News From This Week’s Past: Bridge Building & Pea Soup

All items are from the Door County Library’s newspaper archives, and they appear in the same form as they were first published, including misspellings and grammatical errors.

The Expositor

February 20, 1874

Those ship canal lies are still circulated and repeated by the two or three journals who have been constantly telling us that one hundred and fifty thousand dollars were expended on it last season. By reference to the report of the committee published elsewhere it will be seen but a trifle over ninety six thousand dollars all told have been expended on the work during the whole ten years it has been hanging fire, including all expenses for engineering, office rent, contractors, etc. But they have been lying about the work so long that they can’t help it now, and we suppose are not to be blamed.

The Independent

February 18, 1885

The pile driving on Leathem & Smith’s bridge is about completed and the bridge is now ready for the iron work. The iron was to have reached Lily Bay before this but the steamer Depere evidently is not able to leave port on account of the ice. The men to construct the draw are now in the city and as soon as the iron arrives will put it together and in a short time the bridge will be open for traffic.

Door County Democrat

February 23, 1895

The long hill, in the fourth ward, sloping from the German Lutheran church, down through the business portion of the ward, is a great place for coasting, but it is a dangerous practice, and very apt to causes horses to run away. The boys have been trying it again this week. We don’t blame them for wanting to coast there, and we likewise can’t blame some of the business men for objecting.

Door County Democrat

February 17, 1906

It is not probably that a remedy can be found for the smoke nuisance, which is bothering the residents living in the near vicinity of the school house, without putting an entirely new kind of boilers in the building which would involve a large expense, and possibly not furnish the required amount of steam. Fuel of different kinds have been tried and found to be a failure, it being impossible to keep up steam with anything but soft coal. Other cities are bothered in the same manner, even Milwaukee, where a strict smoke ordinance is in force, the chimneys of the school house belch forth volumes of black smoke. While it is true that the great amount of smoke is disagreeable to near by residents, the wellfare of the children is the first thing to look after, and the fuel that is not able to furnish sufficient steam to run the heating plant and keep the building warm, cannot be used.

Door County News

February 20, 1919

A NEW INDUSTRY

Chas. Pisha has an infantry industry that promises to develop into a full-grown and healthy enterprise in the very near future. This is manufacturing and canning of vegetable and pea soup.

Charley is an expert in the making of soups and he conceived the idea of canning the product and selling it. Those who have sampled the soup declare it to be most excellent and highly satisfactory. Mr. Pisha thereupon ordered the cans and labels and manufactured a large quantity of the soups. As soon as the labels arrive the product will be placed on the market.

From this meager beginning Mr. Pisha hopes to develop into a large and flourishing manufacturer. He is also the manufacturer of a high grade mustard that is sold to the trade.

Door County News

February 23, 1928

Now Is Best Time

To Visit Hatchery

According to Percy Weaver, superintendent of the local fish hatchery, there are about 12 million fish hatching at the local institution. These consist of lake trout and white fish to be transplanted in Door county waters as soon as they are large enough to swim about freely and care for themselves.

According to Mr. Weaver this is the most interesting time of the year to go through the hatchery and a cordial invitation has been extended to all to visit the institution.

Door County News

February 23, 1939

Students Marooned In

Bus Friday Night

Snow Drifts Detain

Gibraltar Pupils

Four Hours

FISH CREEK – Being marooned in a school bus miles from nowhere was something that local high school students read about in the papers, but Friday night 20 of them had the experience themselves and fortunately are none the worse for their experience.

A bus load of students had gone to a basketball game at Sevastopl, and after the game were returning by way of Baileys Harbor, that route being taken in order to deliver as many students as possible directly to their homes.

Huge snow drifts piled by a heavy wind were encountered as soon as the bus left Baileys Harbor going west on County Trunk EE and when the bus reached the Harry Zak home the tracks made by the bus earlier in the evening had been completely filled in. The bus became stuck in a drift there and word was sent in to the county highway department to dig them out.

In the meantime the bus driver and Mr. Zak had managed to get the bus going again and at the home of Wm. Ray on County Trunk A the bus found the drifts insurmountable and was stuck again.

It wasn’t until the students had been marooned nearly three hours in the bus that the county truck found them.

Although the students were chilled, they were soon warmed up when taken to the high school building and then taken to their homes by James Langemak, principal, and Harry Schuyler, town chairman. They finally arrived home at about four o’clock Saturday morning.