Nicolet Anniversary

March 1, 1977, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Be it ever so fitting that a portrait of Jean Nicolet should adorn the Nicolet School, just blocks from Nicolet Boulevard and blocks from the Nicolet Monument in Smith Park.  It makes so much sense that one wonders why it took fifty years to happen.  

Bock

 

March 1, 1935, Appleton Post-Crescent

Good ol' Chief Oshkosh, available anywhere in the Fox Valley, had its own version of Bock beer.  We've also seen Gem Bock beer in past years on this blog.  Bock traditionally was known as a winter beer, sometimes coming right before the Christmas holidays, but its availability always bled into the spring season as well to cover Lent and Easter as well.  Get ready...I just discovered there's a National Bock Beer Day and it is coming up on March 20th.

Flivver

March 18, 1925, Appleton Post-Crescent

The boy scouts' vehicle must have been quite something for it to be called "Asthma."  With a name like that, it must have sounded like Jack Benny's Maxwell (now there's a reference for us older folks, lol.  Feel free to Google it.)  But leave it to fundraisers and the indomitable spirit of the boys to make their world a little bit better.  I've no doubt in my mind that they came through with the necessary funds to purchase something new.

Awardee

 

Here's another treasure I chanced upon somehow.  The back of the photo said "1969."  That's it.  Obviously, Mr. Drucks was giving an award to one of his employees but that's all I can ascertain.  In spite of that, I am amazed at the number of different, and what I presume to be, General Electric, irons on display in the background, a definite necessity before permanent press was perfected.  So many models.  And I'm guessing the header in the back says "Housewares and Radios" as my original guess of "horseshoes" just makes no sense!    

Menasha Manufacturing

March 8, 1965, Twin City News-Record

History students gather examples of manufacturing in their fair city to put on display in the foyer of Clovis Grove School.  The display looks to have rivaled some of the better displays we used to see at the public library.  

Another "What If"

 March 16, 1966, Twin City News-Record

From our periodic  "what could have been" department, Copp's had had its eye on the Plank Road area of Menasha for a new store but, for whatever reason, it never happened.  Weeks before, the mayor hinted at this possibility without naming names. He did say that the company was determined to locate in Neenah-Menasha and though I don't know the timing, I wonder if this all fell through because Schmitt's Department store on West Winneconne Avenue in Neenah eventually sold out to Copp's and the company then didn't need to build a new property.  Another loss for Menasha.  One wonders how Plank Road might have grown commercially if this store had been out there.

Button Sale

March 14, 1966, Twin City News-Record

The watchword of any club or extracurricular activity eventually becomes "fundraising."  It seems like this has been the case since time immemorial; it wouldn't surprise me if Socrates' students were sent out to raise funds to cover a field trip to Sparta, for example.  But St. Mary's band students found interesting ways to circumvent the money shortage in creative ways, a couple of them are highlighted above.