Researched by Michael J. Caylor Jr
12-21-77
Three people have now announced their intention to run for the position of mayor of the City of Merrill including incumbent Ralph Voigt. David Moravec, currently the district supervisor for District 8 on the Lincoln County Board and a graduate of UW Whitewater; and local business owner Henry Golde, the president of the East Side Business Association; will challenge 17-year incumbent Voigt come April.
Are you getting ready to feed the family this Christmas? A check of the local ads shows you where to get the most out of what is left in your wallet this holiday season. Dave’s Red Owl in mid-city Merrill has hams starting at $1.19 a pound, turkey is .69 a pound, and ducks are .79 a pound. You can get a half a gallon of ice cream for $1.29, cans of pumpkin pie mix are three for $1, and an eight pack of Pepsi for $1.09. Dining alone? Dave’s has Red Owl Pizza in a twin pack for $1.49. Over at Mel’s Big Dollar turkeys are .49 a pound and canned hams are $8.99 for a five pounder. Got lots of company coming over? Then stock up on Soft and Plenty bathroom tissue with a four pack at just .69. At Drew’s, Butterball turkeys are just .79 a pound, you can get a 50 pound bag of potatoes for $1.69, and a gallon of milk is $1.13. At Peoples IGA you can get Jolly Good soda at eight cans for $1, heads of lettuce for .37, and five pounds of bananas for just $1. On the north side of town Carl’s Foodlane has specials as well, with smoked hams at just .99 a pound, a head of cauliflower is .69, ground beef is .78 a pound, and two pound cans of Folgers coffee is only $1.40. Packs of Imperial margarine are only .53.
The paper is very long this week as local businesses have their yearly Merry Christmas ad, those include: Schalow Prescription Center, Willie’s Tire Center, Fred’s Bait Shop, Lil’s & Joy Kennel, Miller Home Furnishings, Chip’s Hamburgers, M&I Citizens American Bank, Lindy’s Clark Station, Anne’s Beauty Care, Quality Furnace, Trantow’s Building Center, Lazy J Bar, Merrill Equipment, Gene’s Refrigeration, East Side Floral, The Corner Shop, B&D Motors, Elmer Lemke Insurance, Merrill House of Music, Merrill Federal Savings and Loan, Parmentiers, Church Mutual, Harold Gierach Insurance, Nikolai Electric, Knab Insurance, Merrill Fabric Shoppe, Bill’s House of Guns, Lydia’s Beauty Shop, Luebke’s Office Supplies, Eddie’s Bake Shop, Lincoln County Bank, Pritzl Printing, Mobile Carpet Service, Taylor Body Shop, Merrill Sheet Metal, Park City Credit Union, Stan Smith State Farm, Jerry Decker, City Transfer, Gambles, The Photo Mill, Gulke’s Plumbing, Schulz’s Wrecking, Lee’s Mobil, S&L Store, Greens Floral Shop, The Magic Mirror, Joe’s Standard, Campbells, Montgomery Ward, Prairie Motel, Hull’s Ben Franklin, Howland’s Ace Hardware, Fowler Drug, People’s IGA, Bloechel Motors, Robert’s Studio, Estelle’s – Merrill House of Fashion, Club Modern, Helmstadter Jewlers, Ward Paper Company, Les & Jim’s, Harold and Marge’s, Shar-Way, Northern Abstract, Larry’s Auto, S&S Bar, Elsie’s Beauty Parlor, Woller & Krueger Realty, Zettlers Bakery, Carl’s Liquor, Wire Products, Ament & Son’s, KB Body Shop, Vic’s Beauty Salon, Seeger’s Dairy. Lady M, Bob & Barb’s Club 64, Jim Sharon Motors, Merrill Millwork, Bob’s Union 76, Dick Holt and Wayne Marrier at American Family Insurance, Reinke Motors, Archie’s West End Service, Buck & Ole Schneider, Northern Auto, Eagles Club, Queenie & Ron’s, South of the Border, Am & Elly’s, Taylor Insulation, Bishop Carpets, Larry & Donna at Trophy Bar, Martha Schneider’s Bar, Jon Finstrom Motors, Pat Bucket LTD, Holy Cross Hospital, Frisch’s Bar, Double R Realty, Gleason Bowling Center, Knispel & Latzig, Ronis Chevrolet, Rajek’s Riverside, Third Street Liquor, Livingstons, ROW Cash and Carry, Pamida, and Caylor’s Corners.
12-22-87
The cost of dying just went up. In a notice on the obituary page the Schram-Waid Funeral Home warns that the Wausau Daily Herald will now charge for the printing of obituaries. The notice questions why the Wausau paper gives free birth, wedding, and engagement announcements but seeks to profit off the dead. The ad goes on to thank the Foto News for continuing the tradition of printing obituaries for free. (Although our local Foto News does have a charge now for this it is nothing compared to other publications to our south)
The City of Merrill has released data to show things are not as bad as some articles claim when it comes to economics locally. The city claims that employers are happy due to lower overhead costs and retailers are happy due to the spendable cash that is available locally. The city also points out that home construction is up 51% in the last 13 years.
Christmas greetings fill most of the back sections of the paper, local businesses include: Merrill Medical Associates, The Cleaners of Merrill, Phil Ziesemer Photography, Anderson Printing, Van’s Meat Market, Johnson Pharmacy, Bondshire Credit Union, Milo’s Beauty Box, Kozy Korner, Gold-n-Way Video, Diane’s Country Curl, Doctors ET and EA Krembs – DDS, Semling Menke, Red & White Foods, Fairway Supper Club, Mustard Seed, Mary’s Homestead Inn, Wanless TV, Park City Liquor, Al’s Body Shop, Dean’s Repair Shop, Trantow-Russell Insurance, Merrill Glass and Paint, Bruce’s Cover All, The Rits Restaurant, Diamond Dave’s, Stillman’s Service, Schmidts Septic, Lincoln Wood Products, Gleason Video, Ed Klune Accounting, Nissen Trucking, Champ’s Restaurant, Podeweltz Repair, Prairie Motel, Skippers, Warchala Video Systems, 3’s Company, Rod’s Wrecker, Nelson’s Drug and Photo, Bloechl Motors, The Beacon, and South of the Border.
12-23-97
A new state law may have a dramatic impact on potential tavern owners. Part of the law reduces the number of available licenses for any municipality that has more than three open licenses. For example Merrill currently has 12 unfilled licenses, so under the new state law the city would then be required to cut that number in half, giving Merrill six open licenses. If you were to apply for that new license the fee has gone from a city set cost of $375 to a new state required fee of $10,000. Currently Merrill has 23 licensed taverns, down from 34 in 1981 which was then considered the largest number of licenses per capita of any city in the state and possibly the nation.
Looking for some extra cash? MAPS is looking for some college or high school students who would like to earn some money doing physical labor over spring break. The pay is $6 per hour to move the existing Jr. High into the new building over the dates of March 21-28.
Lincoln County has made a formal offer to purchase the former Lincoln School building. The board voted 18-3 after an hour long closed door session. County Administrative Coordinator John Mulder told the paper the offer is for $250,000 – which is $100,000 more than the assessed value, but Mulder advised that the extra cash will bring them a clean site after the building is removed at MAPS expense. The county feels the property will provide them with additional parking after the jail and court house are expanded as anticipated. MAPS plans on vacating the building when Kate Goodrich School is opened next fall.