Time Machine Trip to July 1916

Kaukauna Times

By Lyle Hansen KAHS

 

July 6, 1916

The strike at two Appleton pulp mills has escalated into conflicts between pickets and police. Laborers allege unnecessary police violence, including an assault on union leader, Burke and Alexander St. John—rumored to be a Pinkerton detective involved in the paper industry's eight-hour movement. St. John as filed a $10,000 lawsuit against Chief of Police Garvey, claiming the chief struck him.

 

At midnight on Monday, Otto Luedtke, Michael Kortz, Otto Kloehn, and Joseph Paulisch were injured at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Lawe Street. Immediately after purchasing two boxes containing 144 fireworks torpedoes each, one package was dropped. The resulting explosion detonated the second package carried under a man's arm, setting off 273 of the 288 torpedoes and embedding gravel filling into the men's bodies and faces.

 

Jacob Lang, a local grocer on Wisconsin Avenue, has been selected by Congressman Konop to become the new north side postmaster. He will succeed John C. Mitchell, whose term expires on July 23.

 

People living miles around Kaukauna have noticed a brilliant new light in the sky this week, with some mistaking it for a brand new star. The phenomenon is actually a large electric light installed by the electrical department on top of the high smoke stack of the old boiler house next to the power plant. The high-altitude light serves to mark the location of Kaukauna from a long distance away.

 

Madison—Over 2,500 state teachers will receive special state aid under a bonus law passed during the last legislative session. The amount of extra monthly pay depends on consecutive years taught in the same district: $2 a month for the second year, $4 a month for the third year, and $8 a month for four or more consecutive years. A small portion of each recipient's bonus will be allocated to the teachers' pension fund.

 

July 14, 1916

 

On the Island. View twelve good entertainments $1.50.

  

 

The Thilmany Pulp and Paper Co. paid every man in their employ a bonus of 10% on their total wages earned over the past six months, dating back to January 1, 1916. On July 10th, this advance was distributed to their 300 employees in addition to their regular wages. Based on an average wage scale of $60.00 per month, the total aggregate payout exceeded $1,100.00 for the half-year. This generous move has successfully kept their large crew of trained employees satisfied and, on the job, contrasting with other local employers currently suffering from disruptive labor strikes and production delays while trying to fill urgent orders.

 

July 21, 1916

 

SAN ANTONIO, Texas—Recent developments lead army officers to believe that the troops from Wisconsin will no doubt remain in the south for three or four months, even if there is no trouble. The Wisconsin troops have received their full equipment and none of the boys will have to sleep with the ants any longer, as all now have cots. The Badger soldiers held a celebration when they learned that regular bread was to be served in place of the usual army hardtack.

 

Nicholas Lom and John Van Dyke of Little Chute killed a sturgeon Sunday that weighed 118 pounds and measured seven feet in length. It was killed near the Little Chute dam.

 

Max Lemke is erecting a good-sized enclosure on his lot on Lawe street next to the Van Lieshout garage, opposite his place of business, wherein he will establish a fox kennel and endeavor to breed some black foxes. Mr. Lemke has half a dozen young foxes which were recently captured near here with which he will start his pen. He has also purchased a male black fox from John Micekalski of Pulaski which he will add to the kennel for breeding.

 

July 28, 1916

 

Aloysius Verfurth went to Milwaukee last week and returned on Saturday bringing back a new seven-passenger Mitchell auto, for which the Verfurth Co. have taken the local agency.

 

John Langendyk, about 30 years of age, a resident of Little Chute, was drowned last Friday evening in Lake Winnebago about two miles below Waverly. Mr. Langendyk had gone out to the lake with a party of others from Little Chute to spend the evening bathing and boating.

 

Time Machine Trip to July 1906

 

Kaukauna Times

By Lyle Hansen  

Kaukauna Area Historical Society

 

July 6, 1906

Willie Lappela held the lucky key that opened the money box at Mulford's clothing store. The box contained $25 and was exhibited for several months at the store.

 

“I shall have to ask you for a ticket for that girl, ma’am,” insisted a conductor, speaking to a quiet looking little woman seated beside a girl on the train.

“I guess not,” she replied.

“She’s too old to travel free. She occupies a whole seat, and the car’s crowded. There are people standing.”

“I’ve never paid for her yet,” the woman retorted.

“You’ve got to begin sometime,” persisted the conductor.

“Not this trip, anyway.”

“You’ll have to pay for that girl, ma’am, or I’ll stop the train and put her off.”

“All right, put her off, if you think that’s the way to get anything out of me.”

“You ought to know what the rules of this road are, ma’am. How old is that girl?”

“I don’t know. I never saw her before.”

