Halloween 1895

November 1, 1895 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

So, Halloween passed "rather quietly" in the Twin Cities, according to the Northwestern, shown here to be masters of the understatement.  And, oh...by the way... the railroad's roundhouse was burned down.  Say what?!  Totally destroyed, to include the engine inside?! 

If this was a "rather quiet" night in the Twin Cities, I wonder what passed for "excitement" on the other nights? 

Here's to a quiet night in your neck of the woods.  Happy Halloween! 

St. Mary's Church Fire

 

February 8, 1883 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

The above news item details the church fire for the first St. Mary's Church.  It was the demise of this church that led to building the structure we all know today. 

 

We've talked before about this, to include this blog post from 2013 which featured a photo of the original church and school:

http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2013/01/first-st-marys-church.html

 

But once again, this was one of those "found" items, while looking for something else.  (I love when that happens!)  And not to keep begrudging the journalism of the day, but I find it curious how the article just refers to it as the "German Catholic Church," not even by name. 

Pinder Cabinet Portraits

 

 

 

Photographs from the studio of W. H. Pinder, circa 1880s. 

 

In the 19th century, photographers tended to be an itinerant lot, moving from town to town to maintain business.  W. H. Pinder was a photographer in Menasha for a time, but a news article from the December 23, 1890 Oshkosh Northwestern revealed that he had since moved from Menasha to Freeport, Illinois.  The presumption is that his time in Menasha had passed. 

 

The portrait above is of the Peter Jensen family.  The lone woman at the top of the blog post is unknown. 

 

Photography in the 19th century was constantly evolving- from glass plates to tintypes to ever larger images on photographic paper.  The format of the above photographs was called a "cabinet card."  This was a larger, more refined version of an earlier format called the "carte de visite" or, CDV, which had replaced the tintype.  By the early 1880s it had nearly replaced all CDVs, and was the dominant portrait format until the end of the century.

Becher Electric

 

October 25, 1967 Appleton Post-Crescent

 

Despite what we'd view today as political incorrectness, I'll bet this promotion was, nevertheless, a big success.  And while I'm not sure what discounted pumpkin pies were doing at an appliance store (maybe it was a part of the whole Fall theme), that 40 pound box of detergent had to be a nice bonus. 

Industrial Atmosphere

This 1924 photo of the recently completed Washington Street bridge seems to highlight the city's pollution problem, courtesy of the many mills and factories lining the Fox River.  We touched upon this back in 2013 when we reviewed the bridge's dedication in 1920.   At the time, there was a news item about a petition being presented to the common council protesting the atmospheric conditions.  Apparently, four years later, little had been done. 

http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2013/01/washington-street-bridge-dedication.html

Menasha Girls Are....

 

August 21, 1886 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

Partisan comments from a local newspaper; very nice.  But wait!  What was that last part?!  Readers, take caution.   While I'm not exactly sure what that meant 128 years ago, I'm hoping the author meant "tomboys."  Today, that could mean something else entirely!   Ah, the evolution of language. 

Happy weekend! 

Curriculum

 

I found this page in the 1923 version of The Nicolet, Menasha High's yearbook.  I was taken by the phrase, "civic biology," which aroused my curiosity. 

 

As it turns out, "civic biology" was the shorthand term for a curriculum based on A Civic Biology: Presented in Problems, a biology textbook written by George William Hunter, published in 1914. From what I've read, it was a nationally known book, used in school districts all over the country in the early 20th century. 

It is the book which Tennessee required high school teachers to use and is best known for its section about evolution that was ruled by a local court to be in violation of the state Butler Act.  The Butler Act was a Tennessee law which prohibited public school teachers from denying the Biblical account of man's origin. It was for teaching from this textbook that John T. Scopes was brought to trial in Dayton, Tennessee in the famous Scopes "Monkey" Trial pitting William Jennings Bryan against Clarence Darrow.

If things had been different and Menashans had been a bit more intolerant, who knows?  We might have been thrust into the national spotlight instead of the small town of Dayton, Tennessee.

1st National

With the news that the old First National Bank is to come down, I thought this photo was timely.  Most of us think of the four columned bank when we picture the First National.  But this building preceded it in 1887 and has resided next to the more familiar columned version ever since its 1916 debut. 

Notice the second floor office of J.M. Pleasants, attorney.  He was the brother of yesterday's subject, Ellen Lee Pleasants Banta. 

