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Unity
Township Community
Clark County, Wisconsin
Notes & Photo
1912
1914
1916
1930
Riplinger/Osborne
Notes & Memories
In August of
1901 the F&NE RR was putting in telegraph poles from Schilling Station (Beaver
twp) to Bright's farm (up on CTY N, Longwood). A couple weeks later, was mention
of the turntable soon being moved from Schilling Station to Bright's farm also.
Ethan Scearce
In its early days, Riplinger was
a riproaring logging town in its day, with a population of over 2000, I'm told.
Today (2005), the cheese factory in Ripplinger is still standing (was inhabited
by Jeff Kilty, the last I knew). It was owned by Mullins Cheese (of Knowlton,
Wis) for years; my parents shipped milk here (and also stored fruit, especially
strawberries, held over for further sales) in the cooler. (I know these streets
but not their names.) The cheese factory is along the street that connects CTY
Q and the north-south gravel road (Romadka? just guessing!!) on the east side
of town. Where this street intersects with CTY Q, an old, two-story store building
stands (The last I knew, was still there.) Owned by Bill Lyons, (whom my father
knew, but I hardly ever met; now deceased) it was a grocery store (and more?)
in the early '70s. I think apartment(s) were overhead. Across the street is
another very old store building; very dilapidated (maybe gone, now...). Where
this street continued across CTY Q, it curved around across the tracks to a
feed mill. My first recollection is that it was O.W.Trindal (who lived on south
of town on the possible Romadka road; Darrell Klassen now lives in the residence).
Next, it was owned by Smith Feeds in Loyal (still in their Loyal operation;
a Riplinger rep was Danny Meyer, still living in the area.) It was managed for
years by Gabe and Lois... can't remember their surname, now, but I can still
visualize them. They eventually took over the business on their own. But it
eventually closed down (as so many of the small rural feedstores have). It was
later torn down; not sure if anything still at the site... South of Bill Lyon's
store is a tavern or two, along CTY Q. South of the tracks was / is, yet? a
sprawling one-story building, also on the east side (think this was from a box
factory; Smith Feeds used it as storage). The depot is completely gone, now;
for years it stood in a field NE of the first curve of CTY Q, north of town.
The old brick school building still stands, a block north of the cheese factory.
Nearby is a church (Lutheran, I think). Vague remnants of the old RR grade run
SW from town. Ethan Scearce
Romeo
Unity
Waterman
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