 

July 13, 1906

Will Kidney have launched a new fast boat which is expected to eclipse anything in these waters. It is 37-footer, with 4 ft. 8 in beam, and is equipped with a 3 cylinder, 17 horsepower Straubel engine, and is capable of making 15 miles an hour or more.

 

Frank Goetzman, third hand on paper machine No. 1 at the Thilmany mill, fell from one of the truss rods of the roof of the machine room last night, striking his head, shoulder and hip, resulting in a slight concussion and the breaking of the middle finger. He was unconscious for about half an hour.

 

 

Two horses for the Engine house have been purchased at a cost of $500. The team that did the city service for the past twelve years have sold for $150 and will be used on the farm.

 

July 20, 1906

Because of the growing number of students enrolled in Kaukauna schools, it has been proposed to build an addition 28x32 feet, two stories high, to the southeast corner of the Nicolet School building, thus furnishing the additional rooms needed at present.

 

Cedar Rapids, Ia. -- Eight children at a picnic on the riverbank, only three blocks from home, went wading. The smallest one slipped into a deep hole in the river and in trying to rescue her the six others were drowned. The dead: Lucille Sweting, 7; Hazel Sweting, 14; Gladys Sweting, 10; Josie Sweting, 12; Ruth Coyle, 11; Core Coyle, 9; Clara Usher, 16. Ruth Klersey being the only survivor.

 

We are in receipt of a postal from Germany from Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Thilmany and daughter, Miss Elsie; also signed by five of Mr. and Mrs. Thilmany’s friends, all of whom composed a party that celebrated the Fourth of July at Petersburg, u. das Siebengebirge, a beautiful spot on the Rhine River near the Black forest.

 

     

             Black Chicken                                 Black Thunder

Uncle Sam has recently inaugurated a unique and ingenious project in connection with his Indian wards—or at least the most populous division of them. This is nothing less than a scheme for renaming every chief and brave, every squaw and papoose of the Sioux tribe. The object of this wholesale rechristening is to ensure the right descent of property, something that has been attended with much difficulty under the old condition of affairs when the Sioux had no family name. The renaming of the 25,000 members of the Sioux Indian tribe was ordered by President Roosevelt. Rechristen Braves – Bobtailed Coyote now becomes Robert T. Wolf.

 

July 27, 1906

A gang of five tramps that had taken possession of a freight car were arrested and taken to the police station. Later in the evening, they were informed that they would be given their freedom on the condition that they get out of town on the first car. They accepted the proposition and left for Appleton at 11:45. They were about as tough an aggregation as had been seen here in a long time.

 

 

The newly passed Naturalization Act establishes federal supervision of alien naturalization through a dedicated executive office. The Bureau of Naturalization will now issue all uniform blank forms and certificates, requiring courts to keep strict regular accounts. One of the most significant changes requires petitioners to be able to speak the English language. This rule is expected to affect nearly 1,000 residents in Outagamie County alone.

 

The Russian official commission appointed to investigate the military surrender of Port Arthur has concluded its investigation and recommended severe punishments for the responsible officers ahead of their upcoming formal trials: Lieut. Gen. Stoessel recommended to be dismissed from the army and executed by firing squad. Lieut. Gen. Fock recommended to be dismissed from the army and sentence to one year of hard labor. Gen. Reiss recommended to be dismissed and banished.

            Fashions for the Automobilist

 

 

 

      A white linen gown and coat, with English embroidery.

 

 

                    A Dainty Frock

 

Time Machine Trip to July 1896

Kaukauna Times

By Lyle Hansen KAHS

July 3, 1896

The streetcar line between Green Bay and DePere, a distance of 6 miles, has been completed and will be in operation by the fourth of July. It will be operated by the Green Bay and DePere Street Railway Company. 

Giant firecrackers this year are 14 inches long and contain enough power to break a plate glass window when exploding on the curb. Small boys will not only have to look out for their fingers on the fourth, but parents will have to look out for flying boys.

A cut to eight hours per day was made at the Northwestern Company’s shop here on Wednesday morning, July 1. The men will start at 7:30 and quit at 4:30.

The post office Department in Washington announced last Tuesday the changes in salary of Wisconsin postmasters for the ensuing fiscal year based on the receipts of their respective offices. The salary of postmaster D. J. Brothers of the North Side has been raised from $1300 to $1400.

Hartford Conn., July 1 - Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe died at noon today. Members of her family were at her bedside. Only eight days ago she celebrated the 84th anniversary of her birth. Her marvelous genius reached its height in the production of “Uncle Tom's Cabin”.

