Village of Knapp to celebrate 150 years
KNAPP — This photo shows Main Street in Knapp in 1908 when dirt roads and transportation via horse and buggy still ruled the roads. — photo submitted by Tim Wyss
By Missy Klatt
The area that we now know as Knapp had its first settlers in the 1860s. Some of those early homesteaders were Omar Cole, John Bailey, A. K. Humphery, Charles Bailey and David Bailey. Knapp was originally called Bailey Town as the Bailey family owned most of the land in East Knapp. This was in 1871. This was also the year that the Tomah & Lake St. Croix railroad came through Knapp which brought more people looking for jobs, mainly related to the railroad or the fast growing lumber industry. The railroad station became known as Knapp Station.
The village of Knapp was named after John Holly Knapp (1825-1888) one of the founders of the Knapp, Stout & Company lumber business. In 1872 a post office was opened under the name Knapp and in 1874 the first plat of Knapp was recorded.
For more history of this small Wisconsin village, Gene Lemke and his committee invite you to join them as they celebrate 150 years. On Saturday, September 14th and Sunday, September 15th the village will be alive with activities for all ages to participate in. Things get started both days at 10 a.m. On display from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day at the village hall (which by the way turns 100 years old this year) will be a history display that will contain old signs and photos and other memorabilia of Knapp during the last 150 years. There will also be a couple of local history buffs on hand to answer any questions.
All of the events on Saturday center around the village Hall, none of the competitions require any preregistration except for the BBQ cook off. At 10 a.m. there will be Chainsaw carving, and a car show located behind the hall. At noon there will be Bingo in the big tent across from the hall and a Burn Out Contest, behind the hall. The Burn Out Contest is being organized by the Knapp Valley Riders Snowmobile and ATV Club. Any car, truck, snowmobile, tractor, motorcycle or semi can participate. There is no registration, no fees and no awards, just a chance to show off your ride. However the best burnout wins a $200 Gift Certificate for Emerald Tire, Emerald WI (Gift certificate goes toward a set of 4 new tires).
By noon the five teams competing in the cook off should be ready for their BBQ to be judged and sampled. According Lemke, they should have enough meat to serve 300 people and with a free will donation the public will be able to sample the meats. Also at noon a dunk tank and a 50/50 raffle will begin. Then at 1 p.m. there will be activities for the kids; face painting, pick a duck, bounce house and Plinko. and Monty’s Traveling Reptile Show will be putting on a show 1 p.m. Lemke remarked that a large donation was made just for prizes for the kids games so to be sure that you bring the kids down. At 3 p.m. a Bean Bag Tournament will take place and at 4 p.m. they wrap up the first day of celebration with the Johnny Keyz band.
On Sunday, the events will center around the park/pond. At 10 a.m. There will be radio controlled boats and then at 11 a.m. the axe throwing trailer from Medford will be set up and ready for action. A bit later the dunk tank and another 50/50 raffle will be ready to go.
At noon the new Veterans Memorial will be dedicated. This will take place in the east shelter. The memorial is something that the village board has wanted to do for several years. When they started to plan the 150th celebration, almost a year in the making, it seemed like a good idea to get the memorial done and dedicated. Several local veterans and volunteers formed a committee and had the mission to create a nice memorial to honor local veterans. The village got the project started with a $5000.00 donation that they had budgeted for last year.
After the dedication the veterans will be leading off the parade at 1 p.m. which will take place on Main Street. Also at 1 p.m. all the kids games, etc. will resume. At 2 p.m. there will a Pedal Tractor Pull at the east end of the park/pond. Also at 2 p.m. a Barber Shop Quartet will be entertaining the crowd.
At 3 p.m. there will be People Pull on the west end. What is a People Pull, you ask? Think of a Horse pull with a weighted sled but instead of horses there will be teams of six people pulling the sled. So gather your friends to create a team.
Also at 3 p.m. Monty’s Traveling Reptile Show will be doing another show to wrap up the day.
Whispers ran through Dunn County like smoke through dry timber: someone had murdered John R. Ubel, and the shadow of suspicion fell squarely on her.
The evidence was not only credible—it was chilling. She had planned it, cold and deliberate, weaving her daughter Nicole Espe into the story as an alibi, a pawn in a deadly game.
Now, the Sheriff’s Office leaned into the silence, their notice clipped to doors and tacked to telephone poles:
“We believe Dina VandeBerg may have been involved in the death of John R. Ubel. If you have seen anything—if you know anything—now is the time to speak. Call the Sheriff’s Office. Tell us before it’s too late.”
The investigation pressed forward, but in the stillness of the town, no one could shake the feeling that the truth was closer than they dared to admit.