Dial A front, 7-22

The Boscobel Dial
IN YOUR DIAL
Southwest Wisconsin’s Regional Weekly Newspaper
Vol. 138—No. 30
Boscobel, Wisconsin
THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2010
Don’t forget
to attend the
Blake’s Prairie
Jr. Fair
See Page 6 for Details
$37.00 per year in Wisconsin, Single Copy $1.00
Two projects vie for one liquor license
Under the Bridge
by David Krier
CITY HISTORIAN Burdette Coberly has come up
with a wealth of material
related to the old Boscobel
Brewery from past issues of
the Dial he has archived. A
25-year-old story entitled
“Brewing of beer was once
thriving Boscobel industry”
proved the most informative, tracing the brewery’s
origin back to 1897, when
it was opened by Otto
Schuler and J.A. Dobler.
•
RESEARCH for the article came from a paper
written by Michael Heberlein, then a student at UWPlatteville. According to Heberlein’s research, Dobler
took over sole control of
the brewery in 1908 and
successfully brewed several varieties of beer there
until the onset of Prohibition in 1919, when brewery
production shifted to soda
pop. After the repeal of
Prohibition in 1933, John
Blass became president of
the firm. In 1939, Joseph
Doll bought the plant, adding on a larger aging cellar.
In all, approximately six
additions were added on to
the plant between Prohibition and 1942.
•
SERIOUS PROBLEMS
began to plague the brewery in the 1940’s. The outbreak of World War II forced
the Boscobel Brewery to
find another supplier of
hops—a vital ingredient in
beer—because most of their
hops were imported from
Germany. Another serious
setback occurred when
Brewmaster Tony Semrad
suddenly died. Semrad,
who was an excellent brewmaster, reportedly fell from
a catwalk inside the brewery and died shortly thereafter. The brewery closed
for good a short time later.
•
DURING ITS HEYDAY,
the Boscobel Brewery produced
Boscobel
Pride,
Eagle and Amber Brew
brands of beer. Amber Brew
brought a bit of notoriety to
the Boscobel plant when
the Pabst Brewery sued
because the Amber Brew
leaf log was similar to the
one in the Pabst logo. The
Boscobel Brewery was one
of the first breweries to sell
beer in steel kegs and during its busiest years employed close to 30 people
before closing in 1942.
•
AFTER IT CLOSED,
ownership of the buildings changed hands many
times until 1947, when Lee
Hubanks purchased the
building, gutted the plant,
and used it as a stockyard for feeder pigs. Jack
Welsh bought the operation in 1958 and ran it for
two years until he resold
it to Hubanks, who ran it
as a stockyard until he
closed the business permanently in 1966. Over the
next decade the limestone
structures
deteriorated
rapidly. In 1976, John Polashek and Charles Kitelinger bought the complex
in hopes of building a restaurant within the brewery. However, the amount
of deteriorations was not
fully realized until the new
owners began to clean out
the brewery plant and literally had to cut off the outside doors and saw their
way through the scrap iron
stored inside. The upper
portion of the building was
found to be deteriorated
beyond repair when it was
discovered that many of the
4x4 supports of the upper
floors were cut out for the
wood. Because of this, several workers were trapped
in the upper portions of the
building when the floors
around them gave way.
That was the end of the
Boscobel Brewery complex,
with the stone eventually
hauled away for city projects, including the renovated Scout Cabin.
“Beer is proof that God
loves us and wants us to be
happy.”
—Benjamin Franklin
Committee favors proposed
Highway 61 pizza pub, motel
By DAVID KRIER
About a year from now a
lot of people are hoping to
sit down for homemade pizza
and cold beer at a brand new
pub, grill and motel on Highway 61—especially members
of the Boscobel Common
Council’s Protection & Welfare Committee.
The group met Tuesday at
City Hall to decide the fate of
two projects: the new pizza
pub and the former CornerStone Bar. The problem was
that both required a liquor
license and there is only one
available at this time.
“We hadn’t checked recently to see if another license is
available and there isn’t. The
River Inn got the last one,”
said City Administrator Arlie
Harris. “The Tavern League
got involved and completely
screwed this up.”
About a decade ago the
Wisconsin Tavern League
lobbied the State Legislature to pass a law basing the
number of liquor licenses a
community can have on its
population, and raising the
cost of the license from $500
to $10,000.
