Mill Street Bridge (and Library)

 From May 3, 2012

The Mill Street Bridge was, in various forms, in service from approximately 1856 through 1951.  The version pictured here dates from about 1900, since the Smith Library appears to be recently completed.  This riveted iron bridge was built by a Milwaukee company and cost $14,500.  On Saturday, August 25, 1951, the new Racine Street Bridge was dedicated to pioneer Curtis Reed and shortly thereafter the Mill Street Bridge was demolished completely.  Notice the old Menasha High School rising in the distance behind the library and how St. Mary's dominates the skyline.

A reader in the comments section (Kris) asked  where this photo might have been taken.  My guess is from the grounds of the Fox River Knitting Co. seen near the bottom of this Sanborn insurance map from 1906. The angle seems to work for this photo.

Smith Park

 From July 12, 2012

In the 1890's, Menasha Wooden Ware founder Elisha D. Smith tried to attract Downer College, then located at Fox Lake, to move to Menasha. He was disappointed when the authorities decided to merge with Milwaukee Women's College and move to Milwaukee. Smith decided that the rejected 40 acres he had offered Downer should be offered instead to the City of Menasha to become a park. This donation was made in 1896 at about the same time as his offer to build the city a library. Ironically, many years later, Downer College merged with Lawrence University in Appleton.

The heavily wooded property was located between “The Avenue” (Nicolet Boulevard) and Cleveland, Keyes, and Park Streets.  Along with the land, Mr. Smith had a pavilion constructed to encourage use of the park. A pious man, he stipulated that there be a strict ban on alcohol, circuses, gambling, sports, and dangerous machinery at the park. Of course, this ban also included Sundays, except for religious activities and temperance meetings.  The designer of Chicago's Lincoln Park, Olaf Benson, was chosen to design the gardens and walks within the new park and when completed, it was the pride of Menasha.

Over time, Menasha residents seem to hold dearest the many memories of the dances that were held over the years.

To illustrate that, here’s an excerpt from 1999’s Memories of Doty Island : A Link Between Two Cities, edited by Caryl Chandler Herziger and Winifred Anderson Pawlowski:

    In the 1930's an area teenager could go to three dances a week-Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday-from 7:00 to 11:00 P.M. at the Memorial Building. Boys and girls came from Appleton, Oshkosh, Omro, Winneconne (sometimes even from Green Bay) besides Menasha and Neenah. Occasionally, on a Friday night, there would be a school dance after a basketball or football game, but otherwise it was, "See you at the Mem!"

    Everyone came early, paid the required nickel, went upstairs and had his or her hand stamped. By 7:30 the popular girls (the best dancers) already had every dance for the rest of the evening promised to someone. How they kept track of when each partner was to appear for his dance, no one knows, but it seemed to work out. Imagine remembering who you had the 16th dance with!!  Music was by records (with someone unknown running the machine) piped from downstairs. The Mem had a great dance floor, and the balcony doors were unlocked so anyone could go out there for a romantic moment or two. Or they could go down the steps and wander across a bridge onto the dark and secluded island. There was also a soda fountain on the first floor so thirst could be quenched, but no drinks were allowed upstairs.

    About 10:30 some of the regular partners began to leave. It took a little while to get home-not via the shortest route, of course. The parents knew the dance was over at 11:00, so they allowed a reasonable time to get home after that. However, if a little ride or walk was in the minds of the young people, there would be extra time.

    During the summer there was a park dance in the park pavilion every Monday. The dance floor was anything but smooth, but there was real live music! And very good music, too- not just some amateur, pick-up band. Tom Temple and Tony Winters were the next best thing to Tommy Dorsey or Glenn Miller.

    Even if you weren't asked to dance, you could sit on a bench outside the pavilion and listen and talk with jealousy about the lucky ones who were "tripping the light fantastic." Maybe a non-dancing male would ask you to go for a walk into the darkness! Whatever you did that night was fun and gave the participants something to discuss until the next Monday.

Last of the Pail Makers

 

From July 18, 2012

Taken in 1956, this photo shows the last group of workers that made pails for the Menasha Wooden Ware, just before the factory closed its doors, ending a tradition that had begun in 1849.  Menasha had once been known as the "Pail-making Capital of the World." 

The Twin City News-Record commented that this "was the same pail that Grandma got when she went to the old general store and asked the clerk to include butter in her provisions for the month.  And it's that old pail, always looking the same, that Dad got when he bought nails to repair the house or barn.,  And it's the pail the kids saw under the Christmas tree, but which they were too busy to notice because they were occupied with removing the candy from it.  And yes, it's that pail that once held such diverse items as pigs' feet or shredded tobacco, jelly or pickles; maple syrup, or medication for horses' hooves...."

