Midtown Alleys (Gundi's)

 

Gundi's Lanes, about 1985

Let's end the week with remembering this downtown bowling establishment.  Once known as Midtown Alleys, or Midtown Lanes, or Gundi's at the end (or maybe other names as well), it resided at 352 Chute Street for many, many years.    

 

 

Magic Lantern

From about 1910, this vintage slide was made to fit inside a "magic lantern," or slide projector, as it became known.

The magic lantern was a direct ancestor of the motion picture projector, for it could itself be used to project moving images, which was achieved by the use of various types of mechanical slides. Typically, two glass slides, one with the stationary part of the picture and the other with the part that was to move, would be placed one on top of the other and projected together, then the moving slide would be hand-operated, either directly or by means of a lever or other mechanism.

 

Notice that Menasha is mispelled as "Menesha" on the slide. An early advertising piece, this would be displayed before/after a movie in the theaters, proving that commercial advertisements in movie theaters are, sadly, nothing new.

 

Otto Runde's jewelry shop was located at 154 Main Street, or just past the Bank of Menasha building on the way to the firehouse.

 

 

An example of an early magic lantern.

Nicolet Blvd

As another one in a series of postcards/photographs of what was formerly known as "The Avenue," this one from the 1920's gives more exposure to the Menasha side.  Since we've seen this theme over and over, I suspect the postcard peddlers were enamored with the "street as borderline" aspect of this photo.  Plus it makes for a pretty composition.

Visible through the trees is St.Patrick's Catholic Church and the Walter Brothers Brewery. 

Howard Paper Mill

   The first paper mill in Menasha was built in 1876 on the  northern channel of the Fox River by Reuben Scott, Henry Hewitt, Jr., and other stockholders. They bought the Dutchman and Potter sawmill and converted it to the new Menasha Paper Company which made wrapping paper.
   The company made money for a year and then began to have financial difficulties. First it was leased, then went into receivership in 1879, then sold, and finally newly organized as Menasha Pulp and Paper Company. This time Hewitt and Scott were the sole owners. In 1884 the mill closed and the equipment sold.
   In 1888 a group of investors built a new paper mill on the site and Charles Howard came into control and called it the Charles W. Howard Paper Company. He then sold out to some Oshkosh capitalists who went bankrupt. In 1898 he regained the property and rebuilt and added an extensive sulphite plant so that a heavy strong manila wrapping paper could be made from hemlock logs. The mill was operated with great success until 1905 when it was sold again. It used both water and steam power and ran 24 hours a day. It even had a sprinkler system. This time it was sold to the Island Paper Company which was controlled by Duncan T. H. MacKinnon and Alexander Noble Strange. n 1905, Renamed as the Island Paper Company, the mill made corrugated paper which aggravated the citizens because of the odor which it emitted. They called it "strawboard."
info courtesy Herziger, Caryl Chandler; Pawlowski, Winifred Anderson (ed.) /Memories of Doty Island : A Link Between Two Cities (1999)

The Hotel at Brighton Beach

Handcolored postcard of the hotel at Brighton Beach, at the end of Third Street.  The Brighton Beach Hotel lasted from 1899 until 1927 when it was demolished and a private home was constructed on the grounds. In later years, the acreage was sold to a religious order of sisters for use as a retirement facility.

Interesting artistic effect in that the people mostly remain in black and white but the landscaping and roof are in color.  Although it's probably due to the limitations of the time, I've seen similar effects in contemporary movie trailers to make the people stand out or to emphasize the historical nature of the piece. 

Ice Storm 1922

 

February 23, 1922 Appleton Post-Crescent

 

Wisconsin has never been immune to the seasonal ice storm but back on February 22, 1922, the Twin Cities experienced an ice storm the likes of which it hadn't seen in many, many years.  My own mother told the story, that as a young girl, one of her first memories was of this particular storm.  Living at the corner of Second and DePere, she recounted how she witnessed the electrocution of a poor horse which had the unfortunate circumstance of being under the wires when they snapped.  For years I just discounted it as just another one of Mom's random anecdotes...that is, until I gained an interest in history and ran across photos such as these which made her story come vividly to life. 

 

 

"Menasha's Pride and Satisfaction"

February 24, 1928 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

Beginning life as an elementary school, Butte des Morts became a junior high in 1961 and then reverted back to elementary school status for the present day.  

 

 

December 8, 1963 Appleton Post-Crescent

Washed and Ironed Today....

From 1908, this is a postcard view of Smith Park, though not identified as such.  Kate, our writer, penned this note on a Monday in September.  After engaging in her laundry day activities, she looked forward to the 10 cent excursion boat ride down to Oshkosh two days hence on Wednesday to visit her ailing relative or friend at St. Mary's Hospital. 

Inexpensive and very popular, the postcards of the early 20th century were the tweets or text messages of their time. The pretty picture was a definite plus and made it worth saving. (The corner discoloration on the text side leads me to believe this had been saved in someone's album or scrapbook.)

