Feud Renewed

 

August 23, 1962, Appleton Post-Crescent

Here's a good "Looking Backward" column from the Post-Crescent regarding the animosity between the two towns, early on.  It always seems to stem from one town having it better than the other, and look at the date.  It's during the Civil War, but we tend to forget that life goes on, despite these historical benchmarks; that in the light of today's hindsight, we think nothing else is of importance and lose sight of everyday life.  Well, just ask the agitated citizens of Menasha and Neenah during this time of what consequence these threats were, of how they jeopardized their livelihoods and threatened the economies of their respective communities.  

Birth of the Rails

 

June 11, 1967, Appleton Post-Crescent

With the future of the Menasha Soo Line depot in jeopardy in 1967, the Post-Crescent provided readers with a concise history of the birth of the railroads in Menasha and Neenah.    Menasha's ego was justifiably insulted by its treatment by the Chicago and North Western line, terminating its line at Neenah, instead of continuing into Menasha.  But this just furthered the rivalry between the two cities and led to the Wisconsin Central being founded at the National Hotel in 1871.  Eventually it was absorbed into the Soo Line system.

Let Us Furnish you the Lawn Mower...

                                     

        

                      

July 15, 1909, Menasha Record

Loescher Hardware was a mainstay in downtown Menasha for many years, located on the corner of Racine and Main, where Club Liquors settled many years later.  I'm sure many of us made some acquaintance in the past with the reel mower that gave us all a workout in the backyard, unlike the self-propelled versions of today.  

Now, in Neenah

I couldn't provide you a photo of John Stilp's grocery in Menasha from yesterday, so, by extension, I give you his establishment in Neenah.  The John Stilp, Jr. grocery was located at 221 N. Commercial Street on the island.  This photo, courtesy of the Neenah Public Library, dates back to 1905.  The caption that accompanied it said that the wagon in front of the store is a Postal Service wagon.  The posters in the windows are advertisements for the Gollmar Bros. Circus on August 10 of that year.  And of course, the owner and his family occupied the flat upstairs. 

August 9, 1905, The Neenah Daily Times

August 11, 1905, The Neenah Daily Times

As you read here, the circus received very positive press and was impressive enough to enchant a couple of aspiring young circus workers to take leave of their homes and worry their respective moms.

Affordable Prices

 

June 29, 1889, Saturday Evening Press

Mr. Stilp's grocery was a short-lived affair in Menasha.  By the next year he was selling out, moving to Neenah where he established a grocery on 221 Commercial Street.  He also went into politics, becoming the third ward alderman and a member of the Winnebago County Board.  Sometimes Menasha gives a person his start but, for whatever circumstance, flowers elsewhere in a big way.  

School's Out!

June 3, 1967, Appleton Post-Crescent

With apologies to Alice Cooper (though he wouldn't create that immortal rock anthem for another five years), comes this late comer from early June.  While it would have been a better fit to have featured this a few weeks back, the sentiment still stands regardless, that it must be a release from the school day blues in order to make a great summer.  And these guys have that look in spades.  I knew most of these guys and I know they always made the most of their summers.  

Gotta Wait

July 8, 1980, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Hot fun in the summertime, doesn't always go to plan.  This fellow had his hopes dashed one July day, but luckily it was a just a temporary delay.  And I'm impressed how he just screams late 1970's/early 1980's by that outfit he's wearing.  Come to think about it, we all had socks like that at one time or another.  And that bike was de rigueur for a kid his age.  A true moment in time.

The New and Splendid Steamer

 February 12, 1850, Buffalo (NY) Morning Express

This is an intriguing ad for a steam paddle boat in the Menasha area, as shown in a big Eastern newspaper.  Twelve years before, Horace Greeley said, "Go West, young man," so potential settlers and investors in the wild new world out west, would find this enticement of interest. Actually, what he said was “If any young man is about to commence the world, we say to him, publicly and privately, Go to the West.”  Nevertheless, the D.B. Whitacre's future in the Fox Valley was short lived, for in 1853, the D.B. Whitacre was renamed as the Oshkosh, was sold, and began service on the Tennessee River.  

A Successful Fourth

 July 10, 1879, Saturday Evening Press

It looks like the two societies combined to provide a memorable holiday celebration for both cities.  I wasn't sure what slack wire performing is, or barrel dancing, for that matter, but I looked it up.  (Google is so great for such terms.)   And it must have been fun to see.  I can just see the citizenry, dancing around in their summer weight suits and hats and the ladies with parasols.  

