Bio: Spry, Lloyd L. (1957)
Contact: Dolores Mohr Kenyon
Email: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Spry, Garbisch, Kintzele,
Tischer, Prange, Trindal, Winn, Wallek, Jahr, Hemp, Amidon, Davis,
Lombard, Williams, Schoengarth
----Source: Clark County Press
(Neillsville, Clark Co., WI.) November 14, 1957
Spry, Lloyd L. (1957)
Did you know that Lloyd L. Spry moved to
the Granton area in 1899 traveling by train via Babcock, Pittsville
and Romadka, lived in a log cabin for many years, took an active
part in hunting and baseball as a young man, and has had a lifetime
desire to travel in Europe.
He was born on Lincoln’s birthday,
February 12, 1899, in Richland County. In the fall of that
year he came to Clark County with his parents, W. J. Spry and Ida,
locating north of Granton in the Romadka area. At that time
Granton was a community only three years of age, and there was no
road from Romadka to Granton, the only highway into Romadka being a
trail from Loyal.
There was, however, a spur of the
Milwaukee railroad running as far north as Romadka, and it was over
this railway that the Sprys made their entry into Clark
County.
"The railroad," said Mr. Spry, "ran as
far north as what is now the Ben Garbisch farm and what is now
County Trunk ‘H’." There was no depot at Romadka,
but the spur of the Milwaukee road was extended that far north in
order to bring out timber that was then being cut by large lumber
outfits.
Mr. Spry’s father made arrangements
for the purchase of timber land in Romadka through John Kintzele,
who was then representing the Nast Lumber Company, and the
Milwaukee Railroad. This land was maiden timber, and logs were cut
for construction of a log cabin and a log barn, into which the W.
J. Spry family moved. On December 31, 1900, a brother,
Phelps, was born to the pioneer Spry family.
"There was a school house in Romadka,"
Mr. Spry recalled, "located about 80 rods east of the present
school. Boys only went to school in the winter months, so it took
them additional years to complete an eighth grade course.
Many of them were mature young men before graduating."
The Spry family resided in the original
log cabin until 1912, when they moved south to a farm purchased
from Carl Tischer, a farm which also included a log house and log
barn; but upon which more farm improvements had been made. A frame
house was erected on this farm in 1915, and in 1916 County Trunk
"H" was constructed near this property.
In 1918 the Spry family moved to Granton,
where three children, a boy and two girls, were born. In 1917
Mr. Spry took an automobile course at Detroit, Mich., and in 1918
he entered into a partnership with Harold Garbisch in a garage
which they operated for two years. In 1921 he married
Hildegarde Prange, to which union four children were
born.
In 1921, Mr. Spry, in partnership with
his brother, Phelps, and his father, purchased a bankrupt feed mill
and elevator from American Co-operative. This mill was powered by a
gasoline engine that ground grist two days each week. It was
sold to O. W. Trindal of Loyal in 1928; and in 1929, Lloyd, Phelps
and their father purchased the farmers Co-operative Feed Mill in
Chili, which since 1931 has been under the management of Phelps
Spry.
The Byrl F. Winn elevator was purchased
in Granton in 1931 by the firm of W. J. Spry & Son, and has
been managed since that time by Lloyd. After World War II,
Lloyd’s son, Robert, was added to the firm.
Mr. Spry’s first wife died in 1931
and in 1936 he married Violet Wallek. One child was born to them.
In 1921, Lloyd was called to community
service, serving for 15 years as village treasurer; eight years
(from 1936-1944) as director of the school board; president of the
village from 1945 to 1957; and as trustee of the village in 1944
and 1945.
A disastrous fire in Granton in 1924
destroyed the Al Jahr-Bill Hemp General Store, the George Amidon
drug store, the Hale and Lew Davis Hardware store, and Lombard
brothers barber shop. The fire started from a blowtorch. The
entire business block was destroyed.
In 1926, Mr. Spry was selected fire
chief, and during this 10-year period Granton employed the old cart
system, "bucket-brigade," and three pressure tanks which generated
pressure by use of acid and soda. No bad fire was experienced
during this period; but in 1936 a modern, fire-fighting truck was
purchased by the village.
During his term as president of Granton,
Mr. Spry saw a sewage system established, curb and gutter added to
the downtown area, the old worn-out sidewalks replaced with
concrete, and the streets blacktopped.
In 1938 he and Henry Williams were appointed as a committee to
represent the village of Granton in an interview with Clark County
Judge O. W. Schoengarth to work out a program of perpetual care of
the Windfall Cemetery at Granton. Authority was granted to
include, on all deeds drawn after that date, a guarantee of
perpetual care for cemetery lots.
A member of Granton’s first
businessmen’s organization, Mr. Spry was a charter member of
the Rotary club, a member of the Moose Lodge at Neillsville, and an
active worker in the Granton Community Church, which more recently
has been operated as a Methodist Church.
"I should have established a finance agency in Granton in 1928," says Mr. Spry. "I should have spent more time hunting and fishing, and I should have been more active in sports. Yes, I should have made that European trip long before this; but I’ve been busy and happy, and hope to remain that way for many years to come."
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