Labor Day Nightlife

Back in a time when 18 year olds had beer bars to go to, here's a sampling of the Fox Valley's nightlife in late summer 1971. 

I'll be back on Tuesday, but until then, have a very happy and safe Labor Day weekend!

The Price of Love

Here's a crazy footnote to women's rights in the early 20th century.  Under the Expatriation Act of March 2, 1907, all women acquired their husband's nationality upon any marriage occurring after that date. This meant that U.S.-born citizen women (like my grandmother who'd been born in Butternut, Wisconsin in 1897) would now lose their citizenship by marriage to any alien...which is exactly what happened when she married my immigrant grandfather in 1916.  My American born Grandmother suddenly became an Italian in the eyes of the law!  This law was eventually changed in 1922 and henceforth, any American woman who married an alien after this date retained her US citizenship.  (My research seems to indicate that women being given the right to vote in 1920 had a lot to do with that; why disenfranchise a new group of voters?)  But it was too late for Grandma and she had to file the necessary papers to become an American citizen. 

This was all unknown to me as I grew up and I only learned this fact within the last few years as I researched my family tree and unearthed documents like the one below.  I have no earthly idea why she waited another 24 years to become a citizen, unless the rumblings of war in Europe helped change her mind.  But as it was that my Italian-born grandfather was also not naturalized until even later, in April of 1944, I am totally at a loss to explain any of this.

September 25, 1940 Oshkosh Northwestern

Three Amigos

A member of the Menasha High class of 1913. the fellow in the center, Harold Landgraf, enjoyed a healthy career in local banking.  He went on to become head teller and cashier at the First National Bank of Menasha and by 1940, was listed on that year's census as assistant examiner for the FDIC.  His father was Valentine Landgraf, notable for the Landgraf Hotel we've spoken about on this blog.

The following link shows him as manager of the local baseball team in the mid 1920s: http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2012/05/batter-up.html

photo courtesy, Menasha Public Library

House Fire

I found this clipping recently in my Mom's things and I'm guessing it dates to about November of 1949, based on the ages of my siblings. The fire happened long before I was born in 1956, but it was always a piece of family lore that would be resurrected time and again, so much so that I could recite chapter and verse on this story without having been involved. 

If my memory serves me correctly, the fire was always told to have happened in the dead of winter, which to me would have been January or February.  Guess things get embellished after time.  Even though it would be a lifetime before I ever encountered this news clipping to help set the record straight, I always believed that.  Funny how it was never brought out to illustrate things when the story came up.  Needless to say I'm grateful for my Dad's nite-owl activities or somebody else might be doing this blog. 

Schrage Brothers

 

Appleton Post-Crescent, August 23, 1937 

This human interest story from 1937 caught my eye.  All four brothers were born even before Menasha incorporated as a city in 1874.  Oh, the history these four experienced from Menasha's earliest days as a village!   I can only imagine the stories they could have told us. 

Of course, they were not the only ones- many other people had lives over such a busy time period, people who had experienced the same technological advances from horse and buggy days to the most modern transportation available, to include flight. Quite often, you find similar stories, about a World War I veteran still living for instance, or a Civil War widow still collecting a pension.  But thinking about these four from the Menasha historical perspective, it boggles my mind to consider all they had seen in our town. 

Whether the Schlage brothers met again in 10 years is unknown, but if they did, they would have had even more history under their belts as it would have been post-World War II. From blacksmith shops to the atomic bomb.  What a ride. 

Pharmacist Bottle

People often ask me where I find my ideas for this blog.  Sometimes it's as simple as looking at eBay and seeing what's up for sale.  Here's an example of a city artifact; it illustrates when pharmacies had their own custom made bottles with identifying information embossed right on the glass.  This bottle date from the 1890's. 

We've met John Rosch before.  He was a one time mayor of the city, member of the Board of Education, and druggist who brought the first soda fountain to the city.  His boxy Italianate house still stands on Milwaukee Street.  Please see the link below: 

http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2014/06/george-stein-house.html

Homemade Sausage

 
Two unidentified men with a truck stand in front of Eskofski Meats and Groceries. The store was located at 428 Sixth Street. In the 1920's it was sold and became Sylwanowicz Meats and then in the 1940's it was sold again and became Wanserski's.

