Holiday Wishes

 

December 24, 1962, Twin City News-Record 

Merry Christmas and holiday greetings from the fine, past merchants of the Fox Cities.  It's a blog tradition to offer these little snippets of greetings and holiday cheer on behalf of the advertisers within the local newspapers.  Most of them are gone now, but we at the blog hope some of these businesses strike a chord with you and give you a nostalgic glow, be it fond memories of the fellowship you shared at a local tavern or perhaps the thought of that first bike you received from the Menasha Bicycle and Toy Shop.  

Thank you once again for making this a successful year.  I'll be back in 2022after the New Year. Until then, we wish you the finest of Christmases and the best to you and yours. 

The Beer of Good Cheer!

 December 29, 1938, Menasha Record

We've encountered Ralph's Beer Depot within the blog previously, way back in 2012, the first time: https://menashabook.blogspot.com/2012/11/ralphs-beer-depot.html.  But I had not heard of Old Town beer, so I had to do a little digging about it.  The label below tells you all you need to know.

Denmark Brewing Company, Denmark, Wisconsin

Toy Town!

 December 3, 1937, Menasha Record

Howley's was the forerunner to Schultz Bros. 5 and 10 store, smack dab in the middle of Main Street for about 45 years before closing in early 1986.  Take a good look at these pre-WWII toys, made of cloth, wood, and tin.  After World War II, toys became increasingly made of that new wonder age material, plastic, and toys as shown in this advertisement were viewed as positively Neanderthal to the new Baby Boomer generation.  Of course, today, having some of these gems would be a big score to collectors and toy aficionados.   

A Christmas Wish from the Heart

 December 24, 1938, Menasha Record

I borrowed this, obviously, from neighboring Neenah's long-standing hardware store, Krueger's.  But in reality, the words do not belong to that fine store, but were copyrighted two years before by a greeting card concern.  And they have been repeated virtually every year since, borrowed liberally by whomever seems to want to use the phrase.  As heartwarming as the phrase appears, it doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the true meaning of Christmas.  But as the season is meant to be a time of great peace and joy and fellowship towards our fellow man, perhaps it is enough for some that the charm of the season resides in the hearts of all those who do remember their friends.  In this current world of turmoil, we could definitely do worse.  

Anatomy of a Snowstorm

December 7, 1927, Menasha Record

December 8, 1927, Menasha Record

December 9, 1927, Menasha Record

A typical December in the Menasha area as the "Appleton road", or as we know it today as Highway 47 shuts down due to excess snow.  Eventually, this stretch of road, at least within Menasha, was named as "Appleton Road."  The Record, did its best to keep people informed.  "Autoists," as drivers were known then, had to rely upon their local newspaper for news of the road reopening because, as we know, cell reception in 1927 Menasha WAS pretty weak.  Seriously though, radio was not the mature medium it later became and news was not instantaneous as today.

Automatic Sleeping Comfort

December 20,1947, Menasha Record    

Electronic and appliance gadgetry for Christmas is the watchword at Drucks this 1947.    Styles may have changed since 1947 but these are timeless things in that there's always going to be some type of coffee maker, electric razor, toaster, and a device to produce music.  Some of the products offered here seem positively prehistoric now, but they were state of the art for that era.   I don't think electric blankets have changed that much since their invention, though I could be wrong.      

Christmas Special

December 23, 1939, Menasha Record

Back when long distance calling was a "thing," consumers really had to pay attention to the rates because those charges could really pile up.  In today's day of unlimited calling via cell phone, no one gives a second thought about it, unless they need to call internationally perhaps.  Back in the day, the local phone directories had charts in the front of the books with rates in state and out of state to the big cities like New York, Chicago, and L.A. to give one an idea of what they faced if they called there.  I don't necessarily miss those days, but it sure made for shorter calls.

A Union Girl

January 5, 1865, Island City Times

In the Yuletide spirit during the Civil War, comes a local Neenah girl imploring her local citizens to write to those local soldiers helping to save the Union.  At first glance, it is a nice Christmas gesture but then it becomes more about helping to save their moral souls.  While her motives are pure, I do not think that regular letters from Mother and Father might be enough to salve the weary constitution of the fighting solider and keep him "safe" from the "drunkenness and profanity of camp."   Nevertheless, take a moment to admire the flowery prose of this mid-19th century writer.  I'm sure she was a faithful sister and generous friend to her correspondents, despite her temperance leanings.  

A New Look for the Square

 December 1, 1969, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

1969, a time for change in the way Christmas is represented in the downtown.  More festive? Perhaps.  Less traditional?  Sure.   But we still look for change while holding on to the traditional.  Less CAN be more; the meaning is still always there beneath the distractions of the season.  Elaborate Christmases of the past flow into a simpler state as we grow older.  We value the tinsel less and embrace our loved ones more.  Gifts become mere props, as all we really want is our families near.   Decorations, while pretty to look at, become simply a signpost for the season, denoting the beginning and conclusion of our yearly quest for the kindness and joy this time of year can bring.  Were it so that those feelings and desires could last throughout the year, we'd be better for it, indeed.

