Tuesday, October 15, 2024
POUND – Stop down to Equity Hall Bar & Grill on Friday, Oct. 11, to celebrate Equity’s 110th Anniversary. Food and drink specials will be available all week. Local, popular band The Stehleman will begin to play at 7:30 p.m.
Cooperation among neighboring farm families 110 years ago literally set in motion continuing community fun and memories at Equity Hall on Highway 64 in the Town of Pound. Through each family’s share of help, the unique rural hall has hosted numerous dances, weddings, family reunions, parties and picnics for six generations.
In 1914, 10 farmers banded together to purchase a steam-powered threshing machine. The machine was used throughout the community and money accumulated quickly. The 10 farmers decided they should stretch out those dollars and do collective purchasing.
Four years later, these 10 farmers formed a local co-op with a total of 52 members, calling themselves Pound Local No. 1. The officers elected were Ed Frank, President; Henry Krueger, Vice-President and Nick Noll, Secretary/Treasurer. That same year, the group became a unit of the Potato Growers Association and shipped potatoes by train on the C&M St. Paul Railroad to the American Fruit Growers in Chicago.
Each farmer had to pay $2 for lumber to line the railroad car. The local co-op furnished the wood stove and chimney pipes. They bought a quarter cord of maple for $1 to heat the car. They also paid two men $6 each for the round trip to Chicago to keep the fire stoked so the potatoes wouldn’t freeze. Potato prices at that time ranged from 41 cents to $1.21/cwt from 1918-1929.
In 1920, the group voted to incorporate with Coleman Elevator for $25 a share. In 1921, the co-op started buying sugar at $25.50/cwt and sold whatever they could gain, with the balance coming out of the treasury. That same year, a livestock director was voted in and by March, the co-op started to ship livestock. Many members had horse-drawn wagons with sides on them to transport their stock to the railroad cars in Coleman.
In 1922, Secretary and Treasurer Nick Noll owned the farm across Equity Park. He rented his shed to the organization for $1 a month. It was at this point members provided their own fuel and light to start selling their own products from here instead of the Coleman Elevator.
Equity held the first Labor Day picnic in 1923. The day included games, races, a baseball game and horseshoes. Ice cream and refreshments were sold. Year after year, more activities were added to this Picnic. Tug-of-war began to be played along with the Pound Band providing musical entertainment. Airplane rides and other contests were added. Prizes included a 100-pound flour sack which was awarded to the largest family to arrive in a singular mode of transportation. The winners had 11 people arriving in a two-seater horse drawn carriage.
Between 1923 and 1925, members discussed the need for a community hall and recreation center. With 25 members at the time, a 24’ x 44’ hall was completed with all material and labor donated by interested members. The only cash was spent on nails. Fred Hoffman donated the use of his maple grove. Dances began in 1925 for young and old. Admission for men was 25 cents while women’s admission was free.
In 1928, the club paid $25 to Fred Hoffman for the outdoor pavilion, dismantled it and built the 24’ x 50’ original hall on 40 acres of land purchased from the Schneider brothers. It was able to be boarded up on the sides and had hinged doors for windows. Kerosene lights and a wood stove were added.
A bar room was later added. In 1930, gas lanterns were bought and the following year, a light plant was purchased for $85. The hall was rented to the public for $5 as well as providing their own light and heat. This bar room was later used for very popular chicken dinners, which were prepared on Labor Day. In 1933, these dinners were 25 cents for members, 35 cents for non-members and children under 12 were free. A picture of this original hall hangs in Equity today.
The original hall closed in 1936, and the new hall which stands today was built in 1937, by Krause Construction in Coleman. Plans were drawn up by the late Max Hanisch of Peshtigo, owner of Unit Structures. They manufactured the three laminated arches with no knots at a cost of $200 each. Today, those arches would cost thousands of dollars. Members again donated their labor for the new 40’ x 90’ hall. The previous hall was torn down in 1989. A bar room and storage was added in 1955 when 18-year-olds were not allowed where liquor was being sold. When renovations were done to the hall in 2021, many signatures of members were found in walls who built this hall in 1937.
Equity contributed to the WWII wartime effort by sending a carton of cigarettes to each local serviceman, buying a $37.50 war bond and giving away another $25 war bond on Labor Day. Between 1946 and 1951, chicken dinners grew in size and baseball took hold with a now lit ballpark, which was constructed in 1929. Phil Augustine was hardball manager in 1949, with Frederick Bauman managing softball. Reinhard Wagner took over hardball in 1951, and Augustine moved to managing Little League.
The future of Equity was looking grim in 1951, but became bright again when a new hardwood floor was installed in the hall by the members. Dances of all sorts were held for the community. Couples even booked their weddings around the dances that were booked.
In 1956, one thousand spruce trees were planted and in 1957, another 3,000 more were planted. In 1960, the group planted 3,500 3-year-old Norway pines. In 1967, land was sold to E. Zeitler for $2,700.
In 1969, Butch and Rosemary Risner managed Equity. It was during this time many repairs to the building were completed including to the roof, the timbers underneath the hall, and door sills. The Risner family built the tractor and truck pulling track in about 1974. An annual tractor pull was started around this time and has continued annually on the Butch and Rosemary Risner Pulling Track. Risners ran Equity until 1980.
Throughout the years, many will remember other wonderful managers of Equity including Elmer and Noreen Risner and Vern Gisenas. Fun, loving friends and community members who were quick to welcome patrons with a hello and a smile.
Major changes have happened to Equity within the past 10 years. A commercial kitchen was added, and major renovations were made to the bathroom, dining room, the arches under the hall and the dance hall. Air conditioning was added in 2022. Tribute bands are a staple from fall to spring featuring bands of all genres. Childrens’ events in Easter, Halloween and Christmas bring smiles to the smallest community members. The community is still the roots of Equity Hall, Bar & Grill. If anybody in the public has additional history to add, please call Equity Hall. Special thanks to former long-time Equity Club member Violet Frank for much of the aforementioned history.
Equity Hall, Bar and Grill is available for rent for any of your gatherings needs. For any questions or to make your hall, private party, park, or other reservations, please call Equity Hall, Bar and Grill at (715) 789-2147. Equity is open Tuesday-Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at noon. Food is served on Tuesday-Thursday from 4-8 p.m., Friday from 4-9 p.m., and Saturday from 4-8 p.m. Every day there is a different food special with a homemade pizza only being served on Sundays.