Population 3,366
“Our current population
is 3,366,” Harris said. “We
would need a population of
3,471 before another license
would become available.”
Joe and Rita Klinzing are
planning on building a pizza
pub and grill with outside patio at the intersection of Highway 61 and Warah Street.
Their Misty Spray Car Wash
at the same location would be
torn down in favor of the new
development—which would
include a 16-unit motel and
two short-term rental apart-
ments for seasonal workers
and traveling professionals.
“what this town needs”
“We’ve been in the restaurant business our whole
lives and we’ve been looking at what this town needs,
a good pizza pub and eatery.
We want people to pull off
the highway and spend some
money here,” Joe Klinzing
said of the proposed halfmillion dollar project. “What
we’re looking at is you not issuing the license at this time,
but giving us some time to
come back with a more indepth plan.”
Committee Chair Barb
Bell wondered if there was
enough room and parking at
the Warah Street location for
such an ambitious project, as
did committee member Milt
Cashman.
“We have concerns with all
the things you have proposed
fitting on that property,”
Cashman said.
Klinzing said that according to his initial research,
the three lots he owns at the
site would be sufficient for
the project. The three parcels
measure a total of 180-by124 feet.
“What we’re really looking
at is time to move forward
with some conceptual plans,”
Klinzing said. “I’d like a
minimum of nine weeks to
come back to you with some
plans.”
“Then how long before
construction would begin?”
asked Cashman.
“I wouldn’t conceive that
we would break ground until
the spring of 2011,” Klinzing responded. “But we want
to make sure there’s a liquor
license available before we
Boscobel and North Crawford
move forward.”
Jeremy and Vicky Faust
have the same concern—and
an accepted offer to purchase
the CornerStone Bar. They
were told by the realtor that
the bar had a liquor license
that was current and intact
before they traveled here
from Ohio.
“The agent told me that the
liquor license was intact,”
Vicky Faust said.
“not true”
“That’s not true,” responded City Attorney John McNamee. “Apparently they have
another buyer if the tavern
falls through.”
The current owners of the
bar—the CornerStone Corporation—failed to pay the
annual $600 fee and renew
the license prior to its expiring on June 30. The next day,
July 1, Klinzing came into
City Hall and applied for the
license.
“Arlie asked them if they
were going to renew their license—twice—and they said
no,” said Cashman.
“I wish I would have known
that,” said Vicky Faust. “We
put our house on the market
for this. I took a buyout at the
mill for this. My whole life is
on the line for this. This was
going to be our livelihood
here.”
“Heart-wrenching”
Harris called the Faust’s
situation “heart-wrenching,”
but added that the Klinzing
proposal was a “major development” and one that fit
in with the city’s Master Plan
for business development of
the Highway 61 corridor.
“Technically, Joe made the
application first and you al(See LICENSE, Pg. 2, Col. 3)
School Board discusses
consolidation study results
BY SHANNON MUMM
The Boscobel School
Board held a joint meeting
with the North Crawford
board and district administrator to discuss the results
of a consolidation study performed by PMA Financial.
The five-year financial
forecast looked at both district’s revenue and expenditures and the similarities and
differences between the two
districts.
“The study showed that
we can save money over
the years by consolidating
staffs,” Boscobel District Administrator Steve Smith said.
Following a presentation
of the study’s findings, the issue of transportation and facilities was then discussed.
“Should we ever consolidate districts, we would have
to take a good look geographically at how it can be accomplished,” North Crawford
District Administrator Dan
Davies said. “We can’t have
kids from northern Crawford
County riding a bus for nearly two hours to get to school
in Boscobel, or the other way
around.”
Smith added, “We have
some real hurdles in terms of
geography.”
While both boards agreed
a consolidation of districts
isn’t in the plans for the immediate future, a consolidation of services is.
“We need to find moneysaving opportunities for both
of our districts,” Smith said.
“As our numbers continue to
dwindle, we need to look to
one another for shared services.”
The two districts currently share a Spanish teacher
and are looking at sharing
AP classes. However, it has
been difficult because North
Crawford operates under a
7-period day, while Boscobel
has a block schedule.
“Having this dialogue is
a good thing,” Davies said.
“We are willing to help each
other out with what we can,
and we hope to continue doing so.”
Following the joint meeting, the Boscobel board held
its regular monthly meeting.
