Researched by Michael J. Caylor Jr.
9-17-75
Classes at NCTI will resume an evening schedule this fall. According to NCTI Merrill Agent Roy Hull you should register soon if you are interested. Classes run from one to two nights a week and some meet up to 16 times. Classes include: shorthand, sewing and knitting, home meal prep, basic education, GED classes, small engine repair and welding. Dairy farm classes will be held at sites to be announced in the Town of Corning and Pine River. Costs for classes range from $5.50 for the sewing men’s trousers class to $16 for the basic welding class.
Lots of pictures this week taken in area churches are featured. Sister John Marie and Sister Celine Goessel are shown prepping sophomores and juniors for the religious education classes Wednesdays at St. Francis. Father Peter Szleszinski is pictured on page four being honored by Knights of Columbus members Joe Folta and Norman Duginski. Father Peter was named Knight of the Year by the Menard Council. Next weekend Trinity Lutheran Church will celebrate their 90th anniversary with former pastor and guest speaker Rev. Gerard Kohn; a potluck will follow the late Sunday service. St. John’s students got a break from the books as the school held the Watermelon Olympics this past Friday; Principal Gerald Behling led the fun. The PTL at St. John’s has elected new officers. They include Harold Schneider as President, Marlene Zuelsdorff as secretary, Sue Kufahl as treasurer, and Marianne Klade serving as Vice-President. They were joined for a picture by faculty advisor Kay Wornardt and Pastor Gerhard Michael. The St. Robert’s Altar Society also installed new officers; they include: Sallie Bacher, Marion Meyer, Sharon Semling, Mabel Schnabel and Cecilia Hojan.
Things did not start out the best when the Merrill Bluejay football team welcomed the Stevens Point Panthers on Saturday. The first home play of the game resulted in a fumble which the opposing team scooped up and ran into the end zone. On the ensuing kickoff Keith Donner ran the kick back for a Jay’s touchdown, however it was called back due to a clipping penalty. Starting at his own 22 yard line, Jay’s quarterback Bob Semling led the home team down to the 10 yard line before he ran into the end zone for the score. The Panthers were kind enough to return the fumble favor on their next possession setting up a Semling 15 yard scramble. Steve Rajek got the next two scores for the home team, including another off of a fumble. Doug Grisa also got in on the scoring as well when he recovered a Point fumble that landed over the goal line giving the Jays a 35-10 victory. The Jays travel to Schofield on Saturday for their third game in the conference schedule.
9-18-85
The County Board of Supervisors has agreed to rent a parcel from the City of Merrill for a solid waste landfill transfer station. About 55 tons of garbage is collected each day, and the waste will soon need to be transferred to facilities in Antigo and Wisconsin Rapids. Antigo will take 15 tons per day and the rest will be shipped to Rapids, something the city has already practiced on a trial run. If you bring refuse to the new transfer station a scale will greet you along with a tipping fee of $22 per ton. Also in County Board action, the board raised the fee for an ambulance call from $50 to $90. Supervisor Paul Garner explained even with the increase the county is still losing money on ambulances calls and would only break even if the fee was $250 per run.
An area man did not have to travel far when he made a trip to the Lincoln County Jail, and along the way he probably learned a lesson for those looking to commit a crime – don’t draw so much attention to yourself. A deputy monitoring the cameras at the jail house early Tuesday morning watched as a Merrill man went up and smashed the headlamps on a county squad car. Merrill Police Officers were asked to come look for the man which led to a foot chase around the safety building. The chase ended when the man ran into the jail lobby and pulled the fire alarm, leading to his quick apprehension.
Dr. Dennis Abegglen has announced he has opened a practice at 726 E. Main St. in Merrill. The Wisconsin native previously served as a Full Professor at the Palmer College of Chiropractic.
The Merrill Bluejay football team dropped another game, but the good news is the team is progressing under the new coaching staff. The Jays lost a close game 10-8 to Wausau East Friday in which they developed their running game. Senior Dave Schepp led with 101 yards on 14 carries. Jim Zimmerman filled in for Steve Weix in the backfield picking up 37 yards on nine carries. Schepp scored the only touchdown for the Jays on a 44 yard run, and Carl Westberg added on the two point conversion. Schepp and Kurt Bartling also each grabbed an interception off of East. Merrill will host Marshfield this Saturday as they continue searching for their first win of the season.
9-13-95
One of Merrill’s native sons has passed away. Elmer “Madam” Kleinschmidt died unexpectedly on Sunday morning at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Appleton. He was in the Fox Valley visiting along with his wife Grace. Madam was appointed to the Merrill Police Department in October of 1945 and served until his retirement in 1974. Besides his love of local sports, Madam was well known in the community spending his later years on the force walking the downtown beat. After retirement he served as an alderman on the Merrill City Council for many years and was also a courier for the Lincoln County Bank. A funeral was held this morning at the Taylor Funeral Home with Rev. Dale G. Kuck officiating. Kleinschmidt is survived by his son Duane of Appleton and his granddaughters Amy and Ann. (His granddaughter Ann followed in his law enforcement footsteps and now serves as a Special Agent in the FBI.)
Tomahawk has cooled down after all of the fires and rescues this past weekend, all of them planned. The ninth annual Tomahawk Fire Department Fire School was held this past weekend, and students from throughout the Midwest attended. What started out as a class for 30 students for the Illinois Paper Mill fire brigade has expanded into 23 different classes and thousands of students. (A victim of shrinking budgets, the fire school has now been replaced by a very successful safety day and fundraiser; in its early years the bars and restaurants did more business on Fire School weekend than Fall Ride)
With 39 points in the first half, the D.C. Everest Evergreens probably were not too worried going into the second half of last week’s game when a spark lit the Merrill Bluejay football team offense on fire. The game ended with a score of 51-27 as the Jays opened the second half with three consecutive touchdowns from Mike Krueger, but scores in the third and fourth quarter from Everest put the game out of the Jays’ reach. Matt Rybarczyk had a late blocked punt which led to the final Merrill touchdown. The 0-3 Jays host 2-1 Wausau West this Friday night.