The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1913-07-21
WISCONSIN TOWN
WAKES Up FAMOUS
Woman's Activities Provided
Paved Streets and Bridge.
HOW she AROUSED The men
Raised Money For Town Improvement
BY Giving Partiss-Procesds Devoted
TO Cleaning Up Place and Paving tho
Main Street.

Main Street.
A woman has put Waukau on the
map. Waukau is in Wisconsin. It has
population of less than 500, but be-
cause Of the woman the less than 500
have $1,000 bridge and sidewalk
Mrs. Peter Macdougall first awoke to
the fact that the one bridge over Wau.
kau's one street wasn't more than half
bridge after forty five years of wear
and tear and that the street wasn't
more than half street because there
was nothing much but Wisconsin clay
to walk on. The day she took this in
with that new sense of civic RESPONSE
bility that is developing in women ev-
erywhere was the day she began to
act. Stepping into Bagley's, she talk.
ed with the general store man about
the probable cost and ways and means
Of raising the money. He said 1t
would cost more than she could ever
get, but she tackled up subscription
paper In the store, and the work of
bridge building and sidewalk building
had begun.
You may not know Waukau, but you
probably know some place not unlike
Waukau, so you know just how hard
it was to start something in Waukau.
The first thing on the program was a
box social. box social Is party to
which every girl takes lunch In a
box, and the boxes are auctioned of
to the men. The box social netted $685.
Summer came, and Ice cream socials
got popular. Meantime the sidewalk
had been started, and by autumn the
street between Bagley's and the depot,
a stretch 3,400 feet long, was paved,
and there was $500 on hand, with, q
deficit Of $S3 to be made up. By now
nearly everybody In Waukau was as
full Of fried chicken, deviled eggs,
cake and ice cream as the law allowed,
and the winters program had to show
change. Mrs. Macdougall got slight
variation with a chicken pie social that
brought in $32. Then she got the
schoolteachers to make up among them
purse Of $25. Then she had an old
folks dance that was SO popular that
| even q violent storm could not keep
people away. Net result, $47rr g
Then she got the ladies Of the Won
| ans Christian Temperance union to
have a sale Of fancy articles and q
ten cent supper, and that meant $37
more. Then she had another old folks
dance. Life in Waukau had become
inst ono long gay xvhirl: lint. what wit b
| the entertainments and private sub
scriptions and donations of things fol
Mrs. Macdougall to sell, $1,25O had
been contributed, and Waukau had q
stone bridge and cement sidewalk
from the depot to the bridge. More
over, the bridge has a gas pipe railing
and the total cost of bridge and railing
was $345.. .@-.-. @..-.e.f
The people over in Canada y the part
Of Waukau north of the bridge, came
to Mrs. Macdougall for help. They
wanted sidewalk too. They needed
it more than the other half because the
lay of their land was lower. Mrs. Mac
dougall began all over again. Again
she fed Waukauans on chicken pie and
ice cream. Again Waukau whirled in
the dance. When she had got together
$3.50 the Canada sidewalk was begun
1t isn't finished, and the money Is not
in hand to pay for all Of it. Mrs. Mac
dougall says that about $500 more L
needed She says getting money out OF
! Waukau now is like getting blood out
Of a turnip. =, 3 5. ~
OF course the men voters of Waukau
helped Mrs. Macdougall materially in
all this. One gave her SIS, one gave
her 50, an Omro merchant gave her Ii
cents, two Of them gave her the gravel
needed, musician played at one of hez
dances for nothing, great many gave
promises, and any number gave advice
not forgetting Tom Malady, now Of
Elk River, Ida, but once of Waukau
He sent check for $25. +.
If any other woman who has ever
faced and solved civic problem OF
this constructive nature knows Of any
! new ways of raising money that might
work in jaded Waukau, Mrs. Macdou
gall would like to, get into immediate
:, communication with her.
For Sunny Spots.
Among the many snowy Towering