Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1910-06-14

Arthur Millard, in q Letter to the Pilot.
Lives Over the Past.

publishing the Occurrences of Long
Ago. did not anticipate that you
would find anything in my letter
worthy of publication, for | supposed
you had been so long in the newspaper
business that you were not suscept-
ible to- little bit of fiattering COM
ment. suppose, however, when one
arrives at the "Grandpa stage" there
is change in the order of things. |
do not mean by this that you have
reached your second childhood" but
simply that you have renewed your
youth.
But really, Gene, / do not believe
those of you who still live in Wausau
can realize what food of pleasant
memories those items of tie past
bring TO one whose only glimpse Of
those days is through the PILoT and
the memories they bring with them.
Familiar names to us long since
locked up in the history Of the past,
are brought to light, and with them
the then familiar surroundings
which gave to our youth that glorious
tinge which can never fade.
| | rejoice to know that Wausau has
long since passed from the frontier
stage of existence into that of one of
the handsomest and most enterprising
cities of the northwest, but it will al
ways be associated in my mind as the
little village whose streets were so
| familiar to my unShOd feet. Now, If
any one should dare to insinuate that
my unshod feet on some dark night
went pattering down some of the
back streets carrying my anxious
body and watermelon or SO, leading
a hot chase for the benefit of my
health, | ask you in the name of those
good old days to resent the insultCand
effectually put an end to the libel.
When / read of your street car sys-
TEN extending to Rothschilds, / think
of the many times we boys went to
Schofield to catch minnows for bait,
or to the neighborhood of Tom
Clark's to pick blueberries- going out
in the morning with light hearts and
springy footsteps, returning at night
tired, dusty and footsore, but after a
glorious day of communion with the
visible forms of nature. If you were
to take me for a ride in your auto
mobile up on East hill, or north of
Stinchfield creek, or west to the old
Kickbusch farm, or southwest to the
old Kennedy place and show me how
the town has spread cat | could par
don your just pride in the wonderous
growth of your city, but / would be.
far more at home if / could lin imagi-
nation at least go over the same
ground with you and the rest of the
boys, picking raspberries and black
berries, or gathering wild plums and
grapes, hazel nuts and butternuts.
In crossing the marsh to get to East
hill you had better go on Jackson
street, over the corduroy bridge, if
you don't want to get your auto
mired. Do you remember what fine
skating we used to have on the marsh /?
From the north end of town down to
Adam Young's. There used to be a
living spring near where Wenneberg's
house was built. But when you
speak of springs who does not remem-
Der the one few rods east of the old
Jim Moore Greek bridge on the Jenny
road. The water was as pure and
limpid as nature ever brewed, and all
the ice crossed by Perry to reach the
north pole would not have made it any
cooler. What would l not give to lie
down beside that spring and drink
my fill today with the thermometer
up in the COS.
You might show me your big fac
tories, but / would much rather go
swimming with you under the old
grist mill or at the head of McIndoe
island, or if more convenient down at
the ''sand bar"
You can still go over to Big Bull
falls and see the ice go crushing and
grinding over the rapips, but wouldn't
it be delightful sight to go over
there, sit on the bank and watch he
river drivers sacking the logs over the
rapids, or the lumbermen, with such
pilots as Jack Clarke, Jim McCleary,
Orson Phelps, the Armstrong;, the
Swopes, Ed. Nichols, and a score of
Others, guiding the rapids pieces with
almost unerring precision through
the swirling, eddying waters to safe
landing below.
When We cross the slough bridge
we would have to stop and watch the
crew dividing logs, or perchance so
to the upper divide to see the busy
crews sorting logs, or sluicing them
through the guard-lock. Lay down
your work and let's take brief out
ing, and while | cannot promise you
visit to bungalow on Plover, or a
summer cottage at Plum lake, | can
promise TO hold the hands of time
and add few days at least to your
| life. Having returned from Schofield
with our minnows, we take cold
bite and shouldering our fish poles.
we cross the river and go down TO
the big rock at the ''bull TAIL" where
Others are found trying to beguile the
finny tribe from their natural element,
and it will be very strange If We do
not find there that long. awkward
shoemaker, Hoeppner, whose stature
and homliness earned for him the
nickname ssOld Abe" We are still
fishing when night falls, but we do
not notice it other than TO build q
big bonfire, and gathering around il
1 Sr~f4 . -f..A