photo courtesy, Menasha Public Library

Water Works

Municipal water service was seriously discussed in Menasha in 1904, when inhabitants of Doty Island wanted a connection with Neenah’s water supply. Mainland Menashans did not like that idea as they assumed a connection with Neenah’s water, via a water main down Nicolet Boulevard, would only postpone the mainlander’s chances for a water connection. Construction of a water plantin Menasha was put to a referendum in April of that year and it was voted down. After a few months of negotiations, Neenah agreed to provide water to Menasha (including the mainland); however, the City of Menasha called for a special election to reconsider the construction of their own water works. The system was proposed to be funded through $55,000 in taxes and $75,000 in bonds. The election forecast did not appear to be in favor of the works; however, just days before the vote, the Levandoski home in the 4th Ward burned to the ground because no water could reach it. This unfortunate happenstance for the Levandoski family resulted in a positive vote for the water works.

In July 1904, the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, reported that George Cadogan Morgan of Morgan Engineering in Chicago had been hired to draw the plans and writing the specifications for the new plant, which was to be powered by a diesel-fueled electric generator as opposed to a steam boiler. Morgan had already built plants in New London, De Pere and Watertown and another was, at that time, under construction in Sheboygan. Contracts were let in February 1905 and 11 miles of water mains were laid and nearly 90 fire hydrants were installed; the water was turned on in November.

 

Aside from the plant itself, the system included an engine house, a home for the engineer and a 135 foot-tall stand pipe to store water and generate pressure. The building was added on to by no later than 1913 and also functioned as the electric lighting plant for the city  Construction of a two story, water purification plant began in 1927 and was completed the following year and an additional wing was constructed between 1947 and 1948. Finally, the eastern end of the facility appears to have undergone more recent alterations. Indeed, in 1978, a collector system, piping and a decanter tank were added; a chlorine room was also constructed. Ten years later, a new reservoir and pump station were built and a $12.8 million upgrade to the filtration system was completed in 2008. 

Photos and info courtesy, HISTORICAL & ARCHITECTURAL RESOURCES SURVEY, City of Menasha, Winnebago County, 31 August 2009

Bathing Beach

The above "real photo" postcard dates from about one hundred years ago.  While Waverly is billed as a "bathing beach," as so often occurs in beach photos of this era, there is very little bathing and more just lounging or milling around in street clothes.  Of course, this being Wisconsin, who knows the type of weather occurring when this shot was taken!  Still, it provides a view of a time when amusements and social mores were modest in more ways than one.

Staple and Fancy Groceries

John J. Marshall was a grocer in downtown Menasha in the 19th century.  The above, is scrip he issued for redemption in his store.  It is dated 1869.  This was a time when paper money was even issued by local banks.  The three dollar denomination was popular in that time as the US Government didn't issue anything in this amount and it was easy to distinguish from legal currency.  Below is an 1889 biographical sktech of Mr. Marshall.

Best Accommodations for the Travelling Public

 

September 4, 1881 Daily Twin City News

We first talked of Landgraf's hotel in this blog in June of 2012 http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2012/06/landgrafs-hotel.html The hotel was built in 1871 at the intersection of Tayco and Main Streets where, later, the Brin Theater would occupy this space. In its prime, the hotel had 30 rooms, was gas lighted and steam heated. And, as this advertisement shows, the hotel ran free buses to meet all trains and also offered a billiards room and a grocery. Valentine Landgraf served several terms as a member of the city council, having been elected to the office of alderman from the Second Ward and he was also a charter member of the Germania society.

We Are the Champions

This hangs on the wall of the reference section of the Menasha Public Library, framed and under glass, which helps to explain the bad reproduction here (you can see part of my face in the photo portion if you look closely enough.)   No great back story, no anecdotal stuff.  Just a proclamation that a team from Menasha became the champions of the Fox River Valley in 1904-05. 

C.O.F. refers to the Catholic Order of Foresters, a nationwide fraternal organization started in Illinois in the 1880's and spread nationwide as a means to promote friendship among its members.  It also provided them with death benefits and financial security through life insurance. In the days before athletics were an expected part of school life, such fraternal clubs like this and the YMCA and other civic athletic clubs provided an athletic outlet for many. 

Dollar Days

During a Dollar Days promotion in 1944, excited shoppers crowd around the Tuchscherer's window to see what values are to be found.  Perhaps the economic conditions of the war- price controls, rationing, etc.- promoted this much enthusiasm for a shoe sale in Menasha? 

