Main Street Looking East

This is a rather grainy photo, but this view east looks like it was taken from the roof of the bank.  I originally thought it was taken from the roof of the hotel.  But the roof to the bottom right looks like the corner of the Hotel Menasha before the addition in 1916. (My thanks to David Mulvey for the correction.) 

With what appears to be a vehicle in the center and with the unpaved street, I'd say it's pre-1910.  And look how large St. Mary's looms in the distance. 

George Martin, Fur Tanner and Dyer

An interesting ad from the 1905 city directory for a profession that, more than likely, isn't too prevalent anymore, nor politically correct either.  But Mr. Martin must have done all right though, for he was in this business at least through 1924, as he appeared in that year's edition as well. 

Early Leaders

Reading through a 1986 survey of Menasha's historical structures, I came upon the above passage and it made me think. 

Nowadays, we tend to think exclusively of the largely German and Polish populations of Menasha, but that immigration swell didn't occur until the latter part of the 19th century. 

We forget ithat the town was originally built upon the backs of New Englanders and New Yorkers with names like Reed, Smith, Hewitt, Lawson, and Scott.

And as a result, the early retail establishments with the names above appealed to those settlers and reflected that segment of the population. 

Only much later did we get the likes of Tuchscherer's, Loescher's, Wanserski's, Stanislowski's (Stani's), and many others of a more ethnic bent. 

Renard '52

The inside cover page of the 1952 St. Mary's yearbook, right before the construction of the nicknamed "52 Building" which would obscure the foreground of this photo.  Ten years later, another addition- the "'62 Building"- would replace those trees between the high school and the church.   A new high school opened west of US 41 in 1997.  SInce then, the campus has been altered even more to accomodate the needs of St. Mary Elementary. 

Menasha Welcomes Its Winning Band

May 25, 1931 Oshkosh Northwestern

June 12, 1931 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

Menasha High School's performance at the 1931 state band tournament as reported on last week earned it a trip to the national contest in Oklahoma.  There, it earned a first place in marching and a fifth place in music, after some initial intrigue in the scoring. Menasha was, needless to say, justifiably proud of its namesake band.

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This Monday is Memorial Day. Please take a moment to give some small measure of thanks for those who gave all for our freedoms.  I'll be back Tuesday.  Happy Weekend! 

 .

Wanserski's

May 14, 1968 NM Northwestern

 

I thought I'd featured Wanserski's at another time in this blog, but it appears I'm thinking of the book.  Despite my faulty memory, here's a fun little ad from 1968, featuring their chef logo.  Wanserski's was only too well known for its meats.  I had many a lunch where the highlight was the delicious ham salad from their deli. 

School Days

It looks like a nice day to bike to Menasha High in 1946.  Dad's home from the war, the mills are bursting with activity, and the world never looked brighter.  The dawn of the age of the Baby Boomers is upon us.  Can the Eisenhower Fifties be far behind? 

Early St. John's

This is the original St. John's Church and School at Fifth and DePere Streets, in an area then known as "Jones Grove."  The church, dedicated August 12, 1888, was built after some 75 families of Polish descent decided to sever connections with St. Mary's Church and its largely German congregation and establish a parish of their own.

At an estimated cost of $5,000, this new church occupied an area of 40 by 90 feet with the upper floor used for church services and the lower portion used as a school and residence for the Sisters of St. Francis who had come up from Milwaukee to teach the parish's children. 

This facility lasted until 1900 when the congregation erected the present church at the site. You can see a photo of that design at my original St. John's blog post:  http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2013/04/st-johns.html .
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And in honor of yesterday's Grand Re-Opening of the Tayco Street Bridge Museum, your attention is directed to this 1999 news article, featured in my blog post of February 18, 2013:
http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2013/02/tayco-street-bridge-museum.html

Extending Our Heartiest Thanks

 

May 14, 1968 NM Northwestern

 

I have fond memories of attending birthday parties here while in grade school around this time frame.  In fact, I think it was my first exposure to bowling, beyond what I saw on television.  Remember that bowling show Channel 2 used to have on Saturday afternoons?

 

But I find it a bit curious that the ad declares its location 1/2 mile west of Waverly, thereby directing customers coming from Calumet County or Appleton via Highway 10/114 or Manitowoc Road, more so than from Menasha proper.  Or was the assumption that if you lived in town, you would just know it was out there?  To me, this strategy would have made more sense if this ad had been published in the Post-Crescent which serviced those areas more than the Northwestern.

Smith Park Pavilion

With the nice weather approaching, and the excitement of another park dance reunion in the offing in June, let's revisit Smith Park and the original pavilion, as featured in the 1929 Nicolet.  

Happy weekend!

1931 Band Tournament

Eighty-three years ago, Menasha swelled with civic pride when it not only hosted the state high school band tournament but also saw its namesake high school win top honors.  We first encountered this event over two years ago in the following post which has an even better photo:

 

http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2012/05/1931-marchers.html

 

The following newspaper articles of the day explain:

  

May 13, 1931 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

May 18, 1931 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

This was only the precursor to further excitement which will be chronicled later.  Stay tuned. 

