Fast Nearing Completion

February 3, 1900 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

As detailed in this blog before (http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2013/04/st-johns.html), St. John's was formed in February of 1888 after 75 families broke away from St. Mary's to form their own congregation.  Why did this happen?  The Polish immigrants had been a part of Wisconsin rural life since 1860. However, because of the labor supply needs, especially due to the Menasha Woodenware and John Strange Paper Company, a sizeable migration of Polish immigrants from Milwaukee and Stevens Point moved into Menasha proper in the early 1880's. Upon their arrival in Menasha, the new settlers mostly joined St. Mary's parish.  However, membership in this church did not last for long as feelings of alienation and not belonging set in.  Since St. Mary's was predominantly German, sermons were in that language, church publications were in German, and church holidays were observed following German customs.  It wasn't a good fit for these immigrants and they knew it. 

 

(Reading the article above, I was curious about a few things.  Despite the many celebrants of the consecration of this church, there wasn't mention of any Menasha St. Mary's priests assisting.  Even though it had been over 12 years since the break, one wonders if there were still some bad feelings.  And even though the Polish founded their own parish to feel more inclusive, the bishop still made sure to do a sermon in German at this festive occasion.  I'm sure there was no choice in the matter...it's the bishop.  But I still wonder if there was any resentment over that.)

Half a Boulevard

August 26, 1939 Appleton Post-Crescent

August 23, 1939 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

As the articles say, this had been brewing for most of the 1930s- city council meetings decrying the parking problems on Nicolet Boulevard and Neenah's perceived refusal to help do anything about it.  In time, Menasha just went ahead and attacked the problem, primarily around St. Patrick's and the Walters Brewery, by ridding themselves of their half of the grassy "island" in the middle of the boulevard, thereby opening up the lanes for parking. I'm sure it looked rather disjointed for some time to follow.  We forget that the grassy island used to be all the way to the First Street (Neenah) intersection instead of just ending at Ahnaip Street  as it does today (see the following link: http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2014/02/nicolet-blvd.html). 

I wonder when Neenah complied with their side.

Dreams of an Island CIty

November 16, 1935 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

Some of this naming has been touched upon in earlier blog posts.  But I'd still like a look at that map, as detailed in the above article.  I remember reading somewhere that Governor Doty originally had plans for what he termed "Island CIty," that Doty Island would be the prime focus of the settlement.  This article bears that out. But as we know, the Reed brothers and other civic leaders of the time had their own plans that precluded Governor Doty's dream.

Inseparably Bound Up Together

April 2, 1932 Appleton Post-Crescent

 

How often did we see something like this over the years?  Did we ever?   A declaration of good intentions to lessen the tensions between the two rival cities?  And signed by some of the biggest Neenah merchants and civic leaders of the day, no less.  To this day, some of the principles espoused in this statement remain as good advice as any in getting along with your neighbors.  Granted, it was a political ad designed to garner votes for Mr. Sande, but that doesn't negate the well-intentioned sentiments therein.

Oldest Pastor

July 18, 1920 Milwaukee Journal

 

At first I marvelled at this gentleman's constitution, when I encountered this during research on another matter.  But then, to discover later that he lived to be 102, as evidenced below.  Imagine the stories he could tell.  Wow!

 

April 12, 1932 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

Home Style Cooking

March 24, 1959 Appleton Post-Crescent

 

Who could withstand the lure of Menasha's first stereophonic music while dining in coffee shop comfort?  In the 1950's, stereo was all the rage.  Tape recordings in stereo had been around since 1952 but they were prohibitively expensive.  Less expensive stereo records, on the other hand, had only been perfected in late 1957.  It all sounds so primitive today, when one can, say, watch a full length movie in the palm of one's hand.  But I'm sure the Valley's customers of 56 years ago reveled in the ambiance of stereophonic sound while enjoying their coffee and crullers.  

Legends of Butte des Morts

 February 3, 1900 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

There is a school of thought lately that the above legend isn't necessarily true.  Some will say that the burial area on the western shore of the lake was in use for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years before the Fox Wars when French forces conspired with the Menominees to massacre the Fox living near there. In the above article, Mr. Lawson himself seems skeptical.  But in spite of whatever you might think about the origins of the term "hill of the dead," no one can argue that the name "Butte des Morts" in all its variations is with us for the long term.  

