Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1917-01-25

$%$z'@sss ''S''S''S'S'SS'S
Looking back over the years long
since past; before the railroad came
through this valley and before the
villages appeared along it's line, like
beads uron d string, |, as a young
girl. taught nay first term Of school
In Ableman, then a very small ham,
let. It occurred to me that perhaps
a picture of that village as it was
In those by-gone days might be Of in
terest to this society, whose members
have been drawn together by their
common interest in the long ago, and
the beginnings of things. To those
Of you who know Of it as it looks to-
day, with it's substantial addition Of
comfortable homes between Narrows
Creek and the west bluff of the river
narrows, and its still prettier growth
along, the shady road east of the river,
Ableman, as it looked when | taught
In it's log schooIhOUse, was surely at
its very beginning.
The main road, i. e., the river road
following the west bank Of the Bar
abOo river from the south across the
NarrOws creek near it's union with
the river, north through the river
narTOWs, and the road from the west
through the Narrows Creek narroWs,
east across the river towards Bara>
boo, crossed each other then as they
do now, and formed then, as now, the
U1ain streets of the town. In the cor
ner of this crossroads, where the
AbIeman bank now stands, stood the
store of J. G.. Stein, a twO-story build
ing, store below and dwelling above.
His two little girls, Louise and Lilly,
went to school to me. Across the
creek there were no houses, except
possibly two or three small ones on
the west side Of the river road near
The creek bridge, until, just at the
OpeRing of the River narrOws, there
was u two-st0ry house occupied up
stairs by Sam Carpenter and his
bride Of few months. He was a tin
ner and had a shop in the center of
town on the south side of the main
street. A Mr.. Armstrong had shoe
shop south Of this street also. And
his daughters went to school. Direct
1y south Of Stems store, across Main
street, stood the Charter House, a
large, two-story hotel, with a porch
back some distance along the west
side Of the river road
The Old Mill
Esretn SteiR's store, across the whole
nat, 10 the rise Of ground west OF
where Langenhan'S blacksmith shop
RAw stands, and between the main
street and the creek. lay the great
mill yard, with the mill on the creek
bank back Of it. / can see it now, as
saw it then, full of wagons and
teams. going and coming continuously
with the business of the mill, which
was thriving at that time. Later, the
introduction Of steam power and the
uncertainties of the creek water pow
err ~ well as, perhaps, some other
things, seriously interfered
On. the top of the little rise of
grouad west Of the mill yard, between
tf1d road and the creek, stood the little
log sChoolhouse, where had my
sGaoot Of perhaps twenty pupils. Such
81 gCaaO 0lhouSe as that was, nobody
sees uoWadays-a small log building
with small windows door and
she door On level with the ground
outside. The door faced the road to
thg south, and the opposite side of
the school room was occupied by a
large blackboard with a bench below
1t for classes. A stove stood in the
center OF the room and on each of the
two other sides below the windows
was 1Sstened a long shelf extending
the. whole length of the room. A