August 10, 1962, Twin City News-Record
Who'd have thought there'd be Scuba classes at the Menasha pool? And that the students would have to go underwater to collect their "deep-lomas?" Evidently the students worked well under pressure. It appears none of them went off the deep end. Tanks for indulging me.
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September 1, 1955, Twin City News-Record
Ring the (school) bell for back to school values! I can still recall the back to school shopping, the new clothes, the fresh notebooks, the unsharpened pencils, all holding the potential for a great, new school year. There was something magical about that...the chance for new friends, a different routine, a fresh start. I wonder if kids get the same excitement we got back then.
August 16, 1954, Appleton Post-Crescent
We wind up the week with this dress-up parade at the Marathon picnic at Jefferson Park. This was an era where polio and all the fears that that caused conflicted with ordinary life. Sometimes, there were outbreaks that would make the local health departments mandate that kids stay indoors and away from mingling with their friends, shutting down parks and pools and other gatherings (does that sound familiar, from our not so distant past?) So it's nice to see kids being kids despite such circumstances.
September 1, 1955, Twin City News-Record
Back before they were mandated by the government, seat belts (really just lap belts, as pictured here) were offered as an optional piece of equipment. But once the idea of the safety benefits of seat belts caught on in the U.S., sales of seat belts improved greatly. Auto companies offered seat belts as optional equipment and were even sold at local gas stations, like Dan Luebke's. Since 1966, American vehicles are required to have seat belts in their cars. As such, by 1975, most first-world countries had a seat belt requirement in their cars. Once they became more common in cars, laws soon followed afterwards. By 1970, the world’s first seat belt law was created in Victoria, Australia, which required passengers to wear their seat belts at all times. In the U.S., seat belt laws came around the time of the creation of The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966.Though they were required by law to be in cars, wearing seat belt laws were a different story. The National Ad Council ran countless ads for 25 plus years encouraging drivers to “Buckle Up.” States slowly starting implementing laws and by 1995, every state except New Hampshire had “Click it or ticket” laws. Currently, all states have a seat belt enforcing law.
August 24, 1982, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
It's definitely that time of the year, when the days of summer have passed and a new focus is on the tasks ahead. Set aside the fishing poles and pick up the school books. Hang up the baseball mitts and grab that brown bag lunch while heading out the door. Another season, another reason. And so it goes....
August 12, 1987, Twin City News-Record
You just never know. You just never know if some rising minor leaguer will toe the distance and become a famous major leaguer some day. Hey, didn't A-Rod come through the Foxes system? But for every A-Rod there's dozens of guys like this one who never made it to the bigs. You just never know. How many games did this young fan attend at Goodland Field, watching this guy who might have become his favorite payer, the one he emulated when he played catch in his back yard with Dad or when he ran around the outfield in the Menasha Rec leagues, imitating his signature moves. You just never know. When I was a kid, I worshipped a guy named Bobby Pena who played infield for the Milwaukee Brewers. He lasted two years there; he was no superstar. But the sun rose and set on that guy in my world. Being his fan set me on a path to a lifetime love of baseball. I was never that good at it, but I loved the game regardless. We all influence people in little ways and sometimes in a big way. Life is like that. You just never know.
August 6, 1982, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
America has a long history of honoring their war dead by spotlighting artillery pieces like this, placing them in city parks and town squares. The Twin Cities are no exception. Many a boy (or girl) found themselves crawling over them, defending the parks from unknown invaders, directing their fires to save the day. These two pieces are from the 1910s and 1920s. A really great war memorial site http://warmemorials.us/artillery/type91_105mm.html tells me the Menasha cannon is of Japanese origin and the Neenah one is from France. Be that as it may, they were always on my side during my army play and I never lost a battle.
August 31, 1987, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
With the clock ticking loudly and rapidly, as the last grains of sand move down the hourglass, we frantically squeeze the last remnants of pleasure out of our summer before the inevitable hits...the first day of school. Some upcoming autumn afternoon, when we least suspect it, the river will call to us and we will recollect such carefree enjoyment, gazing out the window, momentarily distracted from the lesson at hand.
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August 4, 1965, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
Modern married couple alights from wedding venue in antique automobiles? Unusual, yes, but apparently the young bride is already showing her tolerance for hubby's hobby... antique cars. Let's hope their upcoming years were kind to them and their abode wasn't as rustic as their modes of transportation.
August 14, 1965, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
We end this week on sort of an unusual note, looking at one of the more unique summer jobs for a young person in the Twin Cities in the 1960s. Be it known that this "nature's helper" was a one of a kind, unlike all the many lawn mowers and car washers and newspaper carriers out there. I'm convinced, that in time, a more convenient and economical way of watering the planters was developed, but for that moment, suffice it to say, we bask in the novelty of it all.
August 24, 1965, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
What better way to get new teachers acquainted with the area than to give them an overview of the history of the city. Even if these were not history teachers, an understanding of where we came from is always beneficial. For as the old adage goes, “Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."
August 9, 1966, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
Despite the seemingly humorous nature of this staged photo, bike collisions are no laughing matter. Just lately, we've witnessed several bike collisions in various road races; the Tour de France comes to mind as the most notable. Even though helmets were not a required part of cycling back in this era, some of the accident "victims" in the lower photo might not have been holding their heads so much if they had had adequate headgear. Or perhaps, they were just hamming it up for the Northwestern photographer.
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July 11, 1945, Menasha Record
Today, letter writing is a lost art, but back in the days of World War II, there was no email, texting, or Facetime to engage your loved one while they were gone. So leave it to Uncle Sam, in the guise of the Post Office Department and in conjunction with the Department of Defense to ensure that those back home knew exactly how to get those precious letters to their servicemen (and women). After all, what better morale builder was there than encouraging words from home or maybe a picture of your best girlfriend or of the wife and kids. I know what it is like to not get mail, so I heartily approve of the efforts made back then to get the mail to its rightful owners. Thanks to the Menasha Record and other local newspapers all across the land that conveyed this vital message.
August 19, 1978, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
It's not something you see too often here in the South where I live now but I can recall growing up seeing many sportsman-themed garage doors in the Fox Valley. Usually they were fishing or boating oriented, but there was an occasional deer to be seen.
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August 19, 1978, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
Most cable and satellite systems today have so many channels that one can get lost in the "niche" programming that such a bounty provides. So, in the spirit of levity, it's fun to look back to the early days of cable television, before the specialty networks were even a glint in a programmer's eye. In those days, it was a kick just to watch the local news from, say Milwaukee or Madison because the local cable system would offer those channels, along with the Green Bay stations. Adding a bonus by having something as exotic as the Atlanta superstation, or WGN, for example, might finalize the sale for those sitting on the fence about whether or not cable was a good value for the time. Yes, the cable offerings back then might appear to be primitive, compared to the choices today, but it filled a need that people were willing to pay for. Just as it was when the internet first started, look how far we've come.
August 16, 1960, Appleton Post-Crescent
Just in time to get ready for the upcoming bowling season,, Mid-Town Lanes, or Gundi's or whatever the going name was, it was the place to be. This was still at a time when advertising that the place was air-conditioned was de rigueur during the dog days of summer.
July 15, 1958, Twin City News-Record
We take what little victories we can find in the Menasha area, be it touting our recreational opportunities or bragging about our "professional personalities" as it says here. The Badger Highways quarry was a mainstay for sneaking into, as my grandparents on Airport Road lived virtually behind the quarry. Illegal or not, I have fond memories of sneaking into there with my older brother on Sunday afternoons as our parents visited with our grandparents.