Fred Stelloh of Neillsville
Pine Valley Township, Clark Co., WI
Transcribed by Sharon (Stelloh) Schulte
(Please Click on the pictures to enlarge them)
Source: Clark County Press, Neillsville, March 4, 1993, Page 28
Through the years, the names of Neillsville businesses or its owners have changed. We realize those many changes when we take a look back, 50, 75 or more years.
Names such as Unger, Dahnert, Bruley, Winn, Young, Shapiro, Danger, Clement, Stelloh came to mind amid many more which had disappeared.
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Fred Stelloh, elected in 1934, to be the Mayor of Neillsville, operated a car dealership and garage. His business building was located on the northwest corner of 5th and Grand Avenue. It has since razed and now is Bob & Caryl's IGA Foodliner parking lot. |
Stelloh’s Garage & Implement Shop was on the corner of Grand & 5th Street with the front show window and entrance facing the Grand Avenue side. Fred Stelloh was the business owner for which the business was named.
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An inside view of the Stelloh Garage and Implement Shop Office, corner of West 5th and Grand Ave., in the 20's. Fred Stelloh is seated at the desk. At his left, an unidentified customer, Fred's brother, Conrad, who worked in the business; and Fred's father-in-law, August Wegner. Back in that time, implement shops were one of the good places for the men to gather for some "men's talk" when they came to town, once a week. |
Fed Stelloh was born in Milwaukee in 1889. His father, Henry, owned and operated a sash and door factory until c.1910-1920 when he sold the business. Having heard of real estate for sale in the Neillsville area, the family moved here purchasing land west of the Black River. They developed a farm, clearing the land, built a house and other buildings. It was located along the River Road and the house remains now being occupied by the Marksteiners.
The younger son, Fred, moved with the parents and grew up on the family farm. He married Anna Martens whose parents also bought a farm along the River Road area after moving from Chicago. They were married at the Reformed Church named Peaceful Pines. The rural church was built on a lot near the family’s farms. Both families helped with the building and members of the congregation.
Fred and Anna had five children. Frank, Alfred, Clarence, Florence and Lorraine. Florence (Thiel) of Marshfield and Lorraine (Zajac) of Neillsville are the surviving children of that union.
After Anne’s death, Fred married Elsie Glass and they had one daughter, Mercides Bhaldam, who resides in Richmond, Virginia.
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The Bi-plane owned by Frank Stelloh Frank and his brother, Alfred, were killed in the plane when it crashed near the Clark County Fairgrounds, on March 15, 1930. |
A double tragedy struck the family when two sons, Frank and Alfred, were killed in a plane accident. Frank, at age 21, was the pilot and Alfred, at age 18 and Neillsville High Senior at the time, were killed when the bi-plane crashed near Neillsville on March 15, 1930.
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Fred Stelloh, far left, with an area farmer, salesman and son, Alfred in the office of Stelloh Implement. |
The first employment of Fred’s was working as a salesman for DeLaval equipment. Later he became a partner of Charles Seif in an implement business. Eventually, Fred decided to go into a business of his own. He bought a livery stable building on the corner of Grand and 5th Street. It is believed to have been called the Dresden Stables.
After some remodeling, Fred started a farm implement sales and repair business. Also, for a time he sold and serviced cars.
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Fred Stelloh, center, served as mayor of Neillsville, 1934-1936. |
In 1934-1936, Fred served as mayor of Neillsville. Some of the city’s changes during his term as mayor were the development of the tennis court at Schuster Park, the Northside Park and placement of "stone sentinels" at the cemetery entrance.
Mr. Stelloh operated the Implement business until he sold that site.
He had owned the entire block except for the Kern house lot on the Northwest corner. The east portion was sold, the building razed and a new building constructed to accommodate a grocery business by IGA. Some years later, Bob and Caryl Solberg purchased the business, once again a new building with enlarged parking lot occupied that site, known as Bob & Caryl’s IGA.
When Stelloh sold the business, he moved the repairing equipment to a smaller building along the 6th Street side of the lot, where Central Liquor is now located. He continued an implement repair shop for a number of years. The Stelloh home located on the Southwest corner of the lot was razed before the second grocery building was built. The first Fred Stelloh home was on the lot now owned by Wonder Wash.
Reviewing this family’s history, in a span of one hundred years, relates many changes.
(Photo’s and information courtesy of Lorraine (Stelloh) Zajac of Neillsville.)
Memories...........
Elaine Wood Greene/Jenson wrote:
Upon looking at this site I'm wondering if that is the same Deep Rock station that was there in the mid 30's?
It looks familiar and I have a vivid memory of it. I accidentally locked myself
in the bathroom there, and couldn't get the door open. I got quite concerned
that I would not ever get out. I stood on the toilet and pulled myself up so I
could look out a window, when I spotted my mother looking frantically for me.
She couldn't get the door open, so she got the owner (I'm trying to recall his
first name, it seems like it might have been Fred), anyway they had to remove
the door because I couldn't get the key out of the lock. I would guess I was
about 8 at the time, but may have been younger than that.