Douglas County Past: Yellowjackets remember lost teammate; cattle saved from fire

Jan. 10, 1925

Mother of policeman gets $1,000 insurance

Mrs. Margaret McAndrew, mother of Police Sergeant John E. McAndrew, who died a week ago, is the first beneficiary under the group insurance plan recently adopted by the Superior police department.

Mrs. McAndrews has been paid $1,000 by the Aetna Life Insurance company which issued the group policies. The premium paid on the $1,000 was but $1.80.

Jan. 11, 2000

Foxboro man injured in rollover

A 25-year-old Foxboro man is in serious condition following a one-car rollover early this morning. Preliminary reports at the Douglas County Sheriff's Office indicate Warren J. Magnuson, 25, was injured when his 1985 Cadillac left the road about a half mile north of Fall Road on Wisconsin Highway 35, about 13 miles south of Pattison park.

Medical personnel from St. Luke's emergency room in Duluth were treating Magnuson at Telegram press time. A hospital spokesperson said he would be admitted to intensive care in "serious" condition.

Jan. 12, 1925

Fire started by small boy

Prompt action by fire department officials this morning upon arriving at the scene of a blaze which swept the rear end of the Lederman Men's furnishing store building at 2127-2129 East Fifth street this morning at 10:30 o'clock, is estimated to have saved thousands of dollars in personal and real property. The actual damage is estimated at $1,300.

The fire was started in a storm shed in the rear portion of the building by little Reuben Casper, five-year-old grandson of Charles Casper who is a resident in the second story of the building, according to Fire Chief Ole Norman. While playing with matches he touched a burning brand to a pile of waste paper in the shed. He then went and told his grandmother of his deed.

When Mrs. Casper went to investigate, the entire storm shed was ablaze.

Superior news in brief

Runs wild on ice – A man whose name police have not yet made known yesterday shortly before noon drove his car on the public skating rink at Billings Park, endangering the lives of many small children on the ice, according to Nicholas J. Schommer, 1815 Iowa avenue. Police have the number of the machine.

To serve in Hawaii – Jack Levinson, 404 Hughitt avenue, enlisted in the United States Army, field artillery, and will be stationed at Hawaii, according to local recruiting agents.

Jan. 12, 2000

Port-Town Players to open musical 'Oliver'

The Port-Town Part-Time Players, a community theater group in Superior, has been without a permanent performance space for nearly two years, but will present a major musical production this week in the Central Middle School auditorium.

"Oliver," a popular musical for community theater groups, will be performed at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Wes Kruse, who has performed in previous Port-Town productions, is directing the musical and says this marks the biggest musical the group has attempted in the past two years.

Rejis Weinzirl is featured in the title role as Oliver and the young actor's mother, Shelly Weinzirl, is cast in the female lead role of Nancy.

Other leading characters are Bill Sykes, played by Blair Wallen; Fagin, played by Alan Zeppa; the Artful Dodger, played by Nate Kruse; Mrs. Corney, played by Anne Murray; Mr. Bumble, played by Roger Morris; and Mr. and Mrs. Sowerberry, played by Nancy Lee Owens and Dale Easterling.

In addition to the lead characters, the show features 40 children and young adults who portray workhouse kids, Fagin's kids and townspeople.

Justin Hager is working with Kruse as assistant director and Roger Bare is stage manager.

Jan. 13, 1925

Half hundred cattle saved from flames

Over 100 tons of hay and 53 head of valuable dairy cattle in the barn at the Douglas County asylum were saved from destruction by fire late yesterday afternoon by prompt work of Superior firemen and inmates of the asylum. The fire originated from a short circuit in the electric wiring system in the barn.

An alarm was received at 5:26 p.m. at the Sixth street headquarters and the East End company sent to the fire. The company arrived only a few minutes after the alarm was turned in. A volunteer squad of five men who were working in the barn when the fire started were playing a hose on the flames when firemen arrived.

Jan. 13, 2000

A bittersweet homecoming

It wasn't easy for the University of Wisconsin-Superior women's basketball team to suit up Wednesday afternoon and play hoops for the first time since teammate Calah Matthias was killed in an automobile accident that also seriously injured senior guard Jessica Reed.

That accident, which occurred a week ago today when the automobile containing Matthias and Reed slammed head-on with a semi-truck trailer on Highway 2 near Iron River, changed the lives of everyone involved with the Yellowjacket program, and two games had already been postponed to allow the team time to cope with the tragedy.

So Wednesday's home game at Gates Fieldhouse with UW-Platteville was as much a therapy session for the Yellowjackets as it was an important date on the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule. A crowd of about 350 people witnessed the Yellowjackets lead the entire game and claim a 76-55 victory. The bottled up emotions poured out at half court when the entire team got together for a group hug.

"We knew that we needed to go back out and do this," said UWS coach Sandy Eilertsen after the game.

Judge says confession is off-limits

A gang member's confession for his role in a Superior murder can't be used at his trial. Alejandro Rivera, 23, is charged with party to the crime of first-degree murder in the shooting death of the 45-year-old father of a fellow gang member last July.

On Wednesday Rivera smiled broadly as Douglas County Circuit Court Judge Joseph A. McDonald handed down the ruling that suppresses hours of testimony given to investigators after he said he wanted a public defender.

School store manned by students

Try the gel pens, said sixth graders Lydia Scott and Jim Leno Tuesday as they set a container of brightly-colored pens on a table.

In the second floor hall of Pattison Elementary School, the pair along with their classmates Robbie Brown and Adam Quam opened Martin's School Store, named after the founder of the school, Martin Pattison.

The first three students to come – fourth graders Kaila LaFave and Ben Kall and sixth grader Brady Peterson, took one look at the merchandise and headed straight for the gel pens.

The store staff, all from Debbie Ganz-Brown's class, helped students choose products and showed them new merchandise.

Ganz-Brown said that seven years ago, the school store was just one small box on a table by the office door. Pencils and folders were the only items for sale.

Articles and pictures courtesy of retired librarian Judy Aunet with Superior Public Library.