Bayfield, and Ashland to Eau Claire, and on the
Soo Line running from Birchwood to the Reserve.
He was Soo Line section foreman for two years in
Weyerhaeuser.
In 1906 William married Agnes Kassela who
was born in 1886. Her parents were also pioneers
having come from Poland in 1882. They arrived in
Weyerhaeuser in 1894 after spending the interven-
ing years in Independence, Wisconsin. The
newlyweds bought a    restaurant-grocery in
Weyerhaeuser and kept the business until it was
destroyed by fire in 1910. While running the store,
my father was the first in the area to sell cream on
the open market. In 1913 my parents bought a
farm near Weyerhaeuser and continued farming
for 38 years with the help of nine children. I am
Mary, the sixth.
We all (Philip, Frances, Katherine, Evelyn
(deceased), Richard, Mary, Leo, Helen, John) at-
tended Woodland School (one room), 32 miles
from home. Except in bad weather, we walked. For
winter my father invented the "budda," a house on
a sled. It was warmed by a small stove and we
could see the snowy woods and fields through its
tiny windows. He would pick up other children on
the way and sometimes cans of milk to be left for
collection on the main road.
All of us helped to harvest large crops of
potatoes and vegetables from our rich land. The
woods abounded in game. We all picked blackber-
ries, red raspberries, blueberries, cherries, and
other fruits. My special tasks were to wash milk
pails, to clean kerosene and Aladdin lamps, and
polish the many pairs of shoes for their owners to
wear to Sunday Mass.
Pioneer families relied on each other during
threshing and silo filling. For our good neighbors
my mother cooked delicious meals served on linen
tablecloths and eaten with our best silver: fried
chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables,
salads, beef, pork, homemade bread, blackberry
and apple pies.
The Depression years were difficult. Our main
source of money was blackberries which we picked
and sold to the train men who stayed at the Maple
Hotel, in Weyerhaeuser. At times Father lent
money without interest to some of our less for-
tunate friends.
During the period of hard work on the farm
from  1913  to  1951, when   he retired  to
Weyerhaeuser, my father found time to be on the
Board of Directors for the Weyerhaeuser Equity
for 12 years, Health Officer 8 years, Board of
Directors of the Farm Mutual Insurance Company
of Ladysmith 10 years, Constable Town of
Stickland 6 years, and member of the School
Board for 6 years.
My father died at 91 in 1974. He was a most
respected pioneer. So was my mother, whose
background is told in the account of the Kassela
families. I speak for my brothers and sisters when I
express gratitude for parents and others who con-
tributed so significantly in the part of America in
which we live. Mary Czekalski Ellison
AGNES KOLB DALIDA
HISTORY
I was born on a farm    3  miles west of
Weyerhaeuser, Wisconsin - the 5th of 9 children
- to Peter and Francesska Jasicki on Dec. 31,
1913.
When I was 6 years old my father passed away.
Mother continued with the operation of the farm
so at this early age I had to help with the chores
and the care of the younger ones in the family. I at-
tended Woodland School, about a mile east of our
farm, graduating from the 8th grade. "Early to
bed and early to rise" was my motto as I quickly
did my. chores and was always on time for school.
My teacher, Gunda Sannes, had me recite a poem
at one of our programs which she thought suited
me.
A diller a dollar, a right on time scholar
What makes me look so bright?
I work and play, have fun all day
and sleep ten hours each night.
As I grew older I helped with the farm work and

