukauna Gas, Electric Light & Power company as per orders of the Railroad Commission. Mayor Coppes received authorization to operate the plant in behalf of the city until further settlement is affected and a commission appointed to take charge of the city's new acquisition. Manager Montgomery, who has been in charge of the plant, and regular employees of the company, have been retained under the agreement between the representatives of the company and the city to continue operating the plant.

The Supreme Court of the United States made a ruling Monday that “beer is a commodity and railroads must carry it, when offered for transportation from one state into dry counties of another state, regardless of the laws of the latter state.” The ruling was made on a case covering the shipment of beer from Indiana into “dry” counties of Kentucky.

January 12, 1912

The annual meeting of the stockholders of the First National Bank was held at the bank room in the Central block. The following officers were elected: President, Frank F. Becker, vice-president, Julius J. Martens, Cashier William J. Tesch.

The intense cold weather is causing manufacturers and the Chicago Northwestern company much trouble along the water power in keeping their property from danger by the fast forming ice and big ice flows constantly menacing them. A large crew of men is needed every day on the railroad bridge just below the Union Bag plant cutting away the cakes of ice consistently being formed by the below zero weather.

ANOTHER ICE HOUSE - Fred Reichel is preparing to erect an ice house on the lower end of the Island near the Lindauer mill and put in a supply of ice for general distance division next summer.

January 19, 1912

Paul Pagel has purchased, of John H. Corcoran, the blacksmith shop and equipment on Wisconsin Avenue formerly owned by Fred Dettmann. Mr. Pagel is a practical horseshoer and blacksmith, having been in this service in the German army for 3 years before coming to America.

January 26, 1912

The boys and girls are all looking forward to a rare winter's sport with their toboggans. Considerable enthusiasm is being awakened among tobogganers who are organizing a club with the prospect of a fine winter sport commencing this Friday evening at the slide they have built where Kaukauna Street extends on the Fox River at the Wisconsin Avenue crossing. This plan that the toboggan slide as well iced and that the steep incline at that point will give them such an impetus that they will be shot across the full width of the River on the ice.