Time Machine Trip to September 1899

By Lyle Hansen

September 1, 1899

Julius Kuehn bought the biggest load of oats Wednesday that was ever hauled into Kaukauna from John Mau of Buchanan. There were 279 bushels in the load and weighted nearly four ton. A load the day before by the same farmer contained 272 bushels.

The franchise of the Fox River Inter-Urban Railway company which has been pending here all summer came up before the common council for final action last Tuesday night and was killed by a vote of 4-4, two of the aldermen being absent.

The city council voted not to let an electric interurban enter Kaukauna unless it served both sides of the river.

Something more than $200,000,000 in gold is piled up in the United States Treasury vaults. Is it to be wondered at that hungry democrats are anxious to get into office again and get to work reducing this amount.

September 8, 1899

A fire-starting Saturday night totally wiped out the office of the Kaukauna Sun and the John Thompson carriage shop on the Island. Editor Toner says he had $5,000 insurance but it will not cover the loss. Thompson loss is $3,000 and has $1,200 insurance.

 A resolution was passed by the common council Tuesday evening ordering the Fourth street viaduct removed by the street commissioner and the material divided between the north side and south road districts. The property owners on that street object to removing the bridge and the matter will go into the circuit court for settlement.

The Combined Locks Company will shut down two of their paper mills this week, the other two will run by steam from the two new engines which are now in readiness. This will be the first time in the history of this big mill that they ever had to resort to the use of steam to manufacture paper.

The Fox River Interurban franchise has been resuscitated and is still alive although once killed by the council. A vote of 5 to 3 was the motion reconsidering the action.

The Times starts its twentieth volume this week and celebrated the occasion by enlarging to an eight-column quarto. Eighteen years ago, this month the present editor, C. E. Raught, entered the office as a printers’ “devil”.

September 15, 1899

Daniel Nussbaum, age 24, the insane man who performed a surgical operation (hernia removal) on himself at the county asylum a week ago, is now past the crisis and will recover.  The case is pronounced by physicians little short of marvelous.

The citizens of Little Chute recently expressed considerable opposition to the Fox River Valley Electric railroad plan to route the road near the river and not by the Main street.

September 22, 1899

A. Jenss of the Kaukauna Marble Works will soon erect at the Kelso cemetery one of the largest monuments in the county. It is an obelisk standing 21 feet high and will mark the family lot of A. C. Black.

Bishop Messmer of Green Bay has issued a letter to priests of the diocese renewing the ban against Saturday and Sunday night dances.

The town of Lincoln, N. J., having taken a breath after electing an all women aldermen and now seriously thinking of having a woman mayor. In two years, the women have secured for the town all modern improvements. The streets are paved, sewers installed, electric lighting has been installed and the town has managed its debt.

September 30, 1899

The order issued to cut off the whole supply of water at the Menasha dam was complied with last week under the direction of United States Engineer Mann of Oshkosh. There is a leakage of 50,000 cubic feet per minute under the Neenah-Menasha dams which is all the water now available for the 25 to 30 paper and pulp mills on the lower Fox River.

The Czarina of Russia vow’s Knouting shall be abolished.

  

          Torturing a Prisoner                              Flogging a Peasant