Looking little like neighboring buildings in the downtown, this "art moderne" style structure replaced the one burned in the disastrous fire of 1940.  It was a late type of the Art Deco design style which emerged during the 1930s and which emphasized curving forms and long horizontal lines. Sharp angles were replaced with simple, aerodynamic curves.

photo courtesy, Menasha Public Library

Business Directory

This 1873 "directory" of businesses in Menasha predates the introduction of paper mills to the community.  At this time, flour production and wood working products were the major by-products of the use of our water power.  Interesting to find names and descriptions of the firms, but few addresses, and vague ones at that.  But of course, in this era, one could mail a letter to the Menasha Post office and include the notation "c/o John Marx," for example, and have a reasonable expectation that the letter would make its way to that individual. This directory was printed on the same Winnebago County map that featured that nice illustration of the National Hotel posted last week.

Security Bank

Part of the fun of doing this blog is the detective work involved in tracking down dates and facts about the materials I showcase here.  And it's the little things inside these photos that make dating them either a breeze or an exercise in frustration.  Until I noticed that the Bank of Menasha was suddenly being billed as "Security Bank," I thought this was just another late 1970's picture of the square.  But thanks to the internet, I've determined that this photo dates between 1983 and 1985. See below:

1983-03-21	BANK OF MENASHA was renamed to SECURITY BANK.
1985-12-06	SECURITY BANK was renamed to FIRST WISCONSIN BANK OF MENASHA.
1988-09-12	FIRST WISCONSIN BANK OF MENASHA was renamed to FIRST WISCONSIN BANK OF APPLETON and moved to 212 NORTH DURKEE STREET APPLETON, WI.
1992-09-14	FIRST WISCONSIN BANK OF APPLETON was renamed to FIRSTAR BANK APPLETON.

Data courtesy of the Federal Reserve System's National Information Center, a central repository of data about banks and other institutions.

Koch Building

Once upon a time, this area of Tayco Street was a booming business district that threatened to rival the downtown Main Street area. In the 19th century, there was a wagon bridge that crossed Little Lake Butte des Morts and entered Menasha just down Water Street.   For a quarter-century it allowed farmers easier access to the flour mills in the Twin Cities.  Area merchants welcomed selling them supplies for the return trip back to their farms. Except for a short time about 1856, when the bridge was damaged by a steamboat enroute upstream, the bridge functioned well until the mid 1870s, when the wood began to deteriorate and it was abandoned.  This building was constructed with faith that that bridge was to be rebuilt, but it never was.  As a result, trade in the Tayco Street area languished until the early 20th century when further efforts were made to improve the area, to include construction of the Brin Building in the late 1920s.

Built by Carl Koch in 1882, this building held his general store in the lower left half of the building. This 1982 photo is courtesy of the Menasha Public Library.

Coming Soon

April 19, 1928 Appleton Post-Crescent

By 1928 the automobile was definitely commonplace and had crossed over from being a rich man's toy to being firmly entrenched in the American transportation scene.  Full service was now available downtown at Gibson's. 

National Hotel

from an 1873 map of Winnebago County

 

What with all the attention surrounding the demise of the Hotel Menasha, it was only fitting that I should come across this beautiful rendering of the National Hotel which sat upon that same ground until it burned down. As we've detailed here before, the National Hotel was built in 1869 by Reuben M. Scott and was run by John Roberts, who later established Roberts Resort on Doty Island. The hotel had 42 steam-heated rooms that let for $2.00 per day. As the center for social life within the city for its time, it was sorely missed after the fire in 1901. The Hotel Menasha was built on the site four years later. 

Schlegel Grocery

 

Schlegel Grocery, listed on back of photo as "2nd from end on the square."   Standing in the doorway is clerk, Engelbert "Bert" Bach.

from 1916 Menasha High School annual, The Nicolet

 

 

Photograph courtesy of the Menasha Public Library

Wheeler Bus Line

 June 1898 Souvenir Edition, Menasha Press

 

The Wheeler Transfer Line and Livery was originally at 328 Tayco Street, between Main and Chute Streets. Founded in 1894, the company eventually moved to Chute Street, just west of what became Menasha Furniture.

 

November 1, 1907, Cycle & Automobile Trade Journal

 

photo courtesy, Menasha Public Library

N-M Grocers

 

 

September 7, 1939 Appleton Post-Crescent 

 

With the exciting news of a new grocer coming in to the old Super Valu facility at Second and Milwaukee, let us hearken back to a time when neighborhood grocers and markets proliferated around Menasha, and needless to say, almost any town.  This ad from 1939 tells the tale.  How many do you remember from your childhood?