Santa Shops Menasha Dry Goods Company

December 21, 1927, Menasha Record

219 Main Street was the home of this retailer, situated in the Tuchscherer's block, across the street from Grove's Clothiers.  I love the part of the ad that tells the reader to run down to the store because they will be simply enthralled with what they see and how the emptiest of Christmas lists will be ultimately filled.  For 1927, that's pretty innovative copy.  

Treats for the Children

 

December 1, 1969, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

We've been dealing with themes about Christmas ever since Thanksgiving and we have touched upon the subject of Santa's Gingerbread House.  So, here it is, as posted in Bowlby's ad from 1969.  As evidenced in past blog posts, the house resided in different locations within the downtown area and in this year, Bowlby's was fortunate enough to have it situated next to its store.

Melodies for Christmas

 

                                                                                    December 19, 1924, Menasha Record

The Menasha Music Shoppe was located at 177 Main Street, which has the same address as the Hotel Menasha.  And since the hotel barber shop and cigar stand had the same address as well, there must have been some extra space for a purveyor of fine music to sell their wares.  The artists featured here are not household names by today's hindsight, though I cannot vouch for their popularity in 1924.  For all I know, they could have been very popular. Radio had not hit its heyday as of yet so as years go on, more and more Americans will be exposed to commercial radio big bands and orchestras and that will fuel another rise in record sales.

City Hall

Every now and then I feel the need to remind our blog followers of the once-stately city hall Menasha used to have.  This view is from about 1908.  Over time, the city offices moved elsewhere, the grand tower above the building was removed for safety reasons and by the mid 1980's, the building was on its last legs before it was demolished.  Yes, there were some efforts to preserve it.  We reported in October about a proposal for it to become a restaurant but that also fell through.  Still, we appreciate this grand old building for its beauty and for what it meant to Menasha.

Case Dismissed

                                          

                                                                                    December 23, 1918, Menasha Record

John Strange, noted industrialist, president of the John Strange Paper Company, and a one-time Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin was a strident supporter of Prohibition.  This article reflects the aftermath of a speech he gave where he likened the major brewers of Milwaukee to our enemies in Europe during World War I, saying, "the worst of all our German enemies, the most treacherous, the most menacing, are Pabst, Schlitz, Blatz and Miller."  As evidenced above, Mr. Pabst was not amused.  Personally, I do not follow the judge's reasoning for dismissal of the suit, though one might surmise it might have seemed to be a frivolous lawsuit to him or perhaps he read the political waters and felt it best to have the whole thing disappear.  

Give a Useful, Practical Gift to the Home!

December 8, 1927, Menasha Record

Menasha Furniture offers a vast variety of Christmas gifts because they ask, in another ad, why not consider a furniture store when giving gifts?  Of interest to me is the children's furniture containing nursery rhyme characters, sort of an endorsement to the idea of kids having a childhood as we now know it.  It wasn't that long before the date of this ad when children were routinely working in factories and at other jobs, foregoing school to help contribute to the family's upkeep.  And though a congressional amendment was first approved by Congress in 1924, it wasn't ratified by the required number of states until 1938 to become law.  And while that law placed limits on many forms of child labor, agricultural labor was still excluded.  

Set in Stone

November 25, 1970, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Fifty years is a long time and is it no wonder things evolve, even in education?  Starting life as a junior high, Maplewood is now a middle school, according to the Menasha School District web site, serving grades six through eight, whereas the junior high had taught students in grades seven through nine.  According to my newspaper research, Maplewood then became a middle school in 1991, reopening after being used for a time by the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley.  But then, around the mid 1990's I see it once again being referred to as a junior high.  I'm confused by all the back and forth.  Needless to say, things change.  

Golden Egg Pocahontas

From the 1938 Neenah-Menasha City Directory comes this ad.  I guess I didn't know the popular types of coal, as I had no idea what this ad was talking about .  But a little more research yielded the following:  

January 8, 1938, Menasha Record

So, I guess there's more to coal than I ever knew!  A bit more searching yielded the information that there was a Pocahontas coal field in western Virginia, near its border with West Virginia  where this coal came from.  The coal was popular because of its smokeless nature...in fact, the US Navy in World War II was a big customer as its coal-driven ships valued this fuel as it didn't give off a smoke "signature" to the enemy.  What you can't all learn from such an innocent ad.  

Hail, Santa

 

November 25, 1961, Oshkosh Northwestern

Santa moves into Menasha's famous gingerbread house for the first time in 1961, delighting the hearts of local children.  In years to come, that gingerbread house will be moved around to various locations in the downtown area, but never wavering will be the enthusiasm shown by visitors to the jolly old elf inside.  Coming soon on the heels of Thanksgiving, the holiday has traditionally been a launching pad for the Christmas merriment to come.