Time Machine Trip to February 1899

February 3, 1899

The river rapids at this point have frozen over this week, for the first time since the winter of 1893-94. The mercury has been fluctuating between 20° above and 30° below zero this week the coldest in many years.

Richmond. Va. - The birthday of Gen. Robert E. Lee was celebrated in all the leading cities Thursday by the societies of the Army and Navy of the Confederate States and Daughters of the Confederacy. In most cities business was suspended in honor of the day.

While a force of men was at work at Calmalli, California, laying out a race track, one of them unearthed a heavy piece of metal. They discovered it to be a gold bar stamped with Spanish markings. The brick is worth about $1000.

Joseph Vacher, the French “Jack the Ripper,” was guillotined at Bourghon-Brease, the other morning. Vacher, was twenty-nine years old, and was condemned to death in October. He was known to have brutally murdered four boys, six young women and girls and then an aged widow. His crimes surpassed the number of those of the Whitechapel murderer known as “Jack the Ripper.

February 10, 1899

It’s cold down south, a snowball fight on the steps of the state capital in Florida.

People have, of late, had a pretty good taste of cold weather that has not been experienced for many years. For the past fourteen days the average temperature has been twelve degrees below with the coldest reaching twenty-seven below.

A man in Iowa who was too stingy to subscribe for his home paper sent his young boy to a neighbor to borrow one. As the boy was coming home he fell down and broke his leg. The father heard his cries went out to get him. The house caught fire while he was gone and was totally destroyed with a loss $2,000 and no insurance.

The dread disease, small-pox, has made its appearance in Appleton. Two cases have been discovered and it is fearful that there will be more. 

Bishop Messmer reports a great deal of sickness among the Catholic clergy of the Green Bay diocese. There are a number of places vacant for the time being sick with no extra priest to put in their places. The grip seems to be the prevailing disease.

Mr. and Mrs. J. Merritt Black commence this week moving into the home which is now nearly finished. Mr. Black has studied many of the best known recently constructed homes making the plans for his home. The house is constructed of solid rock, faced and cut from his own quarry. At the front corner there is a circular tower three stories in height.

At the Kaukauna common council meeting held Tuesday a motion was adopted and approved to draft an ordinance to remove all slot machines from Kaukauna. Saloons where slot machines are located are to get their machines out of town.

Judge Goodland has issued an order allowing an election to be held at Little Chute within sixty days, at which time the electors will vote upon the question of incorporating Little Chute into a village.

  

February 17, 1899

The ice on Lake Winnebago is thirty-eight inches thick and as clear as crystal. This breaks the record on the lake. A number of years ago, the ice froze to a depth of 33 inches, but then the first three inches were what is termed snow ice. This year the ice is as clear as crystal, and it is an easy matter for one to read a newspaper through the ice even at the present thickness.

February 24, 1899

The job of putting in eleven of the fine stained-glass windows at St. Mary's church, that arrived here a couple of weeks ago from Innsbruck, Austria, was finished last Friday. There are seven in the sanctuary, two in the transept, and two in the body of the church.

The first death as the result of the small-pox cases in Appleton occurred Tuesday morning when seventeen-year-old Pauline Lipski died. She was one of the first victims of the disease and was employed in the rag room of the Telulah mill.