 June 30, 1887 Oshkosh Northwestern

Ellen Banta

Ellen Lee Pleasants, born March 7, 1866 in Virginia, was affectionately known as "Nellie," and was the wife of George Banta, insurance agent, and (later) publisher.  Based in Madison, George frequently travelled to Menasha on business.  But upon meeting Nellie, he moved permanently to our city and they married in June of 1886. 

It was not until 1901 that Mr. Banta decided to make a business of his printing hobby. In that year the George Banta Printing Company was incorporated, with a capital of $4,000.  But George, who suffered from ill health, essentially had to relinquish control of his firm from 1904 to 1911 to tend to his health in Arizona and other environs upon the advice of his doctor. Meanwhile, Nellie remained in Menasha and ran the day-to-day operations.  Her deep involvement in the firm in its early years was, in no small measure, a significant factor in carrying the business through the lean years and contributed to its evolution into a multimillion dollar corporation.

Upon George Banta's death in 1935, Nellie assumed the presidency until her own death in 1951.

(A side note, it was Ellen's older sister, Luci Lee who was convinced Elisha D. Smith to form a public library in Menasha and became its first librarian.) 

Railroad Bridge

October 19, 1861 Menasha Weekly Manufacturer

 

In February 1861, the Chicago & North Western Railroad was extended from Oshkosh to Appleton.  Its original path was along the west shore of Little Lake Butte des Morts, bypassing Neenah and Menasha.  Eventually, the villages of Neenah and Menasha were allowed to pay for the right of way, grading, ties, and bridges to induce the railroad to reroute the line across Doty Island.  That would then necessitate building a railroad bridge across Little Lake Butte des Morts for the railroad to continue its journey northward.

 

That first railroad bridge across Little Lake Butte des Morts had 115 supports spaced about 10 feet apart.  Menasha provided $12,000 in municipal bonds for the project.  This wooden bridge served unitl 1909 when the railroad announced its plans to double track the main line from Fond du Lac to Green Bay which meant the bridges would then have to be rebuilt using steel and concrete.   

 

Herziger Farm

This photograph shows the Louis Herziger truck farm around 1911; Louis had purchased the farm just four years before. The farm was on the south side of Nicolet Boulevard across the street from Smith Park in Menasha.  The farm was parceled into 38 lots for sale in 1928.

 

Photograph courtesy of the Neenah Public Library

August 20, 1928 Appleton Post-Crescent

Armory Football

As an extension of yesterday's post about the armory, I came across this photo of the Company I football team of 1907.  The funny looking things hanging around their necks are leather nose guards.  Before face masks became prominent in the 1950s, it was the only protection against a bloody (or broken) nose.  Compare this to the blog post of 9/22 about Menasha regaining football in the early 1920's: 

http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2014/09/footballs-back-in-town.html

Armory Detail

One might argue that this edifice does not deserve mention in a blog about all things Menasha, but this building, just across the border in Neenah at Nicolet Boulevard was well known to residents of both towns.  Built by S. A. Cook, a former soldier, mayor, and assemblyman, in 1906 to house Company I of the Wisconsin National Guard, the building saw its demise in 1988 and has since been replaced by a warehouse. 

See the following link to learn more about Mr. Cook who led a rather remarkable life:
http://www.outagamieandbeyond.com/s-a-cook/

Ace Tavern

Well on its way to being extinct, for the uninitiated, this is an ashtray- a once-common item on every bar and restaurant table.  Now it is merely a collectible as are the matchbooks that once advertised these very same bars. 

No Mail Today

October 7, 1971 NM Daily Northwestern

 

The new Columbus Day holiday, having just been approved in 1971, negated mail delivery to the Fox Cities for that day and everywhere else for that matter.  Beyond the Federal level, however, it is not the most popular holiday and there is little consensus on Columbus Day and who gets off and who works.

As of 2013, 23 states (plus the District of Columbia) give their workers the day off as a paid holiday—meaning that state employees in the majority of the land go to work as usual. There’s no real standard for whether schools should be open or closed on Columbus Day either. In parts of the country where schools are closed, many parents face the frustration of scrambling to arrange childcare because they’re expected to work.

All of this is a pretty good indication that we as a nation are not sure how we’re supposed to feel about the day—or, for that matter, about Christopher Columbus and his historic “discovery” in general. Critics say that because Native Americans were here long before Columbus sailed to the Americas, he didn’t really “discover” anything in 1492.  What’s more, Columbus’ arrival in the Americas is widely blamed for launching a centuries-long era of exploitation and genocide. 

Columbus Day celebrations are controversial because the settlement of Europeans in the Americas led to the deaths of a very large proportion of the native people. It has been argued that this was a direct result of Columbus' actions. It is clear that the arrival of the European settlers led to the demise of a large proportion of the history and culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It has also been argued that Columbus should not be honored for discovering North America, as he only went as far as some islands in the Caribbean and never got as far as mainland America.

But despite your own feelings about the holiday, some of us will have an extra day off and others won't. And still, no mail today. 

Ground Zero

 

Let's end the week with another in a series of photos of my favorite intersection- Main and Mill Streets in the heart of downtown.  This dates to approximately 1982. 

photo courtesy Menasha public Library

A Series of Firsts

 

 

September 18, 1892 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

All too often, the route to one thing leads to riches in another; I found this article while looking up something else.  Some of this has been covered before in this blog, but it's nice to see it all in one concise place.   The Mr. Harney referenced in the first paragraph has been mentioned numerous times here before.  Richard Harney authored the 1880 History of Winnebago County and included many of these facts in those pages, 

Consolidation Defeated

 October 10, 1973 Appleton Post-Crescent

 

Last week's blog post about the joint city hall presaged the effort, once more, to try to consolidate the Twin Cities, this time in 1973.  In addition to the consolidation vote, there was a referendum to develop Menasha's Main Street by a mall developer into something other than, what was termed in another article, "tavern-town."  In 1973, this referendum passed.  However, with the passage of time, the original developer dropped out, the effort lost steam and the radical redevelopment foreseen for the downtown area never did take hold.

Clovis Farm

Clovis Farm, circa 1912, stands on land later donated to the city by Alva Grove in memory of his mother, Melissa Clovis.  This land ultimately became the site of Clovis Grove Elementary School in 1958 and Clovis Grove Park in 1963.

photo courtesy Neenah Public Library

"...Affording Unequaled Service..."

 

April 1, 1891 Oshkosh Northwestern

The original Wisconsin Central Railroad Company was established by an act of the Wisconsin State Legislature and incorporated in February 1871. It built track throughout Wisconsin, connecting to neighboring states, before being leased to the Northern Pacific Railway between 1889–1893.  It became the Wisconsin Central Railway Company in 1897, and back to Wisconsin Central Railroad Company in 1954. The railroad was merged into the Soo Line Railroad in 1961.

 

The railroad was organized in Menasha at the National Hotel in 1871.  This plaque was dedicated in 1955 by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and mounted to the Hotel Menasha.  One hopes the plaque will somehow remain, regardless of what is built on the former site.

map source : 1898revenues.blogspot.com

 

Joint City Hall?

 

September 24, 1963 Appleton Post-Crescent

 

In the once neverending quest to merge the Twin Cities, this article discusses the need for a joint City Hall, if indeed, such efforts would ever come to fruition.  Studies went on for years and of course, we know the merger never happened, having been soundly defeated in October of 1973 by an overwhelming 4 to 1 margin.  More on that next week.

Standing on Racine

We first met young Mr. Loescher back in January.  See this link:

http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2014/01/clarence-loescher.html

Here, in an alternate photograph, Clarence, having now dismounted, now stands in front of his father's hardware store on the Racine Street side.  The exposure problems give his horse an otherworldly appearance.  This photo dates from, roughly, 1905/1906 or thereabouts.

photo courtesy, Menasha Public Library

Fritse Park Mounds

 photo from the Twin City News-Record, purported to be circa 1960

courtesy, A Brief Histiory of the Town of Menasha

 

The photo above and the accompanying article raise doubts in my mind regarding these Indian mounds.  Current references about Fritse Park state that there was a "reconstruction" effort to replicate the mound or mounds that were lost in 1863 when the railroad bridge was built, to include specific markers about this reconstruction effort.  See the link below:

 

http://wisconsinhistoricalmarkers.blogspot.com/2014/07/fritse-park-indian-mound-reconstruction.html

 

However, this 1960-ish photo above states that the mounds were always there and were not destroyed. Not to mention that there were 20 to 25 of them?!  Other current literature I've reviewed does not even mention the mounds shown in this photo.  What happened?  And what is meant by "Centennial Discovery" in the photo caption? The centennial of the bridge being built in 1863? The centennial of the Village of Menasha being founded in 1856?    That article about the founding of Fritse Park doesn't mention 20 to 25 mounds either. 

 

I appeal to you, dear readers, what IS the right answer?  Do you know what the real story is here?