1

Bio: Christensen, Harold – Barn Fire (9 Oct 1975)

Transcriber: Stan

Surnames: Christensen

A fire Thursday afternoon, October 9, 1975 on the Harold Christensen farm, Route1, Abbotsford, destroyed a 36 x 140 foot sales barn, 6,000 bales of hay and 2,00 bales of straw. The building burned to the ground

Firemen were called to the farm located on the edge of Abbotsford at 2 p.m., when smoke was noticed coming from the hayloft.

Christensen, a stock dealer, and three other men were in the barn at the time, and were able to release all 42 head of sales cattle and a tractor.

Firemen remained at the scene until dearly the following morning in protecting other buildings from flying embers, caused by strong winds.

Cause of the fire and estimated loss has not been determined. The barn was insured.

2

Bio: Pletka, John Sr. – 86th Birthday (Oct 1975)

Transcriber: Stan

Surnames: Pletka

----Source: Thorp Courier (Thorp, Clark Co., Wis.) 16 Oct 1975

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pletka and Mary Horounzaik visited John Pletka Sr. at Owen and helped him celebrate his 86th Birthday on Tuesday.

3

Obit: Jarocki, Andrew (1880 – 1975)

Transcriber: Stan

Surnames: Jarocki, Staniec, Soper, Kosakoski, Krawiec, Wiles, Dallas, Peach, Zawacki

----Source: Thorp Courier (Thorp, Clark Co., Wis.) 169 Oct 1975

Jarocki, Andrew (29 Nov 1880 – 5 Oct 1975)

Andrew Jarocki, 94, passed away at the Stanley Nursing Home on Sunday, October 5, 1975.

Mr. Jarocki, a retired farmer, was born November 29, 1880 in Poland. In 1907 he was united in marriage in Poland to Philomena Zawacki, who preceded him in death. They came to the states December 12, 1912, settling in the Town of Withee.

Surviving are one son, Peter Jarocki of Thorp; two daughters, (Helen) Mrs. Walter Staniec of Thorp, (Frances) Mrs. Frank Soper, Medford; one sister, Albertyna Kosakoski of Thorp, seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by 1 brother and 3 sisters.

Funeral services were held at St. Mary’s of Assumption Polish National Catholic Church, Lublin, on Tuesday, October 7 at 2:30 p.m. Interment was made in St. Mary’s Parish cemetery, Lublin, with Rev. Stephen S. Krawiec officiating. Pallbearers were Gerald Wiles, James Dallas, Raymong Soper, Walter Staniec Jr., Robert Peach and Ted Zawacki.

4

Bio: Olson, Robert W. – Honored for 25 Years in Ministry (19 Oct 1975)

Transcriber: Stan

Surnames: Olson

----Source: Thorp Courier (Thorp, Clark Co., Wis.) 23 Oct 1975

Rev. Robert W. Olson was honored on his 25 years in the ministry, with a special worship service and dinner reception on the 19th of October, 1975 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Thorp, Wisconsin. Twenty one of those years he has served St. Paul’s Congregation in Thorp and Epiphany Congregation in Stanley..

Rev. Olson attended Eau Claire Public School and graduated from Eau Claire High School, and attended Concordia College in St. Paul, Minnesota, graduating from Concordia Seminary in Springfield, Illinois.

Rev. and Bernice Olson are the parents of one daughter, Mrs. Gary (Jodene) Lawcewicz (? Spelling) of Thorp, and six sons, Bruce of Neenah, John, Paul Philip, Stephen and Martin, all of Thorp.

5

BioM: Anderson, Susan (1975)

Transcriber: Stan

Surnames: Anderson, Erickson, Sifferath, Bielecki, Larson, Bloom, Price

----Source: Thorp Courier (Thorp, Clark Co., Wis.) 23 Oct 1975

Anderson, Susan (27 Sep 1975)

The wedding of Miss Susan Anderson to Mr. Dennis Erickson was held Saturday, September 27, 1975 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Stanley. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry G. Anderson of Thorp. The bridegroom’s parents are Mr. and Mrs. David Ericson of Stanley.

The Rev. Norman Sifferath performed the ceremony, which was followed by a reception and dance at the Thorp Legion Hall.

Christine Anderson, sister of the bride, was maid of honor. Bridesmaids were Mrs. Ellen Bielecki, sister of the groom, and Mrs. Pam Larson.

James Erickson, brother of the groom, was best man. Groomsmen included Doug Bloom and Paul Larson. Charles Anderson, brother of the bride, and Duane Price, cousin of the groom, ushered.

Mrs. Erickson is a 1974 graduate of the UW-Eau Claire with a B.S. Degree in Medical Technology and was formerly employed at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire.

Mr. Erickson is employed as crew chief of the Menard Agri-Building Center at La Crosse.

The couple will reside in Onalaska, 525 13th Avenue South.

