This is a picture of the Farmer store in Withee about forty years ago. It was taken at Christmas time. It has since been torn down. It stood on the corner just south of the old drug store. The people in the picture are Lula Stewart, Adelle Jackson, Mildred Stewart, Frank Brodbeck, and Thorvaid Stigsen.

Prices in the window read: Powdered Bleach 10 cents Brazil Nuts 40 cents a pound Coffee 40 cents a pound Vanilla Extract 57 cents Fruit Drink 29 cents Cut Lunch Herring 39 cents a pound Quite a difference between the prices we paid then and what we pay now, but our incomes were a lot less too.

(Click to enlarge)

Owen, Wisconsin Memories

I don't have much on the history of Owen except that it was a mill town. However I do have a few dates and names. The Owen Public Library was established in or around 1915. A. R. Owen was active in helping Owen grow. In addition to his interest in the mill, he was active in establishing the Woodland Hotel, the Owen Box and Crating Company, the Owen Canning Company and the Owen Lumber Company.

My grandfather told me about a fire which swept east across Owen and spread almost to Curtiss. In 1913 a tornado leveled farms south of Owen. Two floods covered the lower part of the city in 1914 and 1938. When I worked in Owen it was a booming town there were many stores, dress shops, grocery stores, restaurants and three hotels. A person could purchase anything they wanted or needed without leaving town.

A new medical building was erected in 1955. The first doctor to occupy the building was a Doctor H. Braswell after he left a Doctor Peden came to town. There were other doctors who came and went. The clinic was closed for several years. The last doctor to operate the clinic was Dr. Arora. The clinic opened again several years ago. We were all very happy to see it reopen again.

Sometime in the early forties or late thirties a Dr. LeGault built a hospital in Owen. He operated this hospital for a number of years. It later became known as the Havenet Nursing Home. It is now closed and the building is for sale. Many of the stores have also closed.

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