Regis High School - Chi Rho Yearbook (Eau Claire, WI)

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Eire Chief Welsh Patrlcla Johnson, 37 Excerpts from the lzfe of a prornment cztzzert of Eau Clazre as told to hrs granddaughter HE first thmg one notxces about my grandfather IS h1s youthful appear ance Undoubtedly thls IS due to hls love of hlklng and golfmg and to hls hum orous outlook on l1fe Grandfather was born m Eau Clalre on March 22 1865 and has always l1ved here H1s father James Welsh was one of the very early settlers Grandfather belng possessed of an alert and keen mtellect IS a very ln terestmg conversat1onal1st and IS able to narrate numerous mcldents concernmg hrs actlve l1fe Llsten to hls own story of the early days My early llfe was typlcal of the youth of that perlod I well remember gomg bare foot ex en durlng the frosty fall days Some tlmes my feet would become xery cold then I would chase a cow from the spot on Wh1Ch she was ly1ng and I would stand there to warm my feet I attended Old St Pats School on the No th olCl8 No doulet I play ed sex eral bOy1 h pranks on the teacher and my classmates I know I played many at home After bakmg a cake my mother would al ways make certaln It was carefully concealed m some obscure place or else It would be sought out and made away wlth We had a large dog He used to l1e under the table and Walt for the food I would pass to h1m Once facmdentallyl I stepped on the dogs tall T'he dlnner took a breathtakmg rlde that day The old CITCUS ground was the sxte on whlch my home now stands I watered the elephants that I mlght obtaln a free tlCk8t Once the management falled to g'1V6 me the txcket but I managed to get 1n wlthout 1t Grandfather was a great sportsman He always lox ed the out of doors H1s work on the rn er IS a story 1n ltself 21 In 1881 when I was sixteen years old I went to work on the rlver he told me thmk that the thrllls and excltement WhlCh the rlvem work held entlced me My first 1ob was that of Cook s helper I was called Cook E It was necessary for me to get up at three o clock 1n order to carry out such dutles as peellng potatoes and vegetables YX3ShlI'1g dlshes and 1n general asslstlng the cook From th1S Job I gradually worked up to that of sealer I had many thrxlhng experiences and nar low escapes on the rlver Once WVh1l8 I was 'ill1lCllIg logs over the dam on the Eau Clalre Rlver the logs jammed To break the Jam I hooked my plke pole under the key log However the hook sllpped on a loose piece of bark and I fell 1nto the rner only Efteen feet above the dam As the water was at a hlgn stage I knew that lf I went over the dam I would undoubtedly be drowned I also knew mlll near the place w'here I had fallen If I co lld de 1se some means to reach that beam I would be safe Somehow I d1d Just that and mos ed along hand over hand untll I was able to drop onto a progectlon from the m1ll From there I could reach the upper deck of the brldge When the ru er was closed Grandfather worked 1n the woods The work there was even more dangerous than the work on the r1ver because of the falhng tlmber Often when fellmg a tree he sald 1t would fall across another tearlng that one down also These were called slde w1nders One day whlle I was workmg on a Skldway headblock I heard a shout IIlSt1I1CtlX ely I Jum Jed auav from my work Thls v s a lucky moxe becau e one of these 1ie YV1Ild ers fell ac 0 s the spot on which I had b en vs orklng X gr X 1 I ,X X - K i. . . , I . . . ,, . ! ! ' ' ' I! ll - , . I . . . . , . ! ' . ' 9 . . , , 5 1 1 ' U - L - . 