Douglas County Past: Fuel oil truck spills in East End; Superior boasts largest charcoal briquet plant
Oct. 14—Oct. 14, 1927
School colors for newspaper
'East High Times' off the press; is now in its second year
Gay with school colors, red and white, the "East High Times" school paper has made its first bow of the season to students of East High.
Printed in red ink, the paper presents a gala appearance indeed. And the news, features and editorials of the little paper are no less bright.
"The Times" is published tri-weekly on Thursdays in the laboratory of the class in journalism. The editorial staff is headed by Frank Horyza, who is assisted by Alfred Stansky, associate editor; Raymond Worsley, news editor; Emmett Johnson, feature editor; Edna Nyquist, club editor; Tom Scott and James Berntsen, sport editors; Laurence Sundstrom, exchange editor; and Richard Neville, humor editor.
Oct. 14, 1947
Brule forest land purchased by commission
The conservation commission announced at Madison Tuesday that it had approved the purchase of 680 acres of land for the Brule State forest in Douglas County, costing $3,760.
The purchase of the wilderness area in the upper Brule valley was announced along with approval of other lands for deer yards, forests, parks, public hunting and fishing grounds through the state.
Largest single amount in the list of purchases was $7,250 for three separate parcels of land, totalling 104 acres in the Horicon marsh area.
City has hottest Oct. 14 since '22
The weather man played matchmaker Tuesday with October and August with a broken temperature record as a result.
At press time, a half hour before the thermometer usually hits its peak, the temperature at the Bong airport was 84.
According to available records, this temperature for this time of the year is the highest experienced at the Head of the Lakes since Oct. 14, 1922 when an 85 was recorded. The reading is 39 degrees higher than the reading on Oct. 14, 1946.
Oct. 15, 1927
Cornerstone of church laid
In the quickly gathering darkness late Thursday afternoon a good sized crowd witnessed the laying of the cornerstone of the new Central Methodist Church, 16th Street and Hughitt Avenue.
The box that was sealed contained numerous church documents, a Bible hymn book and two copies of The Evening Telegram. The stone was lowered over the box and put into its place.
Oct. 15, 1927
Bounties collected
Bounties on four coyotes and one fox were paid in the office of the county clerk Thursday afternoon and this morning. Emory Thayer, Dairyland; Arvid C. Nasvall, Hines; William Benedict, Foxboro; and Olaf Monson, Euclid hotel, collected bounties on coyotes and John Lonek, Lake Nebagamon, was paid a bounty on a fox.
Oct. 15, 1947
Fuel oil spills as big truck transport tips in East End
A serious fire hazard was created Wednesday afternoon when a semi trailer petroleum transport rolled over in negotiating the curve at 23 Avenue East and Fifth Street in the East End business district.
The transport, loaded with 5,000 gallons of fuel oil, was eastbound when it rolled over spilling several hundred gallons of fuel oil through the vents. Firemen and policemen immediately went into action and an area two blocks around the scene was blocked off. Firemen washed the fuel oil down with a fog spray and city employees spread ashes around the scene of the crash to minimize the danger of fire.
Oct. 16, 1927
Man hurt in fall as horse shies
James Romans, 53, South Range, received a fractured left leg when thrown from his horse as it bolted on Tower Avenue at north 59th Street early Thursday afternoon.
He was taken to St. Francis Hospital by the county ambulance. Police say Romans' horse was frightened by a passing auto causing it to bolt.
Barker's Island not natural feature; was made from sand taken from channel
Contrary to the belief of many, especially Superior small boys who have used Barker's Island as a playground and swimming place for years, this long strip of land is not a natural feature but was built up the 10-year period from 1896 to 1906 by dredges of the famed Captain Charles Barker, who dredged out the channels in Superior harbor.
The island, or "the sandbar" as youngsters have learned to call it, is a forlorn strip of sand extending from the Cargill elevator in East End to East Sixth Street in Central Park. Hundreds of thousands of square yards of sand were required to build it up.
Captain Barker was a well known marine contractor at the Head of the Lakes and is described by John. A. Bardon as "a diamond in the rough and vigorous hard working fellow" He died about 15 years ago at the age of 57.
This lonely piece of land is almost deserted. It has become a playground for boys in the neighborhood.
Oct. 17, 1927
Berwind Briquet plant in Superior largest in world
A continual stream of little biscuit-shaped black masses, being carried along great conveying belts to be dumped into waiting coal cars and then to be carried to town throughout the entire Northwest — 160 tons of them rolling out every hour, which a few hours before were nothing but loose, fine particles of coal.
This is what takes place every day at the largest coal briqueting plant in the world, located on the Berwind Fuel company's dock, No. 1 on St. Louis Bay, Superior. Here the popular Berwind Pocahontas briquets are manufactured. The present average daily output is about 3,000 tons a day.
The Berwind briquets are sent throughout an extensive shipping territory including Minnesota, North and South Dakotas, Wisconsin, parts of Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska and Montana, and also into Canada.
Articles and pictures courtesy of retired librarian Judy Aunet with Superior Public Library.