Early St. Mary's

St. Mary's Catholic Grade School from 1898

This school building in the foreground was built in 1893 by then pastor, Reverend Andrew Schubert for $15,000.  It supplemented the original school built in 1868.  The St. Mary centennial booklet from 1967 tells us the school was "situated close to the Second Street curbing, just east of the walk leading to the (present) high school site." 

Fred Loescher Buffet -1913

 

November 3, 1924 Appleton Post-Crescent

Originally known as Fred Loescher's Sample Room, this ediface, with an address of 156 Main Street was really on the circle at the corner of Chute Street and Milwaukee, right next door to the Bank of Menasha.  We don't often remember that there was a time when the Bank of Menasha did not occupy ALL that space.  (The photo below gives a better perspective of what I'm talking about.)  Fred's better known sibling, George, ran the hardware store at the other end of Main Street, where Druck's Electric and, later Club Liquors would later reside.

 

L.J. Noble

Leander J. Noble

L.J. Noble, mayor of Menasha in 1885, was one of Menasha's most involved community leaders. An extensive land owner, Noble was, by day, superintendent of the Menasha Wooden Ware Co., but also heavily involved in city government.  At various times, he was the park commissioner, served on various committees and was elected alderman of the Third Ward. His house on Naymut Street was constructed circa 1875.

As detailed on the Wisconsin Historical Society site:

"His house is historically significant for its association with one of Menasha's most involved community leaders.  Located on Doty Island in one of Menasha's most prominent residential neighborhoods, the house is situated on the west side of Naymut Street at number 347.  The Noble House is a rectangular two-story Italianate residence featuring twin square towers and an extensive veranda. The foundations are of unspecified stone, the siding is clapboard and the roof material is asphalt. The roof is hipped to a platform with dormers. The windows are double-hung, single-pane sash. Decorative features include returning eaves on the tower gables.

A contributing member of the Naymut Street Historic District, the Leander J. Noble House is architecturally significant as an unusual example of the Italianate form in Menasha."

reference: Wisconsin Historical Society. viewed online at http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Content.aspx?dsNav=N:4294963828-4294963814&dsRecordDetails=R:HI61488 (March 18, 2015)

 

Mayor Criticizes Police

May 8, 1940 Appleton Post-Crescent

Pre-war Menasha had lots of different concerns, as evidenced here in this news roundup of day-to-day business.  There certainly was no love lost between the mayor and the police chief, that's for sure.

A Finer Brew

April 12, 1940 Appleton Post-Crescent

November 19, 1940 Appleton Post-Crescent

Everyone thinks of Gem, when the thought of Menasha beer comes to mind.  But there were others, here and there.  One such beer was Feiner.  Located in the former Winz Brewery on Manitowoc Street, Feiner Beer was a late and short-lived comer to the brewing arts in Menasha, succumbing in 1942.  I'm curious to learn the rest of its history, though I have no details yet as to why it went out of business.

The old Winz facility can be viewed at: 
http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2012/06/winz-brewery.html

Sally Pleasants

May 1, 1916 Oshkosh Northwestern

As you can see here from her obituary, Sally McCarty Pleasants was a long time resident of Menasha and her offspring later contributed to the civic progress and well-being of the city.  Her daughter, Lucy Lee Pleasants, the founding force and the first librarian of the Menasha Public Library, published a posthumous collection of her mother's reminiscences, entitled Old Virginia Days and Ways. It has been described  as "a delightful series of reminiscences of Virginia life before the Civil War" and in it Mrs. Pleasants related many interesting anecdotes of the McCarty side of her family.  She was the daughter of Colonel John Mason McCarty and his wife, Ann Lucinda Lee.  

 You can actually read her book online at: 

https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6596074M/Old_Virginia_days_and_ways

This photograph is the frontispiece of the volume published posthumously in 1916.  Though not specified, my suspicion is that this attentive grandchild might be Mrs. George Banta's daughter, Eleanor.

Cool Advice

December 26, 1967 N-M Northwestern

A look back 100 years at Menasha journalism on a slow news day, the day after Christmas, 1967.  I suppose the first story walks the fine line of what we'd term political correctness by today's standards.  Interesting too, how newspapers of the day were much more openly categorized by their politics.

Easter Special

 

March 10, 1964 N-M Northwestern

In our continuing series of ads for businesses no longer with us, but fondly remembered nevertheless, I give you this ad for Bowlby's on Main Street.  Though a free pound of "jelly bird eggs" may not be your favorite treat, the message is still true some 51 years later...sometimes it pays to plan ahead. 