Standing from left, Stanley Sperger, Frank Schmidt, Mike Mayefski, Ben Dombrofski, Emmanuel LeComte, and Walter Stommel.  Seated: Bob LeComte, Dick Fox, Stanley Novakofski, Gene Verkuilen, and Dick Buss. 

Tayco Street Bridge

From May 2, 2012

This is a view of the Tayco Street bridge, looking south toward Doty Island.  In the distance, at the left, you can see St. Patrick's Parish.  Prominently featured in this photo is the Menasha Woolen Mill.  It was first set up in Neenah in 1847 by Daniel Priest and was the first woolen mill in Winnebago County.  In time, he moved the operation to Menasha.  From 1859-1886, a wooden swing bridge operated on this site. In 1886, the structure collapsed as a large herd of cattle was crossing. A new iron swing bridge was then constructed for $7,500. The bridge pictured here lasted until 1928 when the familiar bridge with a stone tower at each of its four corners was built.

Ten Years and Counting....

This is post no. 2185 and yesterday marked ten years of whatever this is...oh yeah, a blog that was designed to attract interest in a little book I did in conjunction with the Menasha Historical Society.  As regular readers of this blog can attest, I pull this photo out from time to time but especially on anniversaries.  This was the first photo used in the blog on April 24, 2012, a sidewalk sale-oriented postcard from circa 1969.  It's one of my favorites and likely was taken during Prospector Days. 

For this tenth anniversary, I considered long and hard as to what to do to commemorate the day.  Did it require a big event?  But then I thought some more and decided that quiet thanks were all I needed to offer and perhaps revisiting some old favorites from that first year during this anniversary week.   As I have been reminded by my critics, this is a niche business yet my discerning readership appreciates it for what it is.  So let me, once again, offer my great appreciation for your reading my blog over the last ten years. You've kept me going all this time.  As we embark on the eleventh year let me reiterate that I DO so value your interest, your questions, and your support for all you do for me.  And that extends to your Facebook posts, private emails, and suggestions for new topics.  THANK YOU!

More Easter Fun

April 20, 1981, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Leftover from Easter coverage comes this little fella, fresh from a hug with the Easter Bunny, his love of the holiday spread across his face.  And shortly thereafter, his Easter "take" might have been spread across his face as well, smeared chocolate (the best kind!), proving that the best Easter egg is a chocolate one to be enjoyed with reckless abandon!

Springtime Idyll

April 10, 1981, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Spring brings thoughts of ...fishing?  Yes, we've heard the whole thing about spring flowers, new beginnings, thoughts of love and the like, but sometimes you can knock out a number of them at the same time.  Sitting at the edge of the water on a warm spring day with a fishing pole in hand is a nice respite from our usual obligations.    

A Glimpse to the Past

 April 19, 1964, Appleton Post-Crescent

The Twin Cities have long had a rich art history that is, from time to time, displayed in the halls of the cities' respective libraries.  Be it professional or amateur, many of the art works have touched us in meaningful ways, often showcasing the times and influences of the generations in which we grew up., Represented above is just one such art treasure of a man's boyhood in the 1890's along Nicolet Boulevard. 

Atta Buoy

April 19, 1987, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

It is the end of an era in 1987 as the Coast Guard performs one of its signature duties for the last time before moving to a consolidated station in Green Bay.  Though a cost-saving move, the job itself did not go away as buoy placement continues to be critical to safe boating seasons in and around Menasha. Still, it had been a point of pride and prestige to have had Menasha have its own Coast Guard station for more than twenty-five years.   

Congo Bongo

April 12, 1945, Appleton Post-Crescent

Fox Valley youth during World War II, looking all mature as get out, but then don't they usually in these old photos?  Maybe it's the clothes, maybe it's the world they'd lived through.  Heck, it wasn't so many years before that kids of these ages would be denied school as they had to go to work in factories and farms to help make ends meet.  Undoubtedly, many fathers and other male relatives of these kids were off serving in the military or at least doing their part in defense industries, and likely their mothers might have been working too.  Contrast the maturity etched on their faces with the more carefree existence of kids ten and twenty years later, when America was awash in the post-war boom and childhood and adolescence came in a purer form.

And does anyone know what "Congo Bongo" is?

All "Hopped Up"

 April 12, 1965, Twin City News-Record

With Easter in a few days, one needed to ensure the shopping was completed, either for delightful Easter treats for the basket or a lovely lily to grace the dining room table.  Menasha's merchants had the task well in hand, even staying open evenings to afford you the opportunity to get it right.  Happy Easter!

