From Dorothy:
The following is a brief biography that I prepared for Charles
Nichols' Memorial service on August 5, 2000.
Charles Kenneth Nichols
Charles K. Nichols
was born at Ruby, Chippewa County, Wisconsin on December 7, 1898. He
married Edna G. Diehl at Ladysmith, WI on 07 Jun, 1921. The couple
lived at Ladysmith, WI and Rib Lake, WI before moving to Tipler, WI in
1929, where he worked as a log scaler for the A. J. Tipler Lumber
Company until the fire of April 18, 1931, which burned the lumber
company, as well as most of the town of Tipler. He served as Chairman
of the town of Tipler, a member of the Florence County Board, the
Florence County Selective Service Board (for 25 years) and the Tipler
and Florence County School Boards at various times over the years.
Occupations:
Logging, dairy and later, beef farming
Visitation at the
Brooks-Langenberg Funeral Home in Iron River, Michigan February 18,
1985; Funeral Services at the Maple Grove Church in Tipler, Wisconsin
on February 19, 1985, the Ronald Larson officiated. Interment was in
the Martin Cemetery in the spring of 1985.
(The following
statements were prepared for the Memorial Service held for Wayne H.
and George E. Nichols at the Maple Grove Baptist Church on August 4,
2000.)
Wayne Harold Nichols
Wayne Harold
Nichols, the 2nd son of Charles K. Nichols and Edna G. (Diehl)
Nichols, was born on November 2, 1923 at Ladysmith, Wisconsin. He
moved, with his parents and three brothers to Tipler, Wisconsin in
1929. Wayne attended the Tipler State Graded school through the
tenth grade and Florence High School, Florence, Wisconsin, where he
graduated in 1941. Because Florence High School was the only high
school in the county, and because there was no pupil transportation
from Tipler to Florence, he boarded in Florence during the week and
came home on the weekends. He worked helping to clear the 44-acre
family farm and also worked in the woods cutting and hauling "popple
pulp." In the early 1940's, 10 heifers were purchased to establish
the foundation of a dairy herd, and a section of land was added to the
farm--land that was first logged off and later, much of it was cleared
to provide pasture for the cattle.
Wayne was drafted
into the U.S. Army in May of 1943. He had his basic training in
Louisiana and his company was shipped from there to North Africa in
August of 1943. He was in the 405th Army Engineers, where he achieved
the rank of Master Sergeant before his 22nd birthday. He served in
Sicily and Italy, where his unit was responsible for building and
maintaining pipe lines carrying fuel to the armies at the front.
After the war, he left Italy on December 1, 1945; was mustered out in
Illinois on December 6th, and arrived home on his father's birthday,
December 7, 1945.
Over the next few
years, the herd was increased and milk was sold to a cheese factory.
Land was cleared for hay fields and more land was rented to grow hay
for the cows. In 1955, Wayne and his father started building a new
house to replace the old log house that was built after their home in
Tipler burned on April18, 1931. The family moved into the new house
in 1957. During that time, Charles Nichols developed an allergy to
close contact with cattle, and the herd was shifted to the production
of beef instead of milk. Also, the price of milk for cheese was no
longer enough to pay the cost of production.
During those years,
Wayne took agriculture courses through the county Agricultural Agent;
utilizing much of what he learned in improving and enlarging the
farm. He and his father bought quality Hereford bulls to improve the
quality of their beef animals. Then, ill health, first of Edna
Nichols, who died of cancer in November of 1968, and of Charles
Nichols, who died in February of 1985, left the farm operations
entirely in Wayne's hands. His herd often approached the level of 250
or more head of beef animals.
Wayne loved the
farm and his animals. And he never wanted to live anywhere else. He
kept his cattle until the fall of 1998, when ill health and the cost
of feed forced him to sell all but a very few animals. He was able to
stay on the farm right up to the time that he went into the VA
hospital in Iron Mountain. He was sent from Iron Mountain to the
Clement Zablocki Veteran's Hospital in Milwaukee for tests on December
17, 1999. He had tests on Monday, December 20th, and he was looking
forward to spending Christmas Eve with his sister and niece and
nephews in Janesville. Wayne died very unexpectedly on December 21,
1999, of sudden cardiac arrest, probably caused by an embolism.