We first addressed Bowlby's in 2012:
http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2012/10/bowlbys-sweet-shop.html

Gegan School

 

March 10, 1968 Appleton Post-Crescent 

A peek back at the Post-Crescent from 47 years ago today yields the story of this open house at the first new Menasha school in eight years.  Although a product of the Catholic school system, I was only too familiar with Gegan as my grandparents lived on Airport Road and I was quite interested in its construction from the get-go.

The Daylight Store

Fred Peterson's Daylight Store

We first encountered The Daylight Store, one of Menasha's many groceries, last year in the blog: 

http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2014/06/daylight-store.html

Located at 198 Main, this building still stands today, at the traffic light on Main Street.  Or, to put it in a 1970s perspective, right next door to the east of the old Hidde's Pharmacy. 

photo courtesy of Steve Krueger, from the booklet, Illustrated Menasha, The City of Opportunities (1913)

Badger Highways Matchbook

Let's end the week with this colorful Badger Highways matchbook. Seeing it aroused my curiosity about the business' current status.  A Google search turned up a July 8, 2014 news item in the Post-Crescent which stated:

                             The equipment was auctioned off in April and the business
                             closed. The quarry property at 936 Appleton Road in Menasha
                             was sold. An online auction notice said, "After 60 successful years
                             of business, Harold and Steve have decided to retire."  Bucklin Tree
                             Service is now leasing the Appleton Road property. It moved from
                             Racine Street, said owner Chris Bucklin, to get more space. "We are
                             still selling gravel, stone and mulch," he said.

We first addressed Badger Highways in 2012: http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2012/12/badger-highways.html .            
Happy retirement, guys! 

"Autotrails" Map of 1924

Rand McNally & Co.'s Commercial Atlas Of America. Fifty-Fifth Edition, AutoTrails Map, Wisconsin, Northern Illinois, Northern Michigan, 1924
from David Rumsey Map Collection via oldmapsonline.org

Back when extensive travel by car was in its infancy, Rand McNally, among other publishers, developed and published maps for use by car travelers.  This zoomed view of the Fox Valley section of the Wisconsin map shows that even back then, there was a State Road 114.  Notice Hwy 15 to the west of town, which eventually morphed into US 41.  In 1926 with the debut of the U.S. Highway system, all of Hwy 15 north of Milwaukee was replaced by the new US 41 designation, all the way into Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  In later years, the Hwy 15 designation would be used again, most recently in a 15 mile stretch west of Appleton at US 41 to the south of New London, near the southern end of the "New London Bypass."   The "1" in the black box refers to the highway's designation as the "Yellowstone Trail" highway.  (Don't ask me how that fits.) 

We first visited Hwy 15 in a blog post from 2013:  http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2013/05/highway-15-opening.html

History Passed This Way

April 4, 1948 Milwaukee Sentinel

In Wisconsin's centennial year of 1948, The Milwaukee Sentinel carried weekly articles about the towns and cities it deemed vital to the development of Wisconsin.  This is the entry about Neenah-Menasha from that year.

 April 3, 1948 Milwaukee Sentinel

Wisconsin 1845

from: Wisconsin.  A new general atlas, comprising a complete set of maps representing the grand divisions of the globe, together with the several empires, kingdoms and states in the world; compiled from the best authorities, and corrected by the most recent discoveries. New York, Published at Tanner's Geographical Establishment, 1845. Written and engraved by Jos. Perkins.

Courtesy:  David Rumsey Historical Map Collection via oldmapsonline.org

Zooming in on Winnebago County in 1845 reveals a mysterious naming of "Mishwauka,"and the more familiar "Winnebago," as in "Winnebago Rapids," the original name for Neenah.  Obviously, refinement of place names would occur later.  Notice "Oskosh," "Manitoowoc," and "De Pierre" to name just a few.  (This map is my first and only exposure to the name, "Mishwauka" so more research is definitely in store.) 

Governor Visits Menasha

May 16, 1927 Appleton Post-Crescent

 

As the winter trudges on, a weary man's attention turns to that end of Winter event- spring training baseball games (at least this weary man).  So, while entertaining the notion of an eventual Spring, let's go back some 88 years to when Menasha was enraptured with baseball (it was, after all, the national pastime) and used the upcoming season to entice a certain public official to come to town to throw out the first pitch. (Still not sure why he'd tell the adoring crowd that he hoped our opponent, Oshkosh, would win though.)