6

Obit: Schneider, Allen L. (1934 – 2023)

Transcriber: Stan

Surnames: Schneider, Buss

----Source: TRG (Abbotsford, Clark Co., Wis.) 22 Nov 2023

Schneider, Allen L. (16 Aug 1934 – 30 Oct 2023)

Allen L. Schneider, 89, Greenwood, passed away at his home on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. A memorial service will be held at Immanuel United Church of Christ, rural Greenwood, on Dec. 2, 2023, at 11 a.m. Visitation will be held at the church from 10 a.m. until the time of the service. He will be laid to rest next to his parents in the Greenwood City Cemetery.

Allen LaVern Schneider was born on Aug. 16, 1934, in the town of Green Grove, rural Curtiss, to Robert H. and Anna A. (Buss) Schneider. He was raised and received his education in Greenwood, graduating from Greenwood High School in 1952.

After high school, Al attended Wausau University Extension in Wausau. He enlisted into the U.S. Army on Aug. 8, 1957, and served with the 50th Airborne Signal Battalion, 82nd Airborne in Fort Bragg, N.C., where he repaired teletype equipment until his honorable discharge on Aug. 7, 1959.

After returning home, Al moved to Milwaukee, where he worked for Western Electric as an electrician until retiring in 1989. He moved back to Greenwood and resided there until his death.

He was a member of Immanuel United Church of Christ, Greenwood, and had many interests.

Allen was preceded in death by his parents.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.cuddiefh.com. 

Cuddie Funeral Home, Greenwood, is assisting the family with arrangements.

7

Bio: Johnson, Mike – Greenwood Bus Driver for Nearly 40 Years (Nov 2023)

Transcriber: Stan

Surnames: Johnson, Linder, Scheel

----Source: TRG (Abbotsford, Clark Co., Wis.) 29 Nov 2023

By Valorie Brecht

In our ever-changing world, it’s nice to know that some things stay the same — like a bus driver, his route and the family that relies on him for safe transportation to and from school.

Around 7:15 each school morning, the big yellow bus comes rolling down a quiet gravel road to a dairy farm between Greenwood and Loyal to pick up 4-year-old Emersyn Scheel. Driver Mike Johnson greets the young rider with a “Good morning” and off they go. By 4 p.m., Mike is back to drop her off in his last stop of the day.

Emersyn’s grandparents, Jon and Jodi Lindner, live in the country between Greenwood and Loyal, about 3.5 miles from Greenwood. Jon rode Mike’s bus starting his junior year of high school. When Jon grew up, he married Jodi and they had two daughters, Katie and Claire, who also rode the bus with Mike. Katie graduated in 2012 and now has a daughter of her own, Emersyn. Although Katie lives in town, because of her work schedule, it is easier for her to drop off Emersyn at her grandparents’ house on the way to work, and Emersyn waits with her grandparents for the bus. So, the tradition of Mike driving for the family has continued.

Mike has been driving bus for nigh on 40 years. He started back in March 1984.

“I knew Jerry Haas. He was a welder; I was a farmer. He told me they needed somebody and got me driving bus. I was going to just to do extra work, like subbing for people that were gone, but I ended up with a regular route,” said Mike.

While driving bus, Mike continued to maintain his farm. He sold the cows in 2007 but kept his bus route. He’s seen several changes to his position over the past few decades. For one, the Greenwood School District used to have nine full buses — meaning 70-plus kids per bus. Now the school district runs just six buses and Mike has only between 32 and 35 kids.

He also used to drive bus for all of his kids’ and grandkids’ sporting events when they were going through school, as he loves sports. Now, he maintains his regular morning and evening route, the same route his father, Delmond Johnson, drove for 20 years.

For Mike, the job has been a good fit. “I guess I’ve always got along with the kids, for the most part, anyway. You know, I’ve had good kids all the time and they were nice and behaved themselves — to a certain extent,” he said with a twinkle in his eye towards Jon.

He’s had some unusual experiences while driving bus. He’s had several kids fall asleep while on the bus and had dogs climb on the bus. One time, he picked up a dog that was running around and gave it a ride back home.

“I’ve (accidentally) drove by my stop already. I don’t know what I was thinkin’, but I drove by and then I said, ‘Oh yeah, you wanna get off,’” said Mike.

He’s also navigated his rig through all sorts of weather conditions, to be expected in Wisconsin. He’s been glad to do the job, though, and has gotten to watch the Lindner family and others grow up before his eyes. And, he has no plans to stop anytime soon.

“I’m in fairly good health, so I plan to keep going,” said Mike.

He will be due for his next re-certification test in November 2024 and then will be good for another two years. Emersyn’s younger sister Kearslyn will be turning 4 and starting school in that time period, so if all goes according to plan, Mike will get to drive her to school as well. He will greet her with the same “Good morning” to start the day and “Have a good one” at the end of the day as he continues to fill an important need in the community.

