The Menasha Wooden Ware fire of July 17,1964 brought an era to a close. A railroad employee, using an acetylene torch to repair a track on a wooden trestle next to the box plant, set fire to the trestle. Although the fire was quickly controlled, burning embers were still carried by a swift breeze and engulfed the building, destroying it and three boxcars. Two weeks after the fire, the company’s board of directors announced that a new 185,000 square foot corrugated box plant would be constructed in an industrial park three miles south of Neenah. New corporate offices, to be adjacent to the new plant, were planned as well and the office staff left Menasha the next year.
As a six year old, I remember lots of sirens that day, and ashes floating down around us. We were playning at Hart park on 7th street.
ReplyDeleteI went to school with a guy who lived near the Banta building across the Fox River from the Wooden Ware plant. He told me that his back yard was showered with burning embers and pieces of paper/cardboard boxes. Even as a kid in Fourth Grade, he understood that had one of those embers fallen on the roof of the house or other strategic location, his house might be ignited. He was home alone at the time, so it was a very scary time for him.
ReplyDeleteI was 17 when this fire occurred. I watched it from the Racine Street bridge. As I recall, both Banta and Gilbert Paper Company had employees stationed on the roofs watching for embers. I was hired by the downtown Banta in ‘65 as a General Floor. Worker. I eventually transferred to the Banta Midway plant. I enjoyed working at each Banta facility. Each day was different and I worked with a great group of people.
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