Wayne was preceded
in death by his mother and father, Edna and Charles Nichols, and two
brothers: Neil Nichols of Minneapolis Minnesota, and George Nichols of
Stambaugh, Michigan. He is survived by four sisters: Dorothy
Rasmussen of Whitewater, Wisconsin; Lila Anderson of Brighton,
Michigan; Audree Erickson of Ontonogan, Michigan and Sheila Kapusta of
Iron River, Michigan. He is also survived by three brothers: Dale
Nichols of Grand Rapids, Minnesota; Charles W. Nichols of Tipler,
Wisconsin and Orrin Nichols of Iron River, Michigan. He is also
survived by many nieces and nephews.
He leaves many
friends in the Tipler area where he lived almost all of his life. He
will be deeply missed by his friends and relatives.
This is a brief
personal history that I prepared for George E. Nichols’ Memorial
service which was held on August 5, 1999 (on the same day that we held
the service for his brother Wayne.)
George Elwood
Nichols
George Elwood
Nichols, the 4th son of Charles K. and Edna (Deihl) Nichols was born
on May 10, 1926 at Rib Lake, Wisconsin. He moved with his parents and
three brothers to Tipler, Wisconsin in 1929.
George attended the
Tipler State Graded School. He worked on the farm and in logging
during his years at home. He excelled in working with almost all
types of machinery and he was especially proficient in handling a
bulldozer and in driving trucks transporting heavy construction
equipment. He drove semi-trucks for his brother, Dale M. Nichols
during the time that he lived in Brainerd, Minnesota.
George married
Monica Omillian in 1951. They made their home in Stambaugh, Michigan
where they raised their family of three daughters and two sons. In the
1950's, he drove a truck for his brother Dale who operated Nichols'
Trucking business in Brainerd, Minnesota. After he returned from
Minnesota, he worked for the Proksch Construction Company, Stambaugh,
MI, transporting heavy construction all over the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan. George took early retirement in 1967. He had a well
equipped shop at home and he also did a lot of repair work at the farm
at Tipler, WI. George helped Wayne with many projects on the farm,
until his own health began to fail. He developed adult-onset
diabetes, which may have been the underlying cause of his heart attack
and his stroke. George died at the Crystal Falls Manor on October 8,
1997.
George is survived
by his wife, Monica (Omillian) Nichols, who still lives at their home
in Stambaugh. He left three daughters: Patricia Ann Knipp of
Stambaugh, MI, Debra Jean (Jim) Blythe of Sunland, CA, Kim Marie
(Joseph) Harrington of Broomsfield, CO; and two sons: Rodney George
(Lisa) Nichols of Oceanside, CA and Gary Paul Nichols of Stambaugh,
MI. George is also survived by his grandchildren.
George was also
survived by four brothers: Dale M. Nichols (Bette) of Grand Rapids,
MN., Wayne H. Nichols and Charles W. Nichols of Tipler, WI., Orrin A.
Nichols (Melba) of Iron River, MI. and by four sisters: Dorothy E.
Rasmussen of Whitewater, WI., Lila A. Anderson of Brighton, MI, Audree
A. Erickson of Ontonogan, MI. and Sheila A. (Michael) Kapusta of Iron
River, Michigan.
He was preceded in
death by his mother and father, Edna G. (Deihl) and Charles K. Nichols
of Tipler, WI and one brother, Neil Linden Nichols of Minneapolis,
Minnesota.
George was buried
in Martins Cemetery where his parents and two brothers were also laid
to rest.
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I am also
attaching copies of two newspaper articles (one from the Florence
Mining News and the other from the Iron River Reporter, Iron River,
MI. These articles commemorated the 25th anniversary of the
Tipler fire of April 18, 1931. I obtained copies of these articles
from Eileen nee Shannon Smith who was still living in Tipler in August
of 2000. They do report a significant part of the history of Tipler,
WI.
FIRE ALMOST BURNED TIPLER OFF THE MAP
25 YEARS AG0
Tipler, Wis. April
13 (Special) Residents of this Florence County Community next
Wednesday will quietly mark the 25th anniversary of a
scourge of flames that almost succeeded in ending Tipler’s existence.
The fire, which may
have been of incendiary origin, swept into Tipler at 3 p.m. April 18,
1931 and in a half hour leveled the community of 200 inhabitants. No
lives were lost, but the ruin was so complete that most of the
householders resolved not to relocate there because of the waning
timber industry.
TOWN SURVIVED
But the industry of
man in rebuilding homes gave Tipler a new lease on life. The town
survived, although decimated in population, The post office is gone.
