You're Invited

December 31, 1964 N-M Northwestern

Listening (or dancing to) WNAM's "music of yesteryear" was but one option in 1964 to help welcome in the New Year. (And what an eclectic array of sponsors...from mufflers and pizza to jewelry and hamburgers.)

Little Cosey

This 1910 photograph of the "Little Cosey" looks to have been taken right before Main Street was paved that same year.  Run by Eugene R. Robbins and situated at 121 Main Street, the "sample room," as it was termed in the 1910 city directory, was located next door to the Eagles Club and across the street from the old Fire Department/City Hall.  In later years, the address shows this location as the Cozy Tavern and the Cozy Bar.

Stately

Shown in its heyday is the First National Bank, as featured in the architecture journal, The American Architect, in 1921. As reported in the Appleton Post-Crescent last week, these four columns have been put aside for future use.  This site, as well as the site of the older bank next to it and the former Hotel Menasha, will be used for a planned six story, 100,000 square foot office tower.

Merry Christmas!

Somewhere around 1960/61

Yours truly sitting with the jolly old elf.   I will be taking the next week off to enjoy the holiday with family but I plan to return to the blog on the 29th to help welcome in the new year.  Until then, I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. 

DX Train

November 6, 1964 N-M Northwestern

 

What lucky kid wouldn't have welcomed this under their Christmas tree?  The Menasha DX station was a half block from my house and somehow this escaped my attention.  Seeing as it was 1964, I'm sure my attention was diverted by GI Joe as that was the first year of his existence; I was a fervent fan.

So Long, Fuzzy

October 10, 1969 Milwaukee Sentinel

With the recent loss of Fuzzy Thurston, the Left Guard naturally came to mind. I recently found this article via the Milwaukee Sentinel which portrayed how prevalent it was for NFL players and other professional athletes going into the restaurant business. We've covered the Left Guard and Fuzzy's involvement in Menasha in former blog posts as evidenced here:  http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2012/04/left-guard.html  and http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2013/02/sad-days-for-left-guard.html . 

Godspeed, Fuzzy.  

Power Plants

It's interesting how so many of these postcards from the early 20th century refer to the mills along the Fox as "power plants."  I'm not sure if that is just postcard industry shorthand for anything with a smokestack or if the authors of the cards were too lazy or too busy to care.  That's George Whiting Paper in the left foreground. 

Mill Street

The Mill Street entrance to the old Hotel Menasha looks rather busy on this day in 1910.  New-fangled automobiles rule the day with nary a horse in sight.  This "real photo" postcard is unusual in that most postcards of the Hotel Menasha of that era take their view from a Main Street vantage point.

Gift-Spotter

December 12, 1958 Appleton Post-Crescent

 

With Christmas, 1958 quickly approaching, the Post-Crescent was only too happy to offer their daily gift suggestions in conjunction with local merchants.  This day's edition offered slacks from Grove Clothing, Texaco products from Verbrick's Service, and a furnace from Menasha Sheet Metal.  Of special interest are the TV lamps of Music Box Associates at the Brin Building.  And just in case you've forgotten, during that first decade of mass television adoption, there was that common belief that watching TV in low light could damage one's eyesight. So the TV lamp was invented to add a little light to the room and dispel people’s fears. The one atop our Zenith was also a planter. 

MHS Original

The original Menasha High School, constructed in 1871, demolished in 1896. 

courtesy Neenah History via Flickr, common usage license

Cheer Up Time

Back in those early days of television when every TV station across the country had a live kiddie show, the then-CBS affiliate, WBAY, Channel 2 from Green Bay presented Cheer Up Time, a daily 60 minute cartoon show presided by none other than Colonel Caboose.  It came on right before Captain Kangaroo and I was an avid watcher.  This 1958 ad most likely graced newspapers and TV Guides across the Fox Valley.  We first encountered Colonel Caboose on this blog back in 2012:
http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2012/08/fizz-nik-party-with-colonel-caboose.html

Stoic Ladies

Since colonial times and the beginnings of the paper industry in New England in the late 18th century, women had always been a part of the work force, cutting and sorting rags or in "parting packs," i.e., separating the sheets between the different processes of pressing.   So it was natural that when paper became a prime industry in northeast Wisconsin that these same roles were followed.  These unnamed women, provided the very foundations of the mill, engaging in such dusty, disagreeable work for little pay. 

Steckling's DX Service

Calendars like these were once sent out or given to regular customers as a way to engender goodwill and pass along Christmas wishes.  Once located at 746 Racine Street, Mr. Steckling's filling station property was long ago taken over by Menasha High School as it grew and expanded its athletic facilities to the area north of the school. 

Famous for Home Smoked Hams and Sausages

I ran across this photo in my files recently.  I recall taking this picture on a trip home to Menasha, years after Wanserski's had closed.  Being in a nostalgic mood, and with the holidays coming and the focus on food and all, I thought I'd feature their famous sign that graced the side of their building for all those years. (Not to mention all the interest generated from the blog post about Wanserski's some weeks ago.)

Rustic Bridge

This colorized picture postcard sent in February 1908 features a "rustic bridge" in Menasha.  My bet is that it's in what we now know as Smith Park, perhaps to the present Isle of Valor.  But I could be wrong.  Interesting combination of black and white and color. 

Winter Arrangement

 

A couple of old ads from the Oshkosh True Democrat in 1849 when Menasha hardly existed and Neenah was still known as Winnebago Rapids.  Grand Chute we know as a village west of present day Appleton. 

Plenty Room in Menasha

June 7, 1855 Menasha Advocate

 

The editor here portends the future of industry and water power for our fair town.  The Mr. Temple referenced here built a chair factory which later, through acquisitions and sales, became part of the Menasha Wooden Ware

Fishing Shanties

A 1959 wire service photo showing fishing shanties along Little Lake Butte des Morts.  I like the captioned comments about it being too cold.