This "real photo" postcard from August,1909 features a young man seated in a boat outside Smith Park, then known as Menasha Park, or City Park. The St. Mary's steeple is a dead give away. Notice the floating logs on their way, presumably, to the Wooden Ware for processing. The boat's name seems to be "Dixie," based on this postcard's message and a second postcard I will save for another time. That one features two girls (his sisters?) sitting in the same boat in the same location and the addressee is the same as well. They mention "Dixie" too.
What was the source of those logs? Floated from local lake edge timber? From elsewhere floated past Oshkosh?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThey came largely from outside sources. From Menasha Corporation: An Odyssey of Five Generations (1999):
ReplyDelete“As the supply of local wood was depleted, Elisha cast an ever-wider net. By the 1860’s, he was purchasing timber from the Wolf River basin about 25 miles west of Menasha. To bring this timber to the factory, huge rafts of logs were towed down the Wolf River and across a series of interconnecting lakes: Poygan, Butte des Morts, and Winnebago. Even into the early years of the 20th century, the towing of log rafts to the factory was a source of excitement in the community (not unlike a circus coming to town) and attracted many onlookers, particularly children.”
Also, see the following link for a really in-depth explanation of log rafts:
http://www.mcmillanlibrary.org/rafting-taylor
Thanx David. All the way down the Wolf, eh? That makes sense. Access to a vast source of timber.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work
Per the Neenah Historical Society's Flickr page:
ReplyDeleteArt Hittle in a boat in Menasha in 1909. The logs in the river ran from Smith Park all the way to Jefferson Park.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/neenahhistory/5547586624/in/photolist-9sdQef-dtyRTV-dtEofE-8Zbmuv-8ZepgJ-dtyRtT-7v7BDa-7vbCeQ-bm7V6r-dtyXYK-dtyXQ2-dtEv15-dtyXJz-dtyXFt-dtyXCc-dtyXAv-dtEpXG-dtySFH-dtySEz-dtySDp-dtEpTq-dtySzc-dtySxX-dtEpNj-dtEpL1-dtEpdN-dtEoMw-dtEoLm-dtyRvi-dtEoFw-dtEozw-dtEoyw-dtyRj2-dtyRbZ-7v7sa6-dtEpRY-dtEpMh-7v7NXR-7vbCg7-7v7NU2-7v7MaP-7v7M8i-7vbiVW-7H1RHW-7v7NTk-8xBMoJ-7vbCkb-7v7Mct-7vbsvQ-7vbAB3
Don Nussbaum
"Steamboats on the Fox River" by D.C. Mitchell also has this picture. The caption reads:
ReplyDeleteMenasha Wooden Ware Company's log master superintends operations in his gasoline launch.
DN