In its place is a rural postal station served by the Iron River, Mich.
Post office.
The Northwestern
railway depot was never rebuilt, but some logging continued, and
farming and pulpwood harvesting have replaced timber as the town’s
economic livelihood.
A few Tipler
residents today can remember that fateful day in 1931 when their town
appeared doomed to extinction. They are served by a general store, a
service station, the brick school that was undaunted by the flames and
a dozen homes, half of which escaped destruction.
Irwin O’Connor
recalls the fire. He told how an uncle broke out a batch of “home
brew” to moisten the walls and roof of his family home, sparing it
from destruction.
Mrs. Norman Cole,
the post-mistress, said the young people who call for their mail each
day like to hear their elders describe the fire.
Fleeing from the
flames, the residents sought refuge in Iron River, 10 miles north,
whose late mayor, Joe Selin, commandeered a fleet of cars to rush
rescuers to the stricken hamlet. Total loss at Tipler was estimated
at more than $300,000.00.
Among the 25 homes
ruined was the mansion of A. J. Tipler, founder of the town. The
Tipler fireplace and chimney and twin stacks at the nearby sawmill,
stood alone after the fire had passed.
ARSON NEVER PROVEN
Authorities never
have proven a report that an arsonist, a disgruntled lumberjack with a
grudge against the mill firm, had touched off the spring-dry foliage.
Mrs. Archie
Shannon, a heroine of the fire, found herself alone with her six small
children as flames approached. Her husband was 40 miles away at a
lumber camp.
She battled the
flames with valor, defeating them although she sustained burns and
scorched hair. Then she stood guard all night to lick any recurring
fire. When morning dawned, she knew she had won the fight.
Her home was
standing alone in the south end of town.
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Fire raged through Tipler April 18, 1931
The town of Tipler
burned on April 18, 1931. The quiet friendly town that exists today
was a raging inferno that day. Violet Schroeder and Eileen Smith are
two of the Tipler residents who lived through the fire and supplied
this information.
Before 1931, Tipler
was a booming lumber town of about 200 residents. It was the home of
Arthur J. Tipler, who owned the big sawmill and a large mansion in
town.
The sawmill, which
employed 125 people, had been closed in 1929, and almost all of the
men had gone to work in lumber camps between Tipler and Florence. A
great many worked at the Lauterman Camp near Tipler.
The drought was
very severe in 1931 and other fires had been burning in the forest
slashings for over a week. The fire apparently was started by sparks
flying out from a train. At 3 p.m., the fire swept down the railroad
tracks and into Tipler. When the fire was over, 80 homes had been
burned to the ground, including the home of A. J. Tipler. Almost all
of the men from Tipler had been fighting other fires between Florence
and Tipler and could not get back quickly to fight this fire. All
that was left of the sawmill was the fireplace was the fireplace,
chimney and twin stacks. Alongside the mill there had been 1,200
cords of pulp wood and a large stack of railroad ties to further fuel
the fire.
Six homes in the
entire town were saved. One of these was the home of Archie Shannon,
the father of Eileen Smith. Shannon had pumped barrels of water the
week before the fire. When he heard the news and raced to Tipler.
His house was on fire, but he had enough water to put out the fire and
keep the house from burning. It was the only building near the mill
that survived the fire. Shannon had a wife and six children living in
his house in Tipler, and when he arrived there the family was gone.
As the fire started through Tipler, an unidentified man came to the
Shannon house and told Mrs. Shannon that he would take them to
safety. Mrs. Shannon threw as many belongings as possible in a big
suitcase and put a stick through the handle so that two of the kids
could carry it. The baby was pushed along in an old stroller. The
man who took them about half a mile away to his house, which he had
burned around the day before. Mrs. Shannon and the children stayed
there safely until the fire was out.
When Joe Selin, the
mayor of Iron River, heard the news, he commandeered every vehicle he
could find and led a fleet of cars and men rushing to the scene. The
women and children were taken to Iron River, and the Iron River men
stayed to help fight the fire.
The amazing thing
about the fire was that no one was killed, but many people were burned
or singed. When the fire was out the total property loss was
estimated at $300,000.00 and hundreds of acres of land were burned.
The post office, general store, and Northwestern railway depot were
gone, but the townspeople survived. The logging industry was gone,
but the industry of the people of Tipler was alive and they rebuilt
the town. -- The Florence (Wis.) Mining News & Independent |