also worked for some private families doing part-
time housework. When I was 18, with the help of a
friend who loaned me the money, I took up beauty
culture. I enrolled in the Parisian School of Beauty
in Minneapolis, Minnesota and graduated in 9
months. I returned to Weyerhaeuser applying for
work in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. After having been
employed for 1 year with Mr. Burton in Rice Lake
I moved to Barron, Wisconsin and found employ-
ntent with Byron's Beauty Salon for about 4 years.
While in Barron I met my first husband,
Gregory Kolb, an employee of Solies Appliance
Store. We were married in 1937 and our first
child, Geraldine Ann, was born on May 14, 1938.
In 1939 we moved to Rice Lake where my husband
managed a Frigidaire Appliance Store. Our son,
James, was born on Feb. 8, 1946.
In 1954 my husband left me with the two
children. We were divorced, and I returned to
work for Byron's Beauty Shop in Rice Lake. After
high school, my daughter, Geraldine, went on to
college at Ashland, Wisconsin. She majored in
English and graduated with honors. She found a
teaching position at Mosinee, Wisconsin for
several years and then moved to Schofield and
Wausau, Wisconsin.
In the fall of 1960 1 married Adam Dalida from
Weyerhaeuser, Wis. and moved to that area where
Adam operated a dairy farm. We sold the farm in
1962 and bought a business, the A and A Bar, in
Weyerhaeuser, which we operated for 10 years.
During this time I continued working for
Strohmans Beauty Shop in Cameron - managing
the shop for 6 years after Mrs. Strohman retired.
In 1972 we sold the tavern and moved to a
private home in Weyerhaeuser. My husband, who
is semi-retired, drives school bus for the
Weyerhaeuser School District. He enjoys his hob-
bies, hunting, fishing, and making wood.
My son, James, graduated from Weyerhaeuser
High School in 1964 and later attended school in
Minneapolis, Minn. He is now employed in
maintenance work at the Univ. of Minn.
I was greatly depressed by my daughter's sud-
den death in November of 1979. I am grateful for
my beauty work which keeps my mind occupied.
As of now I fix hair for senior citizens and go to
their homes if they are not able to get around.
Submitted by: Agnes Jasicki Kolb Dalida

Geraldine, Agnes and James Kolb - 1960

WILLIAM DAMEER
William Dameer was a carpenter by trade in
Chicago and came to Wisconsin about the same
time as the Fuglsangs - about 1910. He was in-

strumental in helping many of the early settlers
build their homes and barns. He put up the main
building and built much of the furniture at Deer-
path Lodge on Hemlock Lake in Barron County
which his brother owned and operated.
In his later years, he had chickens and sold eggs
to his neighbors and to Spears' Store in Bruce.
He was a bachelor and to my knowledge there
are no Dameers living now. Bill died in his log
home in the fall of 1950. Submitted by Walter
Fugsang

Margaret Daniels - 1981

MARGARET JOAN DANIELS
My name is Margaret Joan Daniels. I want my
picture in the Rusk County History Book. My
sister is writing this for me because I will never be
able to read or write. You see, I was born with
Down's Syndrome. Some people call me retarded,
some say I'm handicapped, but I like it best when
they call me 'A Special Person.'
I was born on October 23, 1942, the eleventh of
fourteen children of Anthony William and Sophia
Clara (Jessick) Daniels in Weyerhaeuser, Wis.
When I was quite young my parents took me to
several Doctors in Chicago. There was nothing
that they could do for me so they told my parents
to take me home and care for me.
My mother and father wanted me to be trained
and to get an education but there were no im-
mediate openings in the Special Schools in
Chicago so they took me home and taught me as
best they could.
The Sisters at Sts. Peter and Paul Parochial
School in Weyerhaeuser were very kind to me and
let me go to school. I learned to color and to copy
the alphabet and to print my name. I learned my
prayers and received the Sacraments of the
Catholic Church.
After a few years I didn't have any school to go
to so I stayed at home with my mother and father.
I have a nice room of my own with an organ and a
television.
I can take care of myself and I clean the upstairs
and make the beds. I have many nieces and
nephews and am a good baby sitter.
My mother and father belonged to the ARC
(Association for Retarded Citizens) because they
believed that there were other Special Persons in
Rusk County that would like to go to school too.
Then my father was elected to the Board of
Trustees and helped the steering committee get
money from the State so they could start the Rusk
County Personality Development Center.
Our center opened in April of 1971 in a room in
the Junior High in Ladysmith. Some of my first
teachers were Lorraine Reidner, Theresa Madlon
and Sister Mary Michaeleen. That room got too
small so we moved to a school in Ingram.
It is a long ride from Weyerhaeuser to Ingram
but I like the bus ride and we have very nice bus
drivers.