8

School: Loyal – 2 FFA Members Achieve National Awards (2023)

Transcriber: Stan

Surnames: Hinkelman, Jakobi, Donnerbauer

----Source: TRG (Abbotsford, Clark Co., Wis.) 29 Nov 2023

Each year, the National FFA Organization honors FFA members who show the utmost dedication to the organization through their desire to develop their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

The American FFA Degree is bestowed upon a select group of students in recognition of their years of academic and professional excellence. This year over 4,400 American Degrees were awarded.

Devani Hinkelmann and Brandon Jakobi, members of the Loyal FFA chapter in Wisconsin, were awarded the American FFA Degree at the 96th National FFA Convention & Expo on Nov. 4, 2023.

Sponsored by Cargill, Case IH, Elanco Animal Health and Syngenta, the award recognizes demonstrated ability and outstanding achievements in agricultural business, production, processing or service programs.

To be eligible, FFA members must have earned at least $10,000 or earned at least $2,000 and worked at least 2,250 hours outside of class time through a supervised agricultural experience (SAE) program in which they own their own business, hold a professional position as an employee or conduct research. Recipients must also complete 50 hours of community service and demonstrate outstanding leadership abilities and civic involvement through completion of a long list of FFA and community activities. Less than 1 percent of FFA members achieve the American FFA Degree.

“Both (Hinkelmann and Jakobi) have been very active members since seventh grade,” wrote Loyal FFA advisor Stephanie Donnerbauer in an email. “Devani served as last year’s Section 7 State FFA Officer and is currently studying agriculture education at UW-River Falls. Her SAE included working at Northside Elevator in the office.

“Brandon is currently studying at North Central Technical College for machining. His SAEs included working at a local dairy farm, as well as owning and operating a round baling business, which was recognized previously at the national level of competition.”

Each recipient of the American FFA Degree receives a gold American FFA Degree key and certificate after being recognized at the national convention.

9

News: Clark Co. – 4 Scholarships Awarded from HCE (2023)

Transcriber: Stan

Surnames: Cappadora, Horvath, Tauchen, Wendler

----Source: Tribune/Phonograph (Abbotsford, Clark Co., Wis.) 22 Nov 2023

Four $500 scholarships were awarded to college or technical school students, originally from Clark County or currently living in Clark County. The 2023 recipients were Sam Cappadora of Granton, Josiah Horvath of Greenwood, Conner Tauchen of Dorchester and Robert Wendler of Withee.

Students applying for the scholarship must be in the process of completing, or have completed, at least one year of higher education beyond high school, must have 24 credits and a GPA of 3.0 or higher to qualify. The funds for these scholarships are made available through the Home and Community Education (HCE) Dairy Bar sales at the Clark County Fair.

10

Obit: Cronin, Jeremy A. (1980 – 2023)

Transcriber: Stan

Surnames: Cronin, Fralick, Patton, McFarlane, Lieffring, Kemsley

----Source: TRG (Abbotsford, Clark Co., Wis.) 29 Nov 2023

Cronin, Jeremy A. (3 Dec 1980 – 16 Nov 2023)

Jeremy Adam Cronin tragically passed from this life on Nov. 16, 2023.

He was born to Jody and Sharon Cronin on Dec. 3, 1980, in Eau Claire. Jeremy’s life, after being hit by a car when he was only 2, was challenged; but he never complained. Instead, he jumped in, determined not to let his physical issues stop him. He’d always say he could do just about anything; it “only takes me a little longer.” Jeremy was so proud of his little house and especially to be a Special Olympics athlete, where he not only gathered medals in competition but also gained a whole new family of friends.

Travel was another of his passions, having seen a majority of the U.S., Mexico, Holland and Germany, where many of our family still live. Most of the time when he was near, you’d hear his laugh, see that sheepish smile or feel his concern and caring if you were in pain. Jeremy was a deep thinker; he was my rock: As his mom, I couldn’t be more proud; As his mom, I couldn’t be more lost.

He’ll be so missed by all of us: his kitties, Rudy, Dash and BJ; mom, Sharon Fralick; nana, Chris Patton; step-sister, Carrie (Todd) McFarlane; step-brothers, Clayton (Nicole) Fralick and Craig (Beth) Fralick; auntie, Simone (Jay) Lieffring; step-grandpa, John Kemsley; and all of his wonderful aunts and uncles on his dad’s side, plus numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. And of course, friends, lots of friends!

Jeremy was preceded in death by his dad, Jody Cronin; step-dad, Clay Fralick; grandparents, Bill Patton, and Merlin and Betty Cronin; and step-grandma, Diane Kemsley.

To say a proper “Jeremy goodbye,” we plan to have a celebration of his life in May by enjoying his favorite foods, playing his favorite games and lighting the huge stack of brush he’s gathered for a fabulous bonfire. Pleas watch for a future announcement.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.cuddiefh.com.  Cuddie Funeral Home, Greenwood, is assisting the family with arrangements.