Memories from a century’s worth of living

Sharing memories of what life was like nearly a century ago in La Crosse.

Robert Witt was born and raised in a home at Tenth and Adams.

He turns 100 next month.

Speaking with him at the Benedictine Living Community where he now lives, one of the stories he told happened on the very spot as a child-playing hockey with the children who lived in the orphanage that used to be on the site. They’d play on the slough that’s behind the building.

He said they were pretty good and maybe let his team win one once a year or so.

Robert shared what life was like at a time most of us couldn’t imagine-no iPhones, social media, or even computers.

One story he explained how having horses in the city was a common thing back then. His family had a riding horse and a buggy horse.

He’d ride the horse down along the sloughs and islands where people lived until the lock and dams went in and those places were covered by water.

“There was a lot of horses. Milk was delivered when I was a kid, milk was delivered by horses, and ice was delivered by mule. The ice was cut right down here in the slough,” he said.

The ice was used in drinks in the summertime.

He also talked about his time in the service during World War II. He was an armed guard aboard Merchant Marine ships delivering or picking up supplies in places such as Australia, Cuba, and New Guinea.

Besides the threat of enemy submarines, it was the weather that was just as dangerous.

Based in Tampa, during storm, was memorable.

They chased us out to sea, about eight miles out to sea, the whole convoy. And in the morning, our ship was the only ship left. Oh, and one guy…that ship turned over, and he was sitting on top of the ship. During the second World War, there were very few choppers (helicopters). But there was one, they come and picked him up off of there. But his mind must have been gone because how can a man live like that for 24 hours without any water or sleep. They got him off. I never knew what happened to him.”

When he returned from the war, he went to vocational school to learn how to become a carpenter. He became a journeyman carpenter in 1950.

He had to work in a factory to pay for health insurance. The malaria he picked up during his service would recur every so often.

He worked at what was then two of the city’s larger employers-Auto Lite (now Central States Warehouse), and the La Crosse Cooler Company for 26 years.

Robert also started a family. He was married to his wife Ruth for 44 years before she passed away in 2001.

During the interview, his son Steve, his wife Amy, and two grandchildren, Paige and Carter, were sitting and listening to everything.

And as is required when interviewing someone who reaches a milestone such as 100, there’s always the question about what the secret is to living a long life.

“You have to exercise. You can’t sit around,” Robert said.

For him, bicycling was a favorite. Not only here in La Crosse but while in the service in Cuba, Australia, and elsewhere.

When two wheels were too much, he switched over to a three-wheeled trike that he rode until he was 95.