10-10-73
A new building has been erected and a new business is about open on Merrill’s east side. A House of Merrill building was built at 1501 E .Main St. in this past week to house the dental practice of Dr. C. E. Weith. Doctor Weith recently moved to Merrill from Illinois and hopes to have his new dental clinic up and running by the first week of November. In other building projects around the city, work is coming along on the new Jefferson Elementary School in Merrill’s sixth ward. Brick walls are presently being built and the MAPS Administrator hopes the school will be ready to go by this spring, barring any material shortages or labor disputes.
Tom Young and Bob Lass, co-chairmen of the annual Lion’s light bulb drive, have announced the group will be going door to door next Wednesday. The bulbs will be sold in “Thank You Paks” and contain 2/60 watt, 2/75 watt, 2/100 watt inside frost 124 volt long life bulbs for $2. All proceeds will go to help the blind, the handicapped, and other worthwhile projects.
The second half of the game at Thom Field was tense as the Merrill Blue Jay football team and the Wausau East Lumberjacks entered the third quarter scoreless. The Jays went on to score 13 points in the third quarter and 14 in the fourth while the defense held East scoreless in a 27-0 event. Paul Kienitz was named back of the week after picking up 98 yards on 11 carries. This Friday the boys will travel to Rhinelander to take on the Hodags.
It’s National Newsboy Day and the Foto News is saluting its carriers: David Koepke, David Burrows, Gary Anderson, James Ingersoll, Gary Hass, Tim Larkee, Pat Geiger, Tim Casper, Robert Lass, Pat Woller, Doug Grisa, Kraig Kuck, Jamie Van Slate, Scott Wolff, and Steven Weckwerth.
10-12-83
A piece of Merrill history has returned to Merrill thanks to Gary Schmidt. Schmidt recently returned to Merrill with a Jordan Motor Company model “The Great Line Ninety.” Schmidt plans to restore the car which is one of 63 Jordans known to exist and perhaps one or two in the Great Line style. Edward (Ned) Jordan was born in Merrill in 1882 and raised in a house near South Genesee and West Main streets. He worked his way through the University of Wisconsin as a newspaper reporter and later worked for the Milwaukee Journal and National Cash Register Co. In 1907 he launched his automotive business when he took employment with Thomas B. Jeffrey Co., a bicycle company out of Kenosha. Raising $200,000 in a single day in 1916, Jordan began assembly of cars in Ohio – the home of his father. Schmidt’s Jordan was owned by a Chicago Policeman and then a car collector in Merrillville, Indiana before it became Schmidt’s. A collector who is impressed with the small details of an auto, Schmidt plans on restoring the Jordan as he has his other prized possession such as his 1956 Continental which has won every award possible including the ultimate Ford Motor Trophy.
Merrill House of Music has a nearly 1/2 page ad announcing the arrival of the latest Magnavox compact disc player. This digitally encoded disc allows you to play music at concert hall realism right in your own home. And because the discs are read by a laser they will never wear out. You can stop and hear it for yourself at their store, 912 E. Main St. (I remember the first CD players were well over $1000, WJMT had one along with about a dozen CD’s and you had to announce each time you played a CD that it was sponsored by Merrill House of Music; now you can get a portable CD player for less than $20)
Richard Swanson has been bound over for trial in the murder of Ruth Tiffany of rural Merrill. A witness testified at preliminary hearing this morning that Swanson murdered the 63 year old woman for $42 and a wrist watch. The witness assisted Swanson with what he thought was a theft until Swanson produced a knife and stabbed the woman who was legally blind. Swanson, the witness, and a third Merrill man were returning to Merrill after spending the night drinking at a Tomahawk tavern. The third man was passed out in the vehicle when the murder took place and did not even know about it until later. Also testifying was Dr. Robert Huntington III who conducted the autopsy. He detailed how Tiffany died from seven stab wounds.
October is National Restaurant Month. Featured ads include: Champ’s Family Restaurant, Rajek’s Riverside Club, Club Modern, Stueber’s Country Way, Liermann’s Ballroom, The BlackHeath, A&W Family Restaurant, Kozy Korner, South of the Border, Pine Ridge Restaurant, Legion Lounge, and the Lincoln House Lounge.
10-13-93
On Friday evening at 11 p.m., something unexpected came down Center Avenue in Merrill, an F-84 Thunderstreak fighter jet. The single seat fighter bomber was on the back of a flatbed semi-truck that was provided by Merrill Iron and Steel. A crew of Merrill volunteers, Friends of the Airport, spent two days at the Heritage Museum at the Grissom Air Force in Peru, Indiana dismantling the plane and readying it for transport to the Merrill Airport where it will soon be on display. Because of military downsizing, the base decided it could not support all of the aircraft it had on display and started searching for homes for aircraft such as this one. The fighter was a Korean War era aircraft that stayed stateside with the exception of a tour in Puerto Rico. The model is known to reach speeds of 695 MPH.
The class of 1958 held their 35th class reunion on Saturday, July 24, at the Eagles Club. Classmate David Mantik was the guest speaker for the evening where he related his experience as one of the investigators into the Jack Kennedy assassination. Committee members included Earl Volz, Chuck Bolder, Dave Lee, Diane (Albrecht) Balschun, Fern (Zoellner) Bacher, Allaire (Hinz) Lindquist and Joan (Hiter) Koch.