For Expert Radio Repairs....

This was part of an "Opening Day at the Appleton Foxes promotion that the Post-Crescent carried in 1958- ads with well wishes for the team to have a great season, punctuated with timely articles about the Foxes. 

But really, it is a reflection of its time.  It falls into the category of jobs no one performs anymore...would anybody even consider having a radio repaired nowadays?  And really...who would do it?  Even if radios had the cachet that today, say, a wide screen plasma TV has, chances are you'd get a replacement before anybody would crack open the back of it and get to work.  And that's likely sending it off to Korea to boot. 

163 Main Street would have been located in the block between the Hotel Menasha (177 Main) and where the third generation of the old First National Bank was built (161 Main).

The Friendliest Place in Town

May 14, 1968, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

 

I'd bet you thought May was just Mothers' Day and the start of the summer marked by Memorial Day.  Au contraire!  It's National Tavern Month (yup, since 1953, it's been a "thing"). 

 

As the National Beer Wholesalers Association's press release says, it's a "celebration of the many licensed bars and taverns that provide hundreds of thousands of jobs to hardworking men and women and enrich America's social culture."

So, to all of you longing for that place where everybody knows your name, here's to you.  

Quality

Beck Brothers' meat shop ad from 1929.  These were the sons of Nick Beck, who ran the meat market/grocery on Main Street for many, many years.

 

Badge

This badge is for sale on eBay right now.  I couldn't resist having a photo of it, if only because it;'s a bit over my budget at the "buy it now" price of $250!   The seller says it's from the late 1800's/early 1900's.  Whatever the year, it certainly must have witnessed some history in its day. 

Main Street Looking West

With what looks like an unpaved Main Street, this photo is pre-1910, the year the street was paved.  Looking west, it was likely taken from the roof of the Hotel Menasha or National Hotel.  But the National Hotel had burned down in October 1901 and the new Hotel Menasha wasn't constructed until 1905.  And because of the columns around the bank's door, which don't appear in earlier photos, I'd place this between 1905 and 1910.

Symbolism

 

This ad from the 1920 Nicolet, Menasha High's yearbook, contains a distinct oddity, by our 21st century eyes.  Can you spot it?  As in, what's that swastika doing in the middle of the page?! 

 

It may be hard to believe now, but before the Nazis corrupted it, the swastika carried a rich heritage as a tribal symbol and talisman of good luck dating back to ancient times.  The earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the time of Mesopotamia as well as paleolithic Europe. Swastikas have been used in various other ancient civilizations around the world including India, Iran, Armenia, Nepal, China, Japan, Korea and Europe. It still remains widely used in Indian religions today, specifically in Buddhism and Hinduism, primarily as a tantric symbol that invokes Lakshmi- the goddess of wealth, prosperity and auspiciousness. 

 

The word swastika came from the Sanskrit word svastika, meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular, a mark made on persons and things to denote auspiciousness, or any piece of luck or well-being. In the mid to late 19th century, the symbol became popular in the Western world with good luck and it became a lucky charm, of sorts. 

 

Google the word and you'll be regaled with thousands of photos of ordinary life- athletic uniforms, airplanes, and greeting cards, festooned with the design, all pre-1930s.   Knowing what we know now, it all looks pretty weird and sometimes shocking to see, for example, a photo of a basketball team wearing giant swastikas on their jerseys, or greeting cards festooned with the symbol, but it was an innocent thing back then.   See the examples below:

 

 

This 1907 postcard, copyright 1907 by E. Phillips, a U.S. card publisher, speaks for the universally high regard in which the swastika was held as a good luck token before use by the Nazis corrupted its meaning.

 

The text on the back of the card reads:

GOOD LUCK EMBLEM "The Swastika" is the oldest cross and emblem in the world. It forms a combination of four "L's" standing for Luck, Light, Love and Life. It has been found in ancient Rome, excavations in Grecian cities, on Buddhist idols, on Chinese coins dated 315 B.C., and our own Southwest Indians use it as an amulet.

This good luck piece from the 1933 Chicago World's Fair is another example. 

As with language (and we all know how words get corrupted over time) so it was with this symbol. 

First Annual

Obviously a bit worse for the wear, but here's the cover of the first yearbook for Menasha High School in 1916.  It cost a whole 15 cents.  What a glorious ediface the old school must have been. 

Look Us Over

 

Another ad, courtesy of the Civic Association, touting the advantages of Menasha as a great place to live in 1919 

Kitchen Companion

Found, in of all places, the 1924 edition of The Nicolet, Menasha High School's yearbook, the text of this ad reads like every late night TV pitch for the latest Ronco gadget.  I guess some things never change. 

Menasha Utilities

Remember when you could get matchbooks like this at almost any business you walked into?  Of course, everybody (it seemed) smoked back then.  This matchbook is from the good folks at Menasha Utilities with their phone numbers inside to use to report water or electrical problems, I assume.  I date this from the time when their business offices were on the corner of Main and Milwaukee Streets and you could walk in and pay the bill, just like visiting a bank teller.