HISTORY OF WOOD COUNTY



away here, Mrs. Katherine Beell in the fall of the year 1887, and William
Beell
Sept. 29, 1902. They were the parents of five children: Augusta, who is deceased;
Fred and Herman, both living in Marshfield; Charles, of Sceptre, Saskatchewan,
Canada; and George, who is deceased. Fred Beell, who was but a child of four
years when he arrived in Marshfield, was reared in this city and educated
in its
public schools. At an early age he displayed a strong taste for athletics,
and in
a short time he had become a leader among his associates in most athletic
and
acrobatic "stunts," Continuing to develop his physical powers,
at the age of 15
years he took up professional acrobatic work and in time became a 'noted
heavy-
weiaht lifter. After following that occupation for some time, he decided
to be-
come a professional wrestler, and it was from Louis Zobel that he received
his
first training in that line of athletics. At the age of 19 he was so perfectly
devel-
oped that he entered the-mat game as a professional, his first victim being
his for-
mer trainer, Louis Zobel, from whom he wrested the laurels. Being thus satisfied
that he had a good chance to become champion, he sought other opponents,
the
next after Zobel being Otis Patterson, whom he easily defeated. The Spanish-
American war interrupted his mat career for a short time, as in the spring
of 1898
he enlisted in Company A, Second Wisconsin Regiment, and during his term
of
service was stationed in Porto Rico. Having been honorably discharged the
same
fall, he returned to Marshfield and resumed his career as a wrestler, a career
that
he followed until 1919. His most noted achievement was undoubtedly the defeat
of the famous Frank Gotch, a task which many noted wrestlers had essayed
but
failed in. Mr. Beell accomplished the difficult task in 1906, at New Orleans,
when
he was 30 years old, and it made him the world's heavyweight champion. Previous
to that match, however, he had already wrestled many others and won the middle-
weight and light heavyweight championships, so that he now held three, being
the
first man to hold three championships at the same time. During his professional
career Mr. Beell wrestled every prominent man in his profession except George
Hackenschmidt, known sometimes as "The Russian Lion," who refused
to meet
him on the carpet. Mr. Beell had many flattering offers to go abroad, which,
however, he declined, though he was always ready to meet all comers, whether
home or foreian wrestlers, in "good old America." In 1907 Mr. Beell
purchased
120 acres of wild stump land in Cameron Township, and subsequently spent
much
of his spare time in wrestling the stumps out of the ground, which work served
to
keep him in good physical condition, so that it did not take him long to
prepare
for any mat contest that he was offered. In time he developed a fine piece
of agri-
cultural property, on which he followed farming for nine years. Then, in
1916,
he sold it and took up his residence in the city of Marshfield.; where he
has since
continued to reside. His last wrestling match was in 1919. with Bob Rogers
of
Chicago, whom he defeated, and since then he has lived practically a retired
life,
enjoying the recreations of hunting, fishing and motoring. On Aug. 6, 1902,
Mr.
Beell was married in Marshfield, Wis., to Anna Scheuren, daughter of Frank
and
Barbara Scheuren. Her parents are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Beell have a
pleasant home at 306 North Maple Street. They are members of the German
Lutheran Church. Mr. Beell is treasurer of a cheese-box factory at Colby,
Wis.,
in which he owns a one-third interest. He has many friends, not only in Marsh-
field and vicinity, but scattered all over the United States, who in former
years
followed his athletic career with interest and are glad to know that in his
retirement
he is well and prosperous.
   Howard 0. Bass, manager of the Co-operative Store at Nekoosa, was born
in
Sauk County, Wis., July 19, 1884, son of Allen and Clementine Bass. The parents
were early settlers in Sauk County, where they spent the greater part of
their lives
in farming. Thev are now living retired at Reedsburg, that county.. They
have
had 11 children, of whom five are now living, namely: Benjamin, Howard, Frank,
Wallace and Rubv. Those deceased are May, William, John, Elmer, Wesley and
Wayne. Howard 0. Bass was reared on his parents' farm in Sauk County, where
he attended district school. He followed farming until 1917 and then entered
the
commercial world, first as clerk in a store at Spooner, Wis., where he remained
one



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