Slack wire is an acrobatic circus act that involves the balancing skills of moving along a flexible, thin wire suspended in the air, connected to two anchor points. And barrel dancing is just that, dancing on top of a barrel.  

It Must Float!

June 26, 1879, Saturday Evening Press

As we progress through June and approach the mid-point of summer, we must turn our attention to how the Fourth will be represented by the city.  Lucky for us the fraternal societies of the Turner and Concordia varieties have our best interests in order.  Tomorrow, we shall see how successful they were.  

Vintage Map

July 18, 1952, Appleton Post-Crescent

Here at the blog, we've been aware of old maps and find them endlessly fascinating.  This one is a gem to review.  We are familiar with changing names over time; we've even seen a view of a map in the past listed Little Lake Butte des Morts as Peepeek Lake.  But this is intriguing as it describes some of the changes on the Neenah side of the boulevard.  You owe it to yourself to see the map at the following link where you can zoom and pan to your heart's content:  https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/maps/id/14273/.   (This map is considered the Historical Society's property and I can't just reproduce it here.)  Yes, at one time, Doty Island was destined to be its own town called Island, or Island City.  We've touched upon this way back in 2015, when I wasn't aware of the map's location at the time:  https://menashabook.blogspot.com/2015/03/dreams-of-island-city.html.  

Smith Park Pastoral

Today we feature an idyllic view of what I believe to be Smith Park, featuring the original pavilion.  This postcard was sent in 1953, about the time of the centennial celebration as seen below by the postmark and cancel bars.  

Over the years, we've featured many views of Smith Park, to include other views of this facility.  In 1961, the current pavilion was built as a gift from the Gilbert Paper Company Foundation.  

Civic Pride

 

October 29, 1887, Saturday Evening Press

Civic pride reigns through the fifth estate, as the Press provides the fact that exemplifies the state of commerce in the Industrial City.  Menasha was certainly on the move, a mere 13 years after incorporation as a city.  The future never looked brighter, as city fathers of the era would attest.  And what's more, the city had not even been in the paper business that long; the first paper mill in Menasha opened in 1876.

Pulley Company Founded

July 7, 1908, Saturday Evening Press

We at the blog have featured P.V. Lawson's wood split pulley company many times before.  But it wasn't until this article that I realized that Mr. Lawson was not the inventor of said pulley.  The man was a renaissance man as far as I was concerned so it came as a bit of a surprise as I had apprised the man to be an inventor as well.  I mean, it wasn't enough to be an author, mayor, lecturer, entrepreneur, and scientist?  

Best Dad

June 6, 1962, Twin City News-Record

What kid wouldn't be attracted to such an opportunity?!  I can only hope the "many" gifts for Dad were just as exciting to him as the prospect of a new bicycle would be to any kid.  But hey, it's not every day that a son or daughter gets to tell the Twin Cities how great his or her father is.  And wouldn't that be prize enough for him?  Case in point...when my father passed away, I found in his dresser drawer a third grade composition that I had written about him, extolling his virtues.  I can't tell you what a bittersweet moment that was.  

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Changes are in the offing, through no desire of my own.  This blog uses the "FollowByEmail"    widget which allows you to get my daily posts via email without having to visit the blog's website.  But recently, the team running this released an announcement telling me that the email subscription service will be unfortunately discontinued sometime next month.

After July, automated emails to my loyal subscribers to this blog will no longer be supported. I looked it up and it affects about 130 of you.

Your choice after the email goes away will be to either habitually visit the blog at http://menashabook.blogspot.com or to sign up to a future free email site that I am looking into as we speak.  More details are to follow.  Of course, there will be no cost to you and I am hoping it will be as easy a procedure as when you first gave me your email address to forward blog posts to you.  I will keep you posted.  And as always, thanks for your support.

Old Vets

May 30, 1930, Menasha Record

Today's post features a leftover that I failed to publish in the vicinity of Memorial Day.  It still amazes me that there were still Civil War veterans with so late into the 20th century. Memorial Day grew in importance in the aftermath of the Civil War and by 1890, all the northern states recognized it.  The World Wars turned it into a generalized day of remembrance, instead of just for the Civil War.  I'm sure these veterans were honored to pay homage to their fallen brothers in arms, regardless of the conflict.  

Variety, Convenience, and Friendly Service

 

June 15, 1977, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Today brings a nice Menasha Business Associates ad touting four area businesses with mini-histories of the establishments.  Funny how so much information can be contained in a tightly worded paragraph. And we all have some fond memories of a few of these entries.