The Finest That Money Can Buy

This advertisement is somewhat reminiscent of the old Gerber ads.  By associating the baby with the product, the marketer convinces us of their product's quality. Equating its texture and qualities with acceptability for baby's skin, they appeal to our softer side and thereby convey wholesomeness, safety, and confidence in what should ordinarily be just a utilitarian product.  But after all, if it's safe enough for our little ones, it's got to be great for the rest of the family, and ourselves.  Smart marketing.

 

This ad was found in the back of the 1935 Nicolet, Menasha High's yearbook, where sponsors and patrons put their ads. Yearbooks have traditionally been a medium that ordinarily just featured simple names and addresses.  But Wisconsin Tissue Mills was evidently proud enough of its product line to tout it in an unusual place, and give us a unique perspective of 1930's advertising.

View From Upstairs at St. Mary's High

A familiar scene on the St. Mary campus, as featured in the 1970 Renard, St. Mary's yearbook.  That's the '62 building on the left and the '52 building on the right.

Doorway to Knowledge

Menasha High School, 1935

 

As detailed here in previous posts, the next year, in March of 1936, Menasha High School burned and the need for a new school was paramount. The fire’s exact origin is unknown, but it was thought to have started in the machine shop. To keep the school year going, classes were distributed among the remaining schools and other public buildings until the new high school could be completed in 1938.

"...to Take the Place of Wheel Casters"

1911 envelope from the Onward Manufacturing Company, Menasha, Wisconsin

 

We first visited Onward back in late February when we talked of O.C. Little and his little (no pun intended!) factory on Main Street   http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2015/02/orton-c-little.html and http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2015/02/onward-manufacturing.html .  Bentley & Gerwig was a manufacturer of office furniture in Parkersburg, so presumably, Onward's furniture shoes might have been a good fit for this firm's desks. 

Happy Anniversary

Today marks three years since the advent of this blog, originally designed to augment the photos and stories in the Menasha book that was published in June, 2012.  In those three years, we have not only seen the publication of the Menasha book but also, through no efforts (or fault?!) of my own, companion volumes published about the surrounding communities of Appleton, Kaukauna, and a little place to our south called Neenah. Did the book or maybe even my blog inspire those writers to do what they did?  I'm not that vain to think it did!  But I am proud that Menasha's book was the first of its kind in the Fox Valley, for whatever that's worth.

For what was designed initially as a simple means to generate interest in the book and to last for just a "little while,"...well, I guess I've just quite never figured out how little of a while it should be.  To be honest, some topics are definitely more detailed than others; some subjects get re-opened and embellished from time to time, while many others bear the stamp of "history lite."  Some would say how "historical" is it to obsess on an old matchbook or postcard?  And I'd reply that my intention has always been that history needn't be boring to be meaningful.  Facts and figures are fine as they go, but more importantly, if I can generate a feeling inside the reader and something clicks- nostalgia, a memory, an anecdote...then I've done my job.  So what if it takes an old grocery store ad or other cultural detritus to do that.  As I state in the Facebook summaries each day, it's an eclectic mix. 

I have you all to thank for keeping up with me these past three years.  Without your input and support, I doubt I'd have kept this going this long...not that I'm ready to stop any time soon.  But, to paraphrase the popular children's book's title, I like to think that it's "the little blog that could."   Thanks again.  See you Monday as we embark on a fourth year. 

3rd and DePere

The house I grew up was built by my grandfather in 1903 and my Mom lived there until 1986, so my family had many, many photos of my aunts and uncles and cousins taken over some 80+ years.   

Going through some of them the other day, I found this snapshot of my Aunt Esther and her son, my cousin Dick, visiting from Milwaukee and posing in my back yard.  I lived at the corner of 2nd and DePere Streets, so all too often, that 3rd Street intersection would appear in our family photos' background. 

This one was taken in the late 1930s/early 1940s, well before my time, but as I've said, I've gotten used to seeing time go by at that corner.  As a result, I've seen the evolution of the old Coonen's gas station in all its iterations over the years.  Gotta love those old cars. 

The Old Depot

It's been a while since we've featured a photo of the old C&NW depot.  This one's from 1980, nine years after passenger service to Neenah-Menasha was suspended.  Below is a view of the repurposed building from more recent times.  Aside from the enlarged windows, it's largely kept its character from the outside.

Google image date, October 2013

La Fontaine Railroad and Winnebago City

Menasha might never have been founded if Governor Doty had had his way during the early years of the Wisconsin Territory.  In the late 1830's, Doty eagerly eyed the upcoming railroad charters and coveted one for the Fox Valley to encourage development and economic growth.  His idea was to link the village of La Fontaine near Kaukauna with the projected village of Winnebago City, on the north shore of Lake Winnebago.  This railroad of 16 miles would eliminate the need to navigate through the Winnebago Rapids (today's Neenah) and Little Lake Butte des Morts and the extra mileage encountered on the Fox River up to La Fontaine.  Eventually, the whole scheme fizzled as a result of the Panic of 1837.  It was also said that Doty's partner, Morgan Martin (who also happened to