AMERY
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 VOL. 123 NO. 16 www.theameryfreepress.com $1.00
Sledders celebrate 50 years
Festival passport full of stamps
BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
Some people cringe when they see snow pouring down from the sky, and then you have those who consider the frosty precipitation pure white gold. Amery Snowmobile Club members definitely fit into the second category. They are celebrating 50 years as an organization and are waiting patiently to hit the trails this winter. The Amery Snowmobile Club was formed in 1969. Its original name was, “Amery Snow A Go Go.” There were approximately 70 original members who formed the club and saw it as a way to enjoy the sport they loved, spend time with their families and meet others who had the same interest. The current President of the organization is Josh Nicholas. Member Doug Johnson said, “The primary function of having the club today and being a member of the snowmobile club is to support the larger snowmobiling community and to maintain the trails we have today.” The Amery Snowmobile SEE SNOWMOBILE CLUB, PAGE 2
APRIL ZIEMER | AMERY FREE PRESS
A ride on the big wheel Kylie Meyer, Reagn Thompson and Jenna Van Someren are all smiles enjoying the sunshine and Earl’s Rides offered at the 219 Amery Fall Festival.
If they gave out an award for attending the most Amery Fall Festivals, it would go out to Dr. Darold Niccum. “My memory is not as good as it used to be, but I am pretty sure that I have only missed two festivals in all these years,” said Niccum. His absentee years took place while he served in the United States Navy, 1960 and 1961. Not only has Doc Niccum attended festivals during eight decades, there wouldn’t even be an Amery Fall Festival if it were not for his father, G. E. Niccum and a handful of others. Niccum’s family moved to Amery when he was seven-years-old. He said his father and Palmer Sondreal really spearheaded the movement
Dr. Darold Niccum
to get a festival going in town. “My father came from a little town in Southern Wisconsin and they had a festival. He was an Ag teacher. At that time, Amery depended 95 percent on the farmers for its existence. Amery was only about 1,600 people then,” said Niccum. He explained back in SEE FALL FESTIVAL, PAGE 2
Schools lead community in honoring 9/11 BY APRIL ZIEMER EDITOR@THEAMERYFREEPRESS.COM
It is hard to believe that current students starting out their college Freshmen year were born after that September 11 2001 terrorist attacks. They didn’t witness two planes crashing into and causing the crumbling of the World Trade Center Twin Towers, they didn’t feel the fear of
what might come next after American Flight 77 dove into the Pentagon and they didn’t instantly hear of messages sent by passengers of United Flight 93 to their loved ones as they watched the thwarting of hijackers. How can it possibly be explained to a younger generation what the days were like after the single deadliest terrorist attack in human
APRIL ZIEMER | AMERY FREE PRESS
Amery’s 911 program includes community members, students, staff, veterans and emergency services personnel.
history and the single deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in U.S. history. Just under three thousand people lost their lives that day. Just as some cannot fathom what the reality during the days of Pearl Harbor, but yet learned the importance in school, the days of September SEE 9/11, PAGE 36
Our heartfelt appreciation goes out to our nurses, physicians and care teams. amerymedicalcenter.org
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