7 ' , , . Q n 1 J ' ' ' 7 n , , o u a . ' v ' l . . . . 5 Y . 1 . . . . ,, . . . , - , . , lf ' ' . ' . ! ' I , - . , 7 ' , - - a . 1 ' ' 7 . 7 , y . I 1 ' 1 I. , K 7 Y - It 4 . C ' . ' ! .. , , that a lne cham bracket extended from the r .J . '- . f . 1 ' ' 1 V L L S x f L , . ' 7 u - 1 ' , - . ' 99 . . - ' 1 n u . K , a . J' V , n q 1 ' ' ' . ! K I ' H ' , D ' H ' ! 9 H ' ' f ' . , , . , . . , u . 7 ' ' - - ' ' 99 . 1 y . , . A I K , S 2 f C ' ' . ' , -: 5 , - yu v - - . ' 7 A T S V ' Q .Y . . . V . ,,

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E AMROCK ab1l1ty to eat If anyone should doubt my word that person mlght ask Father Deenv about It Over a perlod of about a mon h and one half we made tr1ps to Augusta IVIOIld0Xl Ch1ppewa B3ldXV1I1 and Hudson On our xx ay back from Hudson we stopped at MGHOMOHIG for d1nner I m1ght add that one of the best t1mes We had durmg our vs hole season we had on th1s trlp Eau Clalre Hlgh School w1th whom e had numerous debates sponsored a Fre h men sophomore Debate Tournament The teams were made up of two men we submxt ted three teams Berme lon ue were at the end of our de bwtmg season WVlt7h only our Western Cath ol1c 'loulnament left Three teams were en tered 1n the tournament Aqu1nas H1 h School of Ia Crosse Cathedral Hlgh Scnool of SllD9I'lOI' and St Patr1cks :High Qchool And who do you suppose won? You re r15Yht the or1g1na' eleven came throuwh Wlth that old Iflqh plflt For Wlnnlng the tourna ment '1 handsome cup has been g'1ven to the school Vv71th the n lmes of the SIX members of the team engraved on It 'Dms concluded our debate season and our duly 61 hth ,werlod sess1ons but w1ll 'my of u ever forget the good tlmes We had? The answer IS unanxmous NO Brxefs AURONIA ROUY EROI IS the author of the class play Tiouble ome Teens Included IH the cast are Rob rt T1 1mb1ll IIIS Bla1ne Althea Arnold Althlli' P1uehe1 Xnglma D1rks Patrlcla Johnson Lo1ne Brandl F1ed M1ller Thomas Flemmg Donald Lund Elalne F1-mnk Glor1a F1t7pat1ck Mar1on Robe1ge Rl oda Haxder Mary Ann Cra 3, Ray Lraemer Mar fuet TWIIQV and Lo1r11r1e Vander Kamp All the members of the D1 amat1cs Cla s p.1rt1c1pated HARD AT IT characteuves what IS golng on 1n the Muslc Organl at10ns at St Pfmtrlck s Prepa1'1t1on for the spung contests IS 111 full swungf Iast year the Band won first IH Class B and won the trop IV for marchlng The Cholus placed first 1n Class C and the Orche tra first place ln Class C BIG DATES 1nclude tl ese Semor Cla s Play May 9 Jun or Senlor Prom May '71 Wlth Mary Ann Cra1g and Arthur D1ckerson as I rom Kmg and Queen Class Day Exer CISQS June 8 and Commencement Day June 10 20 ' T H S H 1' - - .4 . ' U' . - 5 .K I . l . I - s ' . ' ' ' 1 Q. , - . . . . 0' - J, . . D L ' . , ' - 1 J 1 v ' 9 1 . . . 1 v Q ' ' . . 1 ' r K , , 1 . , ' . . W 64 - ' n ' . ' . T A Q , . . . . . . . c ., S . - y v L A . . I , 4 1 1 . . . I . A , , C- A A , W , , V i C' - 1 ' .1 a , , I , D . ' . .r , . . . Y . g, ,, . . , . v ' 3 'l Y - 1 . ' . . . K .1 . . V -, 1. 4 . , .t , ' ns 1 u 1 1 . e J . , .' ' . 4 . 7'1,-' ' ' w v s y -v s 9 1 K . 5. 1 . . Y.. r 1 4 v 4 - v ' 4 1 . . 7 .if r - s 1 1 , . . , g. v . 1 . . . . . , 1 . L Z . . c . 4 . 1 1. w . . ,. . L ,. 1 ,. ' Y l ' s . lu . T . Ig 1 s , . L. . . N 1 n . Q I 1 A . ., , , : - . K . . 4 1 H 1 ' D ' - ' . c , ' ' , , , .f , .