 

The Kaukauna Carriage Works has reopened under the management of Messrs. Kircher and Asa.  A new, novel building has been completed at the foot of Dodge Street. Half a dozen ordered vehicles are currently under construction.

July 10, 1896

The express office at Kimberly was broken into in an early morning hour Monday and robbed of $120 worth of clothing by some Chicago firm. The depot was also set on fire but saved from destruction with a small loss. No clue as to the thieves.

The latest invention is one for cooling the atmosphere. The process consists of exploding bombs on the towers in the air by means of an electric wire. These explosions are calculated to produce air currents that will cool the surrounding atmosphere.

The Fourth of July celebrations claimed two lives in the area last week. Richard Gilbert of Wrightstown was killed when a piece of metal from an explosive device struck him in the head. William Gregory of Seymour died of injuries when he was shot in the forehead by a small cannon. I.B. Johnson lost two fingers when he attempted to push a small boy out of the way of a large firecracker.

July 17, 1896

A total of 34 saloon licenses have been granted this far for the coming year. Two brewery licenses and two druggists’ permits have also been taken out thus far.

A south side girl wrote and sent the usual $.25 to find out how to whiten the hands and she got the answer in a few days, “soak them in dishwater”. It tickles her mother almost to death.

July 24, 1896

Dubbed by Britons as "the latest novelty in velocipedes," the epicycle follows a wave of patent unicycles. It consists of an immense outer wheel spoked to an inner rim. Inside, a V-shaped contrivance is rigged with wheels at its ends and apex, with the larger bottom wheel featuring pedal attachments.

Miss Edna Booker, a schoolteacher in Midland, became a western heroine after an incident at her schoolhouse. A pupil’s pet antelope, which regularly followed the child to school, was suddenly seized at the door by a large mountain lion.  While her terrified students huddled in a corner, Miss Booker retrieved an empty shotgun from the wall. She bravely walked past the growling lion to get ammunition from her desk and load the weapon. As the lion sprang toward the children, she took aim and pulled the trigger the blast blew the lion's head nearly to pieces.

Brit Murphy, of this city, made a flying trip to Kaukauna this afternoon just as an experiment. He left the Sherman house at exactly 1:30 by post reporter’s watch and at one 1:51 ½ called the reporter by telephone from the hotel brothers in Kaukauna. That shows a record of 21 1/2 minutes for the distance which is 8 miles. This is the fastest time yet made between the two points. Mr. Murphy is a speedy road runner and recently won a 10-mile road race at Duluth in 26 minutes. 

On Wednesday three "bums" got off a late freight and were immediately taken in tow by Officer Mankosky.  They became unruly while being taken to the station and one started to run away. When Mankosky started in pursuit another pulled a revolver and shot at Mankosky, striking the club he held in his hand. In the excitement, all three escaped. But let vagrants beware in the future Officer Mankosky has donned war paint for this class of vagabonds.

July 31, 1896

Professor Falb of Vienna, a respected scientist widely known for his expertise in meteorology and earthquakes, predicted the destruction of the planet on November 13, 1899.

The Twelfth annual fair of the Seymour Fair and Driving Park will be held Sept 10-12.

A Green Bay woman thinks that while Kaukauna and Green Bay were at a curfew ordinance should have included husbands, compelling them to be in after a certain hour.

KAUKAUNAS VS. MANITOWOCS Despite heavy Sunday morning rains, the weather cleared around 2 o'clock, allowing the scheduled baseball game to proceed at 3 o'clock. Over 300 spectators turned out to watch the match despite the threatening skies, though a clear day likely would have maxed out the grounds' capacity at 1,200. The Kaukauna team their confident adversaries, securing an 8 to 4 victory for the home team.

Kaukauna baseball team 1896. Left to right standing, William Augustine, Emil Heidman, Harry Frambach, Jack Godersky and George “Stormy” Kromer. Seated left to right Joseph Dietzler, Fred Ott, W. C. Sullivan, secretary, Julius Martens, manager, Fred Mill, scorer, Charles Phillips. In front are George “Jinks” Phillips, and John Rassman.   

 

Time Machine Trip to July 1886

This Trip is sponsored by:

 Look Back in Time

Antiques and Collectables

112 E. 2^nd St.

Kaukauna, Wi 54130

920-759-1985  

  

Time Machine Trip to July 1886

By Lyle Hansen

July 2, 1886

D.C. Kelley has just finished moving a house for Mr. Jacobs, from Third Avenue to Third Street up a grade of seventeen feet and placed it on a good foundation without cracking a wall in the house. This week he is engaged in moving a barn on the outskirts of town a half mile and placing it on a stone wall nine and one-half feet high. Dan is the boy that can do a job in good shape.

