By KRISTEN PARROTT | Vernon County Museum curator Do you remember when a postage stamp cost three cents? That was the price to send a first-class letter in 1940, the year that construction of Viroqua's post office was complete. Newspaper headlines from the fall of...
Mashak benefit
Throughout the past year, Westby man Erik Mashak has coped with a staph infection in his leg bone, recently undergoing a 14-hour surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Mashak is dating Jenny Witt of Ontario. At the benefit, Tor Eness, an Ontario country musician,...
Money & Politics: Attorney conduct at issue in Gableman dust-up
By BILL LUEDERS Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism Michael Gableman, the Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, has been drawing flak over revelations that he received free legal help in an ethics case from a law firm representing clients with past and pending...
Vernon County Museum Notes: January was time for tobacco-crop sales in Vernon County
By CAROL KROGAN | Vernon County Museum assistant curator Happy New Year! We hope everyone had wonderful Christmas and New Year celebrations. All of us at the Vernon County Museum, including the staff and executive board, wish everyone all the best for 2012. January...
John A. Eckelberg
John A. Eckelberg, 74, of Tomah died Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, at the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, La Crosse. He was born Oct. 10, 1937, to Reuben and Celia (Miller) Eckelberg in Sparta. He was a member of the Wilton High School graduating class of 1955. John...
Delivering the passion to achieve
By TONY EVERS State Superintendent of Public Instruction Recently, I visited the Milwaukee High School of the Arts. I watched as students in Mr. Roberts’ jazz vocal ensemble class sang their hearts out. These students clearly loved this class, and, of course, they’re...
Vernon County Museum Notes: Julebukking a tradition in Norwegian communities
By KRISTEN PARROTT | Vernon County Museum curator This week between Christmas and New Year's is the traditional time for julebukking. A Norwegian word, "julebukk" literally means "Yule buck" or "Christmas goat." The Dictionary of American Regional English...
Vernon County Sheriff’s Report for Dec. 19–26
Thursday, Dec. 22: Kristina Gullion of Readstown lost control of her vehicle on a curve of County Highway T, town of Franklin, going into the ditch and overturning. She reported no injuries. Thursday, Dec. 22: Melaney Olson of Viroqua lost control of her vehicle on a...
South Side News
By MYRNA FAUSKA As you can see by the length of this column, we have a lot to share with you this week, so I'll get right to the good stuff. At the Waddell household, granddaughter Jenna Waddell came from Tomah on Tuesday to help Grandma Shirley bake coffee cakes....
Money & Politics: What a $pectacular year it was!
By BILL LUEDERS Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism For Wisconsin residents, 2011 was the kind of year that helps explain why the Chinese consider “May you live in interesting times” to be a curse. Amid all of the hubbub and strife, many of us found...