Roof update
Smith said that because
so many other districts were
having the same issue with
the new, taller busses, a complaint was made to the Blue
Bird Bus Company, and they
announced they will con(See BOARD, Pg. 2, Col. 4)
GoPetFriendly.com was launched in 2009 by Rod and Amy Burkert in the hope of helping
people find pet-friendly hotels, campgounds, restaurants, beaches off-leash dog parks and
more. They are pictured with family members Ty and Buster.
New downtown street lights in place
Boscobel Utilities workers Jason Hurda, Reggie “Cowboy”
Loomis and Supervisor Rick Ritter installed that last of 49
new LED street lights Wednesday morning. The light poles
are taller than their predecessors and are fitted with flower
pot holders and speakers for holiday music. The rest of
the Downtown Renovation Project continues, with underground water and sewer work complete and sidewalk work
also nearing completion. Wisconsin Avenue is scheduled
to be paved in September.
Iowa swimmer drowns
near Prairie du Chien
A 42-year-old Iowa man is
dead following a fatal drowning accident in the Mississippi River north of Prairie du
Chien Saturday night.
At 6:55 p.m. on Saturday,
July 17, the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department was
notified of a possible drowning in the Mississippi River
at Dillman’s Slough north of
Prairie du Chien. Larry E.
Sash, 42, of Hudson, Iowa
was swimming in the water
when he disappeared. He had
been swimming with friends
from a boat nearby. Crawford
County and Grant County
Dive Teams were called in
and began a search.
The search was called off
at 9:15 p.m. due to darkness
and was resumed at 6 a.m.
on Sunday the 18th. Crawford and Grant County Dive
Teams searched throughout
the morning and were joined
by the La Crosse Dive Team
in the search.
At 3:30 p.m. the search was
expanded to include numerous
fire and rescue departments
from southwest Wisconsin
and northeast Iowa who began
a dragging operation. At 6:40
p.m. Sash’s body was recovered. He was pronounced dead
by Crawford County Coroner
Joe Morovits. An autopsy was
scheduled for Monday, July
19, at V.A. Medical Center in
Madison. Results have yet to
be made public.
Dillman’s slough is about 40
feet deep and does not have a
strong current. It is not sure
if alcohol was a factor in the
drowning.
Weather
July
July
July
July
July
July
July
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Hi
90
83
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91
85
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85
Lo
68
71
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GoPetFriendly.com fills
need for animal lovers
BY SHANNON MUMM
In May 2008, Amy and
Rod Burkert, along with their
two dogs, Buster and Ty, left
their home in Philadelphia
for a fishing trip in Canada. It
didn’t take long for the couple to realize how difficult it
could be to travel with canine
companions.
“Trying to find hotels that
would allow pets was ridiculous,” Gays Mills native Amy
said. “We called tons of different hotels and they either
didn’t know the hotel’s pet
policy, had weight restrictions, or allowed only one pet
per room. It was extremely
complicated and didn’t leave
us with a good feeling about
traveling with our pets.”
After ranting the entire way
back to Philly, the couple decided to take action.
“Our dogs are members of
our family,” Amy said. “It’s
not fair that they get left behind on our fun vacations.
There had to be an easier way
to travel with them.”
Following some brainstorming and some heavy
research, the couple came
up with the idea of starting a
Web site that would include
information on pet-friendly
hotels, campgrounds, restaurants, beaches, off-leash dog
parks, and more.
“We wanted a Web site
that put it all together,” Rod
said. “We just started calling
places and finding out their
pet policies.”
One year and 20,000 hotels later, GoPetFriendly.
com was launched, and Rod
and Amy’s lives completely
changed.
“We left our successful
business appraisal firm and
put all of our efforts into developing this Web site,” Amy
said. “Now we travel across
the United States and Canada
researching and visiting petfriendly
accommodations
and activities. Our mission is
to make it easy for people to
travel with their pets.”
GoPetFriendly.com is the
only source of up-to-date pet
policies for more than 4,000
pet friendly campgrounds
and RV parks and more than
20,000 hotels and B&Bs
throughout the U.S. and Canada.
“People can search for accommodations that suit them,
whether they are traveling
with multiple pets, needing
accommodations that accept
cats, or looking for hotels that
welcome large dogs,” Amy
(See PETS, Pg. 2, Col. 3)