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E AMROCK .bazlers were very troublesome to us These were llmbs which had broken off and lodged high in other trees and Whlbh would come crashlng down at unfo e een times often killing a horse or a man In 1889 Grandfather Welsh left the woods and entered the fire department in the cap aclty of plpeman He was appointed super lntendent of fire alarm clty elect 1c1an tire warden and as lstant chief holding the fou1 offices at the same time On November 2 1906 he was appointed chief He has serye l contlnually for forty eight yeais his service rema1n1ng unbroken during that per1od Twenty five years ago the department secu ed its first motor drn en fire apparatus which was one of the first ln the state This new mac-hme reduced the time necessary to cover a mile from four minutes to two min utes Flremen have been called to a sist ln al most any klnd of emelgency Once t ev were called to save a calf from the wate s of Llttle Niagara Another time thev were summoned to get a parrot from a tree Tl ey have often been called to re cue cats and dogs About ten years ago a call came ask mg the department to saye thi ee boys from a cake of ice on which they were playing Cro mg the Potomac Some dlstance down tream there was an xce gorge If these boy would reach the Jam they would be sucked under the Water and drowned How eyer they were rescued before anytlung serious happened While Grandfather was chief Eau Claire had one of 1ts b1ggest tires the Contlnental in 1918 When only five percent of the bulld ing had burned the steel supports m the basement buckled and dropped the whole bullding One time whlle at a fire a pointed board fell on Grandlathers head sex ermg an ar t ry He droye quickly to the ho pltax Though he w s greatly weakened through the loss of blood he recovered rapldly Wh1le he has been with the department the Chief has traveled far and near to con South and has traveled West several times The Chief has lead a very actne life Dur mg his lelsure hours he low es sport Today baseball lS his favorlte game but he IS con tent to Slt with the spectato s I am only able to say that I feel a thrill of pride and love when I say Chief Wel h is my grandfather Briefs BACHELORS Prominent alumm members will soon be granted degrees John Kaiser Notre Dame Mary Ellen Kelley St Benedicts Art Coleman Helen Cabus Rose and Lucille Luhm and Fayette MLC ormack at E C T C Jack Iohannes giaduated at St Jolfn s ln January BEI I ES AND WEDDING BE' I S The second alumni pair to be marrled is Germalne DuPless and John Keegan Clxorn an White and Ve a Wollum were first J ON THE COAST Bob Kellenbenz and John Hollern report good news from St Martin s at Lacey Washmgton They re both rated fhst on the Freshmen Honor Roll GENE KAY S COLI EGIANS IS headed by Eugene Mc Caghy of last year s class He is Drum Mayor at the T C this year PROFESSED Slster Geitrude Ann CGertrude Arndtl vull be prof ssed at St Benedict s Com ent July 11 22 ll ' ' 66 ,' 77 ' J . ss . N . . r Q . ' IJ ' 1 . , S , . I V ,TA . - . .J , . . . ,, 7 1 . Q . . ' J y . ' ' v u X , - I 4 . . . . 1 T 1 I . ' J S rl . , ' v 1 . I , - ' ' , , . 1. v ' Y . . - .I I Y C 1 , . K Y. yi i . - . . a 1 o - . ff 7 1 ' , Y ,- In Y . S . c . r . - ' . 3. v C 1 x , l , . A A W' . . u 4 s L W A , ' - , , , vencions. He has visited the East and the S -' 4. v ' , u , .. ' . n . K .Y . - r. ' as ' - sr - K ' , V 1 x -- Ls' 1 , ' . . Y s . ' ' . 7 4 1 . , ,, L . S . . . Y. Y , ,, . . I u . 1 .1 s f ' 7 ! . , l , 9 - 9 f 1 I 1 ' f b W . 9 ' L . 2. 1 4 - ' .I .A A .LJ JL - I I 1 ' r . : . v I ' , . . , . 7 - .A- . . 4 , 1 4 .. , I . . . : ' , V e' S . ' f .