Early Halloween Traditions

October 31, 1903, Oshkosh Northwestern

This week is Halloween, one of the blog's favorite holidays, so it's no wonder that yours truly is obsessed with covering it properly.  Today, we go back 117 years when young ladies could predict the identity of their future husbands via varying lengths of candles.  I see this as a party game, a Halloween version of "Mystery Date" for young girls with as much seriousness as conjuring up the spirit of "Bloody Mary" in a mirror.  But of course, this was a different time when marriage had a different importance than today.  Back then, that was, in most circles, what young women were expected to aspire to, as suitable occupations for women were limited and freedoms were curtailed. Today, women can be anything, not just secretaries, telephone operators, teachers, nuns, or nurses (and some of those occupations weren't open to women in 1903 either).  So, fun as it might be, there had to be some undercurrent of legitimacy and urgency in the backs of some of those young minds.  Too much seriousness for a Halloween posting on a Monday...leave it to me!

Just Too Much Temptation

October 12, 1982, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Not sure how much legitimacy was involved in getting this job done, versus providing a cute photo op for the Northwestern photographer, but hey, we'll take it on a Friday after a long week here at the blog.  We've seen cute kids before, but little Billy in the lower photo puts an extra emphasis on bringing a smile to our faces.  Let's have a great weekend!  

Lone Sportsman

October 18, 1982, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

As the caption writer says, only a few short months away and it'll be a different, harsher environment.  But in the meantime, enjoy the autumn for what it is, brisk temperatures, changing colors, and a snap in the air that reminds us to enjoy each day as it comes.  Fall was always my favorite season and until I moved to the south, I could always count on it to spark good memories of autumns past.  I'm sure it is the same with you.

Oh, So THAT'S What You Do All Day!

 

October 20, 1967, Twin City News-Record

Not to be confused with the "Take Your Son/Daughter to Work Day" movement which came much later, comes this field trip to see where Dad works.  I'm not sure which of the two is more palatable, as ANY field trip away from school was a Godsend, though there's something to be said about hanging with your school friends in a new environment as opposed to being alone at Dad's office and spending the day playing Solitaire on his computer while he completes other work.  Besides, to a little kid, blue collar jobs are cool...just ask any one stopped on the sidewalk watching the road crew at work.

A Clean Slate

October 11, 1967, Twin City News-Record

The ever-changing downtown certainly looks different today, as opposed to this view from 53 years ago.  The columns of the old First National Bank/City Offices survive to this day to provide an iconic backdrop to the river view downtown, but the rest is gone.  Notice the old style mail box, the kind with the red top and the navy blue body.  It looks to be a busy day in the city.  

The Name Game

 October 31, 1905, Oshkosh Northwestern

We've been exposed to this in the blog before...derivations of city names.  Do a search for "names" at the blog search function and you'll find other similar articles talking about street names as well as cities.  The derivation for "Menasha" is no surprise to those of us in the know, the fun comes from neighboring or farther away towns and hamlets with their own histories.  Of course, this being Wisconsin, most of the puzzlement comes from the head-scratching native American names, but just knowing that "Suamico" means "yellow sand" might win you a bar bet or two.

Cheerful Squad

 February 16, 1960, Twin City News-Record

Let's end the week on a "cheery" note, with meeting these Menasha cheerleaders from sixty years ago.  Hard to think these ladies are now mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers, but hey, I'm no spring chicken either!  We all have our moments in the spotlight and these cheerleaders made the most of theirs.  Happy weekend!