Past and Present

by
Ellen Lyons

Many old records are lost and memory is unreliable. Mrs. James Ringstad, village clerk, does not have the date in 1910 when the village purchased a piece of land from William Buss to be used as a cemetery. This land was once a part of the Buss Farm. In the more than sixty years that has passed since then, only seven persons have been interred there. The plot is enclosed with a heavy woven Wire fence and the iron gate is locked. The land is well kept and the graves are marked with granite headstones.

An unknown man murdered in the nearby woods at about the time the cemetery was established lies in an anonymous grave. Granite stones bear the names Gustave Hardwig, 1886-1914; Adam Rettig, 1870-1943; Henrietta Rettig, 1870-1957. Their two children, Elizabeth and Albert, rest in the family lot. The grave of Clara Pendel, 1912-1914 is a mute reminder of the little girl's tragic death. She burned to death on her parents' farm in the Town of Norrie. The old house is gone and Jerome Pietz has a modern residence on the site. Eventually the family moved away and nothing was heard of them until 1954, when the oldest daughter returned to revisit the scenes of her child- hood and her sister's grave.

She told the following story to a friend: "On the morning the child died her mother went out to work in the garden after placing bread in the oven. She told her husband to take care of the baby and keep the fire going, but, he went to sleep. The baby opened the stove door and the flames caught her dress. Her cry reached the mother who hurried in, but too late. The baby's father was still asleep."

Della, the daughter said, "that after that her father's life became unbearable." The family and neighbors never forgave him. He sold the farm and moved his family to New York, where he had relatives. Delia was the only one left in 1954, when she decided to return to Wisconsin and the Town of Norrie. She was a resident of Schenectady, single and employed. She spent her vacation on a nostalgic journey and in the company of a few old friends who remembered her. Some of the descendants of the early farmers, railroad and sawmill men still live in the hometown. many are scattered over the nation. William Frank, railroad man, still lives in the old hometown. Mr. Frank remembers many of the old names and early events, especially railroad stories.

The Golden Wedding Anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Pickering, Pickering printed in the Birnamwood News in 1935 reads in part: "The Golden Wedding Anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Pickering, Eland, was a happy event, their children uniting to make the event most impressive."

"A dinner arranged Sunday at Hotel Gueller, was a happy gathering of all the children of the esteemed couple, and their families. Covers were laid for thirty-eight at a large table in the spacious dining room of the hotel. The tables were attractively decorated with cut flowers, the predominating colors being white and gold. A beautiful three tiered wedding cake and smaller decorated cakes added to the decorations. After the music of Lohengrin's Wedding March, the family followed Mr. and Mrs. Pickering to find their places at the table, where a delicious dinner was served."

"Rev. and Mrs. J. M. Peterson, their local pastor, were seated with the honored guests and gave a short address extolling their virtues. Mrs. George Zink, Marshfield, who was bridesmaid fifty-years-old was present with her daughter, Mrs. John Fisher and husband. Mrs. Jannie Brown, who also attended the first ceremony was also present. The only brother of the bride present was, Bloomfield Brown, Eland. George and James, Kaukauna, and Frank, Oshkosh, sending their regrets of not being able to attend."

"All of the children were present: Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Pickering and sons. Carroll and David. Black Earth; Wilmette and her husband, Irvin Kinney, three sons, Warren, Donald and Dale and daughter Joyce, Wausau; Mr. and Mrs. Marvin J. Pickering, Mattoon; Mr. and Mrs. Vern C. Pickering and sons, Donald and Junior, Hatley; Ida Mae and her husband, N. W. Allen, son, Lloyd and daughters, Joan and Jean, Manitowoc; daughters, Delores, Robert Brown."

The remainder of the report relates the evening entertainment. That was almost forty years ago when social events were celebrations.

The names Frank Bohlman, Art Aanonson, Van Echtern, Alex Schreiber, Fred Liscomb, Anna. his wife; C. B. Walch, E. Marsh, E. Schwalbach, Mike Hulahan, George Thayer, C. Perry and Fred Gilder.

Nicholas Roth, an early farmer was killed while working on road construction, paying his poll tax with labor. In those days each farmer with his horses worked a section of road as a payment of taxes. Mr. Roth fell from his wagon on a steep hill and was trampled by his horses. No one witnessed the accident or knew the details of his death. His son, William, remembers the date, June 15, 1908.

Taxes have always been a necessary evil. Transportation has advanced from oxen, horses, automobile, airplanes to jets in the years since the first settlers came to Eland. The days of wagon trails and dusty roads are gone. We are now concerned with the present.

At present Larson's Store is the leading business establishment in the Village of Eland, serving a wide rural and local area.

This is a two generation business. C. H. Alley was the first owner. He sold to A. J. Roepke, Birnamwood,' who in turn sold the store to Louis Larson and his partner, Ole Paulson in 1927, who were together until 1947, twenty years. The' present owners, Leslie Larson and G. E. Smith, took over after his father retired. He has made many Improvements in the building and business.

Mr. and Mrs. Basil Bumpas. formerly of Milwaukee, and the Norrie Inn, operate the 400 Bar, one of many owners. The Eland State Bank, established in 1905, is still on the corner, now a branch of the Citizens Bank, Wittenberg.

There are two garages, Stencil's, west of the tracks and the .new garage, owned by Robert Welker. Clarence Graves has a mink ranch on the Northwest side of the Village.

Bill and Mary VanLanen operate a tavern, just East on Highway 45, and the only sawmill in the area established by Earl Peterson is now under new management known as Continental Lumber LTD. Both are located in the Town of Birnamwood.

The government of Eland is accomplished by these officers: Clarence Graves, president; Lucille Ringstad. clerk and George Smith, treasurer. Committees are: street and sidewalks - Clarence Graves, Donald Bublitz, Leslie Larson; public property - Phillip Goulee, John Slaney, Leslie Larson; finance - Phillip Goulee, Donald Bublitz, John Slaney; licenses - William Hesse, Mervil Kaufman, Lucille Ringstad; board of review - Clarence Graves, Wilham Hesse, Lucille Ringstad; Attorney - Carl Larsen, Wittenberg; fire chief - Leslie Larson; health officer - William Hesse; weed commissioner - Clarence Graves.

C. J. Westphal served as supervisor for the Village of Eland on the Shawano County Board for twenty years. He retired in 1972. He also served on the election board for school board elections when the Wittenberg-Birnamwood School Board Officers were chosen in 1970.

The village pond is a pleasant feature on the map of Eland. This pond was formed by widening the creek that crosses the East Side to make a skating rink and place for the children to fish. It's a red letter day when one of the barefoot set pulls a big one out of the pond.

At Christmas time the town glows with colored lights, a Christmas tree street and window decorations. It is the season for family reunion, the generation gap closes up until after the presents are opened, after church and school programs, Santa Claus and outdoor fun.