A Deep Down Glow

April 12, 1950, Appleton Post-Crescent

Proof that retail once did work in the Tayco Street area comes from this ad for the Brin Drugstore, conveniently located in the Brin Building, of course most known for the theater.  (Looking at the ad, it appears the typesetter wasn't sure if it was the Brin Drugstore or just Brin Drugs, judging from the gaping space between "drugs" and the rest of the word.)  This location was once known as Schlintz Bros. Drugs: https://menashabook.blogspot.com/2019/08/oh-what-soda.html.

In Balance

April 13, 1965, Twin City News-Record

Having grown up living kitty-corner (catty-corner?) from this gas station, I can't tell you how many times I saw this machine in that garage.  Of course, if I hadn't hung around so much, it wouldn't have been in my consciousness so much.  But between using their vending machines and often putting air in my bike's tires or the occasional basketball, it became a second home of sorts. We first visited in 2013:  https://menashabook.blogspot.com/2013/08/coonens-complete-service.html .

Hurdling Over Adversity

 

April 14, 1965, Twin City News-Record

Sometimes a do-it-yourself project can save the day, or at least save one from an empty pocketbook.  A good example here are the enterprising parents and students who saved considerable money by building their own hurdles for use in track events.  One wouldn't think something as mundane as a hurdle to jump over would be so complex and so expensive, but as the article states, the manufactured kind would have cost upwards of six times more than the cost of doing it themselves.  Kudos to the fiscally conservative!  

Before You Go...

 September 17, 1969, Appleton Post-Crescent

In 1969, America continued to be space crazy, having just witnessed the Apollo 11 astronauts landing on the moon in July.  So is it any wonder that this attitude would bleed into advertisements and the popular culture?  After all, America's youth WAS consuming record numbers of Tang and Space Food Sticks and even G.I. Joe had his own space suit and capsule.  

What If?

May 8, 1946, Menasha Record

With the new Racine Street Bridge to be completed soon, we look back at 1946, a little over five years before the original bridge was completed and dedicated.  Of course, studies were done and alternate locations were considered.  Imagine if the bridge had crossed the river further upstream, from Appleton Street across to Cleveland Street.  Or crossing from Racine street to Riverway.  Those were the other two alternatives to what was eventually decided upon.  How different those neighborhoods would have been.

Around and Around

April 14, 1980, Twin City News-Record

Cool weather doesn't matter when the carnival is in town.  So many temporary set-ups at businesses around the valley from time to time.  Be it Valley Fair or Fox Point or this one in the parking lot of the Goodwill between Menasha and Appleton on Hwy 47.  They all earned our enthusiasm and we all willingly lined up to buy their tickets for momentary diversion, come rain or shine.  

At Ease!

April 19, 1982, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Standing at the edge of Jefferson Park was the Army Reserve armory.  For the entirety of my childhood and for years afterward, that building anchored the extreme east end of Third Street.  I don't believe I ever had occasion to step inside, but after having served in the Army, I can safely attest that the photos above are quite familiar and reminiscent of experiences I had had in my own life with a guy in a Smokey the Bear hat.  Times and priorities change, forces regroup and organizations change.  So I do not believe the armory stands anymore in Menasha.  In fact, I think the USAR now meets in an armory west of Hwy 41 in Neenah.  But for several generations, this was the military in small town Menasha.  And believe it or not, I still see soldier students wearing that "wood splitter" patch from time to time as I walk the halls of the Army Schools I coordinate with at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

Colonial Life

March 24, 1954, Appleton Post-Crescent

Outside of school projects, do kids make things like this anymore?  Growing up, I always had my nose in some model kit, assembling a fighter jet, or some hot rod.   Their model kind of reminded me of those ads on the backs of comic books offering you 200 World War II soldiers for $1.98, where I first saw those model kits advertised. Later on, they offered Roman Soldiers, Revolutionary War soldiers, and Civil War soldiers.  Sometimes there were cowboys and Indians, too, with wagons and teepees.  This photo is reminiscent of such a layout.

Now!

April 10, 1959, Appleton Post-Crescent

Between the bargain hair dye at the Hedberg Drug Store or the come-ons for financing my mid-life crisis toys at the First National Bank, Menasha has the middle aged crowd set.  What's next...a new suit from Grove's Pantorium?  

Drive-In Nights

April 10, 1959, Appleton Post-Crescent

Let's see, for a Friday night, what's playing at the local theaters.  A strange combination of films at the drive-in...a Jerry Lewis musical no less paired with a Korean War Air Force drama.  And a pair of handmade earrings as a gala re-opening gift?  Sure beats an ice scraper or a calendar, I suppose.