 

Jos. Schomish of Appleton was arrested by Marshal Mulloy on a Tuesday evening for "fast driving" on the swing bridge. He was brought in directly before the active common council session and paid the standard $5 fine.

 

A statewide prohibitionist temperance lecture was scheduled at the local rink on Thursday evening. Due to zero attendance, the speaker paid for the rink rental and left to find a more appreciative audience rather than present to empty chairs.

 

July 9, 1886

Happy Birthday to the Kaukauna Sun which is one-year-old this week. The Sun is a bright and shining luminary of this prosperous and thriving little city.

 

Thomas Brown, age 96, living in Adirondacks, N.Y., raises his feeble voice to claim that he is the only living person who has talked to George Washington.

 

Black Hills, Dakota – A shooting in a bar left a man dying on the floor. Moments later a man rushed in with his gun drawn and orders the crowd back. “That sheriff is prompt,” remarked the stranger to the barkeeper.” “He isn’t the sheriff, that’s the sheriff over there playing poker. You don’t expect him to stop to make an arrest till the game is finished do you?

 

Kaukauna celebrated the Fourth of July with unusually hot, disagreeable weather instead of the typical rainstorm. A morning parade led by Marshal D. J. Brothers and Captain J. C. Van Niel (who wore a notable Holland military uniform) marched from city hall through local streets to Lawe's Park, with a larger portion continuing to Sulphur Spring Park.

 

Kaukauna, along with villages and cities nationwide, observed the 110th anniversary of American independence on Monday, which was declared a legal holiday by lawmakers.

 

Dr. Tanner sold his newly completed house on the northside to John Knight for a consideration of $500. Following the sale, the doctor plans to build a new residence on the southside of Kaukauna.

July 16, 1886

A band of gypsies passed through our city the latter part of last week, but not being allowed to pitch their tent here, they continued their wanderings with Appleton as their objective point.

 

A young woman in Providence, RI., was struck speechless while giggling. There is a warning in this to the great army of “gigglets” among our young girls.

 

Capt. Balteres arrived in Tombstone on the 13^th. He states Geronimo and his band evaded the army and is now doubling back toward Arizona. On the 11^th the Apaches had killed six Mexicans.

 

A horse took fright near the Lake Shore depot tracks, causing a serious runaway accident near The Sun office on a Wednesday. One of the two ladies in the vehicle was thrown out onto the bridge, receiving severe cuts and bruises to her face and body. The second lady managed to stay inside the vehicle until the frightened animal was safely caught near the rink by Johnie Flanigan, the newspaper's office boy.

 

July 23, 1886

John Corcoran has purchased the balance of the Old Catholic parochial schoolhouse, paying the sum of $50. He is now moving it to a lot he purchased recently and will change it over into a dwelling house.

 

The prospect of lighting the city with gas appears to be very good at this time. The city council, at their last meeting, passed an ordinance granting certain rights and privileges to a gas company.

 

Bullock County Ga. - At noon, on the 15^th, Jake Brasswell, a colored man, who had brutally assaulted a little girl, was caught by a mob and given the choice of being burned or hanging himself. He was given a rope, and climbing a tree, he fastened the rope to a limb and to his neck and then jumped.

 

July 30, 1886

On Monday last, Wm. Buschman, a car repairer, was badly yet not fatally injured while engaged in backing up an ore car. The car tipped over while Buschman was beneath it. Fortunately, he was insured against accidents and will draw $7.50 per week until he recovers.

 

A pretty maiden fell overboard, and her lover leaned over the side of the boat as she rose to the surface and said: “Give me your hand.” “Please ask papa,” she said, as she sank for the second time.

 

After a long wait and much concern, some of Kaukauna's streets are finally being macadamized. Geo. Kelso was awarded the contracts for doing the work on the streets. Work has commenced on improving the condition of Wisconsin Avenue.

 

The Congregational church of North and South Kaukauna organized a picnic excursion to DePere and Green Bay. The excursion boat Evalyn was hired along with the South Kaukauna brass band. A picnic dinner was planned for DePere, with the fair buildings secured as a backup in case of rain.

                                 

The New Outagamie County Jail

 

Secretary Supervisor Thos. Reese shared the architectural plans and design cuts for the new Outagamie County jail to be built in Appleton. The core cell room, built by the Patent Rotary Jail Co. of Chicago, features a two-story circular iron structure containing 20 total cells. The entire mechanism rotates via a system of gears and cranks operated by the jailer, allowing prisoner management from a single stationary secure entrance with zero personal contact. The complete project is estimated to cost around $24,000.

 

 

1976 Kaukauna Senior Class

 1976 Kaukauna Senior Class