Renaissance Man

April 30, 1898, Oshkosh Northwestern

The article above is just one of the many things Menasha's renaissance man, Publius V. Lawson, Jr.  was capable of.   In his 67 years, Lawson was labeled many things- attorney, politician, businessman, author, historian, lecturer, inventor, and six term mayor of Menasha. 

Follow this link to get a really good overview of his life at "The Strangest Names in American Political History" blog: https://politicalstrangenames.blogspot.com/2012/05/publius-virgilius-lawson-jr-1853-1920.html

That'll Show "Em!

 April 14, 1904, Menasha Record

Menasha's reputation for toughness shows itself in the confines of Chicago's lawlessness.  That will teach them to fool with small town northeastern Wisconsin boys!  

How It Looks

April 25, 1878, Saturday Evening Press

Now and then some enterprising reporter from another newspaper would tour Menasha and file a report which the city fathers could then use as fodder for touting the commercial aspects of the city.  This is one such story from early on in Menasha's history, as evidenced by the  reporter's tour of the flour mills that we used to have.  Good descriptions of what happened inside the wooden ware and the hub and spoke factory.  

Young Love

 

April 27, 1901, Neenah Times

This had to be the oldest wedding on record at St. John's.  Just imagine, the bride and groom were born in 1827 and 1829 respectively.  Wow!  That's at least 16 to 18 years before the first house was even constructed in what became Menasha and only fifty or so years after the United States declared its independence from Great Britain. Oh, the stories I'm sure those two could tell!  

Earth Day

April 23, 1970, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

With Earth Day being yesterday, I couldn't let it go unnoticed.  This rather ominous photo by an unknown student illustrates the need for protection from pollutants that triggered the very first Earth Day in 1970.  Today, the focus might be more on global warming or in ridding ourselves of reliance on plastics, but back then, with pollution so bad that the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland caught fire, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson spearheaded the Earth Day efforts in the US with teach-ins and peaceful demonstrations.   As evidenced here, students all over the country followed his lead, to include this creative effort at St. Patrick's in Menasha.

A Word to the Wise

 April 27, 1901, Neenah Times

From a neighboring newspaper to the south comes this fair warning to young proper ladies that all is not necessarily as it seems in regards to matters of the heart.  Good advice for any era.

Burglars

April 15, 1880, Saturday Evening Press

Looking back, especially in this sesquicentennial year, it is easy to romanticize the past and overlook that everything wasn't always hunky dory in our fair city.  It seems the criminal element can't be forgotten as far as the Twin Cities go.  Curious that the Press writer believes it's an inside job and not attributed to outsiders.  I wonder what he knows.  Hmmm.

Light My Fire (Expensive Version)

April 30, 1964, Oshkosh Northwestern (Neenah-Menasha Edition)

I understand the need for destruction in this case but find it a bit amusing the amount of ceremony that went into to it, to include this photo opportunity.  As if the signing of the legal documents wasn't enough, we have photographic proof (sort of) of the final disposition of the unused bonds.  Today, perhaps we'd just feed them into a shredder?  And take a video of it with our cellphones. 

Special Appearance

April 10, 1964, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

I apologize for the bite someone took out of this photo but it still showcases how Menasha, once in a while, got a name brand guest speaker to entertain the students with a provocative presentation about love, sex, and marriage.  And what could be more timely for high school students in the 60's than those topics?  In a few short years, the decade would really start in earnest and all bets would be off.  At the time of this photo, aside from The Beatles, it might just as well have been the 1950's. (With the demise of her venue as a regular part of people's routines, Miss Landers might have had a hard time getting a footing in today's newspaper-less media environment.)

Benefit

 April 5, 1965, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Shades of the Harlem Globetrotters, this football-style exhibition on the Menasha High basketball court had to have been a tongue-in-cheek hit, knowing how beloved the Packers are (and were).  And since we were all in on the joke, it made it even more of a fun time.  Why, just look at the faces in the stands.  Menasha had a long history of such antics, to include donkey basketball games and semi-pro softball exhibitions, such as The King and His Court.  What fun!

Waterfront

November 26, 1988, Appleton Post-Crescent

From an article devoted to the redevelopment of Main Street, comes this view we'll never see again.  The then-recent demise of a local strip club led to much optimisim for redeveloping the downtown area.  And as we all know, the block was razed eventually and an office building was built on the site.

Hook & Ladder Co.

 

June 18, 1874, Saturday Evening Press

Menasha was justifiably proud of its new civic status as a city and nothing could have said it more than having a first class fire fighting oufit to serve the community.  The new hook and ladder wagon undoubtedly looked much like the illustration below which was culled from the 1879 Chicago-based Caswell Fire Department Supply Company catalogue. The catalogue's title page states: "Fire Apparatus and Fire Department Supplies of Every Description."  Kudos to the city fathers for having the wagon constructed locally.  I'm sure the Caswell Company would have charged more than $358!  

In Other Words, Stay Out!

 June 25, 1874, Saturday Evening Press

Above, a warning to the miscreants who abuse the hospitality of the National Hotel.   In other words, it's enough he can somewhat tolerate the layabouts and hangers-on within the property, he's not going to make their "stays" any easier by their pilfering.  (See?  Consuming this flowery 19th century language DOES pay off, lol.) 

Republics are Ungrateful!

April 18, 1874, Appleton Crescent

Not long after Menasha's first election as a newly formed city, this Appleton newspaper takes exception with the election's outcome and that's putting it nicely!  It is fairly obvious the editors of this periodical wanted Mr. Curtis Reed to be the victor.  I had to look up many of the sputtering epithets thrown around in this piece.  Very entertaining, Appleton Crescent!  

Smoked Glass

June 16, 1909, Menasha Record

With all the hoopla yesterday over the solar eclipse, the above news item is a reminder that these things have been happening since the dawn of time, to include the era that Menasha was an entity.  Despite the notice that this would occur, I couldn't find any news accounts of how great the experience was unfortunately.  From the headline, at least the citizenry knew enough to not just look at the sun.   

A Teacher's Farewell

 

June 25, 1874, Saturday Evening Press

Another find in the 1874 archives, the year Menasha became a city.  Mr. F.W. Hewes expresses his thanks at a positive experience at teaching Menasha's future leaders for the past two years.  Not many would use this public forum to say goodbye.  

Fine Fishing

June 25, 1874, Saturday Evening Press

We've touched upon the fishing around Menasha over the years within the blog.  Here's an early review of the Lake Winnebago scene by the Milwaukee Sentinel, the year Menasha became a city.

Farmer Story

                                                                 

Des Moines Register, April 19, 1874

Why do I think this story could have appeared in any newspaper with the city name replaced by whatever was convenient (or what sounded funny)?  And I must admit, there's some 1874 language in there that I didn't exactly get.  

"...and in the Very Best Style..."

April 23, 1874, Saturday Evening Press

Here's an ad from shortly after Menasha became a city.  The area of Main and Milwaukee Streets, to also include Chute Street later on, was the heart of transportation for Menasha for many years.  In time, the Wheeler Transportation Company would settle on Chute Street, just west of the old Menasha Furniture and evolve from a livery to a bus and truck company.  

D and H Protects

April 23, 1949, Menasha Record

Mr. Motorcycle Cop teams up with an anthropomorphic insurance policy to protect Mr. Homeowner.  It looks like the policy man is even wearing footwear.  I'll bet he wishes he had a motorcycle, too.  

Gay Nineties

April 24, 1945, Appleton Post-Crescent

Although these teachers are dressed in "Gay Nineties" clothes, I can see something similar worn by Menasha citizens 150 years ago when it became a city.  The Charlie Chaplin imitator is well beyond the time frames mentioned here, however.