Preface



  Because I am a history teacher, local history
would of course be a natural interest for me. I first
came to West Salem in 1959 as a teacher. Then in
the 1960's, while teaching high school here in West
Salem, I realized that the history of the community
had never been put together in one book. Thus, I
began to make my first attempt at putting the his-
torical background of West Salem down together in
one place on paper. Being an outsider, I found the
job most interesting and yet a real challenge. My
students told me of Hamlin Garland and my first
reaction was, "Hamlin who?" I had never heard of
Garland nor had I read anything which he had
written.
  The West Salem Board of Education sponsored
this first attempt. The book was typed and mimeo-
graphed at the high school by students in the com-
mercial department. We were all very proud of that
first history of West Salem when it was finally sta-
pled and put up for sale at a dollar a copy. That
first effort was a successful one, judging by the fact
that all copies of the book were soon sold.
  The longer that I taught in the community, the
more that I realized that that first venture was far
from being complete. Many areas and subjects had
been skimmed over quickly and the research need-
ed more time. Some day the History of West Salem
would have to be rewritten, broadening the scope of
that first attempt.
  With my moving to West Salem and the establish-
ment of the West Salem Historical Society, my inter-
est in revising the book once again came to the
forefront. I have researched a great deal of material
and do feel that this edition contains much more in-
formation than the first, that it has been brought up
to date, and that the history will be more valuable
with pictures being added to it.
  Problems still exist with this edition as with the
first. The basic question of what should be included
and what should not be mentioned is one that will
never be easily resolved, but choices had to be
made and the book was again completed. Time and
space were limiting factors. I have not intentionally
left out any event, family or person.
  I have sifted through a great deal of material and
have tried to make what I hoped were the best val-
ue judgments of what should be included and what
should not be. The book is not complete and never
will be. Perhaps some day in the future another
book will follow. Many areas such as the schools,
the fire department, the village board ..... they all
could and perhaps some day will have a book writ-
ten about them individually.



  There are many people which need to be thanked
for their time and their help in making "Leonard's
Dream" a reality. Rachel Gullickson, Dorothy Dud-
ley, Orma Batzel, Armin and Annette Weingarten,
Hazel Leicht, Sophia Storandt, Estella Bryhn, Jim
Holmland, Marie Sanders and Joan Solie all helped
me by writing earlier articles, by checking through
the first rewriting and checking the accuracy of the
material. A special thanks goes to the Village Board,
the West Salem Volunteer Fire Department, the La
Crosse County Countryman, and the American Le-
gion for their allowing me to look though old
records.
  When Thomas Leonard first set eyes upon the fer-
tile valley, he had a vision of establishing a village.
From its establishment in 1851 the village has grown
and endured through many a crisis which might
have seen the end of that dream. The spirit of de-
termination never allowed Leonard's dream to die.
Today the village of West Salem stands as a pros-
perous growing area. Leonard's dream has been
fulfilled.
  In the book you will meet the various people who
helped that dream come true.