Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1909-11-10
soME RANpon REcoLLEcrLoNs
N. NJ. Ayers Writes of Viroqua as He
Knew II in the Eifdss

EDITOR CEN8oR: A copy of your pa.
! per came into " hands recently, bear
ing date of September 18th, and as
| lad not seen a paper from Viroqua fol
tortv-five or forty years / was
naturally interested in some of it's con.
tents, having lived on Round Prairie
near Viroqua from 1865 to 1861. My
father was David Ayers who owned i
farm one and a half miles north OF
town, but in 1861 he traded his lane
there for land in Iowa and moved Il
that state the same year, leaving MIR,
Greaves in possession of the R0unc
Prairie farm.
notice in particular your advertise.
ment of the Vernon county fair anC
home coming week, which recalls scenes
and incidents occurring back in the SOS.
The first county fair of Vernon county
was held, think, in 1857, a race course
and shelter for stock having been pre-.
pared just west of town, but the upper
story of the new ,ourt house which
was enclosed but unfinished, was useC
for the floral hall where textile fabrics,
grain, vegetables, etc, were displayed.
As the floor in the hall below had not
been laid, loose boards We're provided,
making it possible by this means to
reach the stairway at the rear of the
building. A Mrs. Ady, a very large
and portly woman, fell through this
temporary floor md was fastened down
byssome of the loose lumber, and il
took three or four strong msu to re-
lease her from the preearious position.
The next year the fair was held on the
grounds west of town prepared for the
purpose and very ereditable display
was on exhibition. Dave Yakey was
gatekeeper, and Howe sewing ma
chine was on exhibition, which attract
ed much attention as a sewing machine
in those days was curiosity.
1t was in Virequa that / as boy saw
a fist fight between Jerry Chapman
and Mr.. Ensign. but such entertain
ments were quite common in those days
and Viroqua had at that time man
who was anxious to make match with
Henen, the worlds champion pugilist.
Mr. Greaves ran one of the principal
stores at that time with John r. Cas-
son and w. f. Lindemann as clerks,
but the firm afterward changed and be-
came Greaves & Lindemann. Mr. Cas-
son at the beginning of the Civil war,
became lieutenant in the 25th Wis
consin volunteers, and the writer paid
him visit at Atlanta, Georgia, in the
fall of 1864. / also met many others
from Viroqna, among whom were Capt.
Hunt and Alex Morrison.
notice your fuel men are advertising
coal for sale. In the early days such a
thing as coal was not thought Of for
f,,a4 sfaVs, bof.1er ut4r,y,lfad Ese,,,a
timber lands between Viroqua and the
Kickapoo. Quite number Of your To-
cal items bring back recollections Of
the past. One in particular is the m
ing of Tom Decker and wife, who had
been absent for about forty years.
Tom was good fellow but lively pro-
position, and could make more harm
less noise than any other man in Viro-
qua, for with one 'whoop" we all knew
Tom Decker was in town. His wife
who was Helen Longmire, think, had
brother who died in the early COS in
the army. Tom also had a brother,
"Dede" Decker, who married one Of
DR.. Tinker's daughters. DR.. Tinker
and DIR. Rusk, brother to Jerry Rusk.
were the resident physicians before the
war.
Nary other local items RECALL Incl
dents and names familiar to the people
who lived in and around Viroqua during
the time the town WAS new and the
county was named bad AK, when
wolves were numerous, wild deer more
plentiful than native cattle and black
bear more common than the badger for
which Wisconsin people were named.
This the writer knows from experience,
as black bear drove party Of MS
Zone Of the party being the wife Of
'fLish" Morrisonl from a hazel nut
patch, and / saw two others killed with
in mile and half Of Viroqua In my
wanderings and travelling over the coun-
try ] frequently fnd people who have
lived at ViToqua or know something of
il or its people and usually mention
the fact that often rode Jerry R0sk 3
horses to water at what was known as
Whites spring, and that Col. G. NJ.
Butt is an uncle To the writer.
The first bank started IN Viroqua was
called the 'Lumbermeas' ard Moneka"
and was established in 1865 by a French
man named Nifenecker. The first paper
published in Viroqua was ftarted ana
published by J. A. Somerby back IN
the COS and the writer's brother learn
ed the trade IN that Office.
Yours truly,
y. n. AYERS.
0aks 0kfsLor,a Ccfohs, a