Hi All, Last time I wrote I mentioned that my father had saved old newspapers. To my surprise, I learned that Altoona had a newspaper at one time too! In the upper left hand corner of the paper is a caption that reads: THE LARGEST SMALL CITY -- Altoona, Eau Claire county, the city of homes, has the largest buying power of any small city in northwestern Wisconsin. I recently visited the Eau Claire area with some friends of mine. I had mentioned that Altoona was basically a residential town with little of any business district. They didn't believe me and wanted to see for themselves. Apart from a few taverns and gas stations, there really isn't any other "big business" going on in that town -- at least no clothing stores or grocery stores. I guess it must have been like that back in the 1940's too, like it says above "the city of homes". Anyway, on with the news: >From the Altoona Tribune, 30 October 1941 Local Items A new glassed-in porch is being built on the J. Beach home, Third St. E., also a new bathroom and an attached garage, 22 ft. by 16 ft. Art Klohs is helping Mr. Beach with the construction work. Mrs. Clyde Woodington, Hayden Ave., entertained her 500 Card Club last Thursday evening. Mrs. Luis Bonie of Minneapolis won first prize and Mrs. A. Kluth won the Hollywood prize. A delicious lunch was served. Mr. and Mrs. H. V. Kemery and Mesdames J. Stahl and S. Ives, Garfield Ave., attended a celebration last Thursday held at Baraboo in honor of Mr. Oscar Dopper, Dept. Commander of the Sons of Veterans of the Civil War. Mrs. C. L. Johnson, Garfield Ave., and Mrs. Harry Miller, Sixth St. W., visited Mrs. C. McCann, Town of Washington, Saturday afternoon. +++++++++++++++++ Many of the articles in this paper from Altoona were human interest stories like the ones above. There is also a section for the Railroad News of the day along with another section of old Railroad News. There are some great news items about old train wrecks in the area. Does anyone have an interest in any of this information? Let me know and I will post bits and pieces. -- Nance Sampson Eau Claire Co. Mail List Owner mailto:[email protected]