Surnames: WILSON ZOLLINGER

----Sources: MARSHFIELD NEWS HERALD (Marshfield, Wood Co., Wis.) 03/11/1959; P.16

Wilson, Arthur M. (31 Dec 1873 - 7 Mar 1959)

Owen, Clark County, Wis. - Funeral services were conducted at the Congregational Church here at 10 a.m. Tuesday for Arthur M. Wilson, a resident of Owen for 41 years, who died at his home on Saturday, March 7, 1979, at the age of 85.

He was born on a farm in rural township Rock Island County, Ill., on Dec. 31, 1873. He attended Geneseo Academy in Geneseo, Ill., and the Normal School at Bloomington, Ill., and worked on the family farm during the years of his early manhood.

On Oct. 30, 1901, he married Clara Estelle Zollinger of Port Byron, Ill. In 1903 the Wilsons moved to a farm near Lincoln, Neb., and in 1906 to a cattle ranch at Emmet, in north central Nebraska.

In 1918 they came to Owen, where Mr. Wilson built and operated for eight years the garage which still stands at the corner of Main St. and Highway 29. He was later an employee of the Oatman Condensed Milk Co.

Mr. Wilson was interested in baseball through his life. In his early days a pitcher, he is remembered in Owen as a successful manager of various Owen teams through the years and, later, as assistant manager of Kidd’s kids.

Following World War II he spent several summers coaching Owen’s small fry baseball players and came to have the nickname of Connie Mack, a comparison which pleased him a great deal.

Mr. Wilson became a Mason at Orion, Ill., in 1895. At Owen he was a charter member of the Cloverbelt Lodge, and was Worhsipful Master in 1925. In the course of time he held every lodge office except that of treasurer. He was particularly known for his zeal in posting candidate for various degrees, and it is estimated that during his years at Owen he personally posted not less than 120 Masons.