(Recent Amery Free Press Column) Growing up around Amery I found out that I could write my own ticket for what to do on a summer day. Not a bad ticket but a good one, an open ticket. Both west of Amery by Donald Johnson’s farm and east of Amery near the Howard Stindle farm, […]
Amery Free Press Column
The Amery Homefront, World War II
The Amery Homefront, World War II
German soldiers arriving on the Soo Line Railroad, getting off at the Amery Depot and taking over the city. What was that? It was the nightmare of a young teen living in Amery during World War 2. Barbara Burman, now Barbara Preble living in Prospect Heights, Illinois, sent two pages of typed notes to me, filled […]
Looking Back at Amery in the ’60s
Looking Back at Amery in the ’60s
This writing was a column in the Amery Free Press the week of May 15th, 2017. (Amery Wisconsin, Polk County) “I am going to remember Amery and some of the lingering memories of a Wisconsin community that is the epitome of small town Americana.” This from Jack Harkness, AHS class of 66, Navy veteran, later […]
Dirt Track Racing in Amery
Dirt Track Racing in Amery
Column for the Amery Free Press. Racing in the 50s and 60s north of Amery, WI, created a number of memories for local racers and fans. What made the track special? It wasn’t flat, and that created a number of variables to the contests. Received a great email from Raymond Mork whose car PP gave […]
The Pilfered Ring
The Pilfered Ring
Why the word pilfered? Because it’s a gentler word than stolen. But I did steal it. At a home in Amery where my parents and friends had coffee and conversation one Sunday afternoon, we kids hung out in the bedroom. In this room there was very little to play with, but there was a jewelry […]
To High School in a Sleigh
To High School in a Sleigh
Sunday afternoon, time for me to head back to college in the late 60s. The weekend was over, back at it. For me at 20 years old I felt that “back to work” anxiety that many of you might feel on Sunday night. My mom probably felt that same way when she attended Amery High […]
Making Money in Early Amery
Making Money in Early Amery
Logs coming down the Apple River passed through Amery, but later it was the two sawmills on the west bank of the river that built the city. These sawmills were roughly in the area of the current dam and northward through to Birch Street. A disjointed but somewhat complete history of the Amery area came […]
Cane Poles and a Hardware Store
Cane Poles and a Hardware Store
Amery Free Press Column While traveling in western North Carolina, twice we came upon the strange sight of patches of bamboo growing next to the road. The intense yellow of the stalk and the green green of the leaves were unmistakable, and there they were—bamboo growing in March along a Carolina highway. Just a couple […]