The Irish standard., 1889-08-24
IN THE "BADGER" STATE.

A Few Points Concerning the Prosperous
City, Eau Claire.
| Eau Claire, round hundred miles
from Minneapolis, is pleasantly located
and has a present population of over
%, 900 souls. Ii Isn't as large as Chi
| cago, yet there is a gentle reminder Of
the Garden City" by the lake from the
| fact that Eau Claire, too, boasts of its
east, west and north sides, and its peo-
pie are proud of them, aud deservedly
so, whether they live on the west side of
the Chippewa or on either side of the
Eau Claire river.
Lumber is the great industry here,
and 1t certainly has done much III maxi
ing Eau Claire one of the best and most
w:delY-known cities in the Northwest
Seventeen sawmllls dot the Chippewa
and Eau Claire rivers inside the city
limits. with others not far outside. Be-
sides these may be mentioned one large
sash and door factory. refrigerator fact
Dry, Pioneer furniture factory, an cleo
trio factory, three machine shops and
foundries. factory for the manufacture
of brass and nickel plate, two planning
mills and one Touring mill with Ca
pacity of 100 barrels, All these enter
prises give employment to thousands
who go to make up the population of
this thriving Wisconsin city.
George Shaw, the present Mayor of
EAU Claire, conducts that Office about on
the same plan which Mayor Babb exer-
cises in Minneapolis, and in this way,
whether he accomplishes much or little,
will he able to keep himself in hot water
at least until his term expires. Besides
the mayor there are some fourteen alder
men, and together they manage to look
after the city's interests IN manner
most creditable. There are number
of fine school buildings in different Sec
tons of the city, churches Of various de-
nominations, splendid opera house on
Barstow street, wholesale grocery
house, two commission houses and
number of excellent hotels. In addition
to the system Of water main and sewer
age, which is already very extensive,
seven miles more will be put in ere the
season closes; in this connection it may
also be noted that four miles of paving
will be among the many improvements
of 1889.
Eau Claire deserves to be complimented
too for her police and fire protection,
She has not been backward in this res
pect, but has, perhaps, more than kept
pace with the times. Donneily is
chief Of police and George Daniels
chief OF the fire department. A visit to
e. number of engine houses gave ample
proof of their neatness and the readiness
Of those present in their. capacity as fire.
men at the slightest warning. Upon
the ''north hill'' is engine house No. 2,
where Messrs. Suby, Forrest and Nc
Mahon hold forth. We particularize
here from the tact that the latter gen
tleman is said to be tonsorial artist of
no mean order, and as Eau Claire is on
the verge of closing up it's barber shops
on Sunday, it is right that the public
should know where to find Mac, who
will undoubtedly be always ready for
an engagement between fires.
The Irish and lrish-American element
in Eau Claire is in excellent standing
from what ever standpoint viewed. Many
of them are in business here, others are
holding positions of prominence, poll
tical and otherwise, and all in all they
have no cause to complain, Five out
of the fourteen members of the present
council come from this element, and
they are known as workers-falthful
and industrious in their efforts to
assist in the advancement and building
up of the city IN which they live and
which they have learned to admire.
There are two Catholic churches, ST.
Patrick's on the west side and st. Jo-
seph's on Che north side. Rev. Father
Kelly, formerly of Hudson, is now
pastor of ST. Patrick's, with Rev. Father
Dunn, recently ordained, as assistant
pastor. This latter church Was destroy