Waunakee's Early Files

100 years ago

Aug. 14, 1924

Norbert Maly has purchased the John Michels house in this village.

The Waunakee baseball team lost to Sun Prairie Sunday 8-4. Waunakee is tied with Middleton for the next-to-the-cellar berth in the standings.

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Spahn, Town of Windsor, announce the birth of a son on Wednesday, Aug. 9.

The house now occupied by J.N. Deans will be sold at public auction on Saturday, Aug. 26.

The Henry Dorn residence is nearing completion and will be ready for occupancy soon.

The Waunakee Canning Co is busy labeling and shipping peas at the rate of a car per day.

85 Years Ago

Aug. 19, 1939

Miss Ann Meyer and Frank Keegan Jr. were united in marriage in St. John the Baptist Catholic Church here on Tuesday, Aug. 8.

Mrs. Frank Pomeranke, 80, was instantly killed when she was hit by a C. & N.W. Ry passenger train at Dane last Thursday afternoon.

The Waunakee baseball team defeated Lodi there on Sunday 5-1.

P.J. Uebersetzig picked a tomato that weighed 1 pound, 10 ounces last week Wednesday.

Approximately 132 cars and trucks were put through a safety test here Friday. It was found that 23 had improper lights.

75 Years Ago

Aug. 11, 1949

Walter C. Hohlstein, 52, lifelong resident of Waunakee, died suddenly early Saturday morning, Aug. 6, at his home here.

Mr. and Mrs. James Mickey are rejoicing over the birth of a daughter born on Saturday, Aug. 6, at St. Mary’s Hospital.

Miss Pauline Barbara Miller was united in marriage to Mr. Urban Bollig in St. Francis Xavier Church on Aug. 2.

St. John’s Diamond Jubilee and School Dedication will take place here on Sunday. The first church was built in 1874.

Two Middleton doctors, Dr. F.F. Allen and Dr. A.G .Rowley, were honored for their 50 years of medical service to the community.

60 Years Ago

Aug. 12, 1964

Celia Sanchez, Waunakee’s new AFS student, will arrive in New York Cit on Aug. 12 and in Waunakee a few days later. She will make her home with the Leonard Kuehns.

Millers Foodliner has center cut pork chops at 59 cents per pound, two heads of lettuce for 29 cents, and two one-and-half pound loaves of bread for 39 cents.

In this week’s Rosenberg’s ad, we find Oscar Mayer all meat wieners for 49 cents per pound.

Two of the very hardest items to purchase these days are electric fans and air conditioners. This is the result of the extreme heat wave that hit this area.

50 Years Ago

Aug. 15, 1974

Joseph H. Zimmerman, 94, of Madison, died Tuesday, Aug. 13, at a Stoughton nursing home. He was born in Ashton and lived in Martinsville for many years.

Gerald R. Ford of Michigan became the 38th president of the United States on Friday, Aug. 9, He succeeded Richard M. Nixon, president since 1969, who resigned Friday.

The congregation of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church will observe its centennial this Sunday, Aug. 18. The congregation was established in 1874 and consisted of 19 German families who formerly worshiped in St. Mary’s and St. Peter’s.

40 Years Ago

July 26, 1984

Volksfest ‘84 will be held in Waunakee Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and the United States Postal Service is joining the celebration by offering a special hand-stamp cancellation this weekend.

The Waunakee train depot received a spruce-up last weekend. The lower exterior portion and some beams were replaced.

Plans for the development of Gov. Nelson State Park in Westport have passed a significant milestone, with the Westport Town Board approving an access-egress road option.

Jay and Deborah Olson, Waunakee, are proud to announce the arrival of a son born at Madison General Hospital on Thursday, July 12.

30 Years Ago

July 7, 1994

School board member Barbara Townley announced that she would resign from the board on Aug. 12.

10 Years Ago

July 17, 2014

The option the Waunakee school board has chosen to address its long-range facility needs will cost an estimated $44.84 million. That’s about $8 million more than what was originally projected, but in doing so, the district will get a bigger intermediate school right away instead of years from now.

A shuttered convenience store could soon become home to ghouls and goblins if a proposal for a haunted house is approved at the site. Guy Kitchell, owner of Halloween FX Props in Middleton, has a plan to convert the former convenience store at the intersection of Hwys. M and K into the haunted house.

On Nov. 4, Wisconsin voters will have a chance to ensure funds raised from the gas tax and vehicle registration stay in the pot they are intended for — the transportation fund.

Nineteen Waunakee students and chaperones returned recently from Guatemala where they worked with Casas Por Cristo building a three-room house for a family.