Thanks to someone's hobby, or for sentimental reasons, we can share a slice of Menasha life from over 100 years ago. 

American Bandstand

                                                The original bandstand in Smith Park.

Originally, Mr. Smith, Menasha's benefactor, 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 following text was culled from the Smith Park Walking Tour brochure:

You've Tried the Rest....

Business card from the 1930's or 40's likely, with the three digit phone number.  Jerry Heup was also active in local politics, being selected for the election board in 1940 and later was granted a contract in the 1950s to run the school bus system within the Menasha school district.  . 

Gilbert Lagoon

Recently I came across this postcard of the Gilbert Lagoon which I believe is from the 1930s.  It's much better than the photo I showcased here on January 23rd which was taken through the chain link fence. 

Sanding the Finished Product

Pailmakers sand the finished pails at the Menasha Wooden Ware. 

Begun in 1849, pail making took a back seat when corrugated containers became the company's focus in the 1920s and 30s and plastics were introduced in the 1950s.   Pail making formally ended in 1956. 

On Display

Menasha Wooden Ware butter tubs on display at the National Dairy Show in Indianapolis,1925.  The giant spruce log on display represents the raw material of the tubs' construction. 

Gargoyle

Looking around at what's left of the old-time architecture in the downtown area, a person could get quite an education if he just looks up.  This gargoyle used to reside at the top of the former OK Hardware at 212 Main Street, now the future home to a restaurant, if I remember correctly.  Not sure what ever happened to him, but he represents a time when ornamentation was a fine art. 

Hauling Logs

 

Logs on their way to the Menasha Wooden Ware via a horse-drawn sled.  The company used an end mark which was, appropriately, the outline of a pail enclosing the capital letter "A."  Like cattle brands, these markings not only laid claim to who owned the logs, but also helped the drivers direct them to the proper mills once they reached the river. 

 

MHS Postcard

This postcard proudly features the new Menasha High School at Seventh and Racine Streets.

Designed by the Green Bay firm of Foeller, Schober & Berners, the Menasha High & Vocational School was built between 1936 and 1938. Plans for the construction of a new high school were underway prior to the March 1936 fire that destroyed the existing high school building. Indeed, in July 1935, an application, complete with sketches, was filed with the Public Works Administration (PWA) for a grant amounting to $270,000 for what was anticipated to be a $600,000 building. Fourteen months following the submittal, and exactly six months after the fire, the Board of Education received in September a letter approving the funding. The Maurice Schumacher Company of Minneapolis was the low bidder and construction began on December 1, 1936. Approximately six weeks later, a labor strike occurred, which was settled on February 4, 1937. Because school equipment was lost in the 1936 fire, an additional $38,000 in funding was requested from the PWA. The final inspection of the four-unit complex occurred on February 19, 1938. An open house, which was reportedly attended by over 14,000 persons, was held between March 25-27. Actual dedication of the building occurred on Commencement Day, June 2, 1938.

The school exhibited a style known as Colonial Revivalism, incorporating Georgian detail with a neoclassical auditorium. 

 

source: HISTORICAL & ARCHITECTURAL RESOURCES SURVEY, Aug 31, 2009 Prepared for: Menasha Landmarks Commission  by: HERITAGE RESEARCH, LTD. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin 53051

Heil Dump Truck

The City of Menasha is featured prominently in this ad for the Heil dump truck from the 1920's.  A truck like this might have helped carry the materials to patch the city streets or help in laying down sand during the icy winters.

Wooden Ware Workers

Left to right in this 1927 photograph are pailmakers George Herman, Joe Wagner and John Zielinski. Standing in back is Carl Kloepfel.  Pailmaking continued at the Wooden Ware until 1956. 

Curtis Reed Home

Generally considered the founder of Menasha, Curtis Reed's home is pictured above near the Fox River on Manitowoc Street. 

Born in 1815 in Westford, Massachusetts, he was the brother of Harrison Reed and George Reed. In 1835 he joined his elder brother, George, in Milwaukee, later farmed for a time in Summit, Waukesha County, and in 1846 was a member of the upper house of the territorial legislature. In the 1840's, with his brother, Harrison Reed, and others, he acquired and developed property and utility rights on Doty Island, at the outlet of Lake Winnebago on the lower Fox River which became Neenah and Menasha. In 1848 he built a log cabin on the northern side of the island, and in 1849 he and Charles Doty, son of Wisconsin Territorial Governor James D. Doty, platted and recorded the town site of Menasha. Reed was a prominent figure in Menasha for the remainder of his life, active in the complicated manipulations promoting the Fox-Wisconsin improvement project, and instrumental in having the government canal routed via the north channel of the Fox River. A Democrat, he was state assemblyman (1853, 1861), and held numerous local offices in Menasha, including those of alderman, mayor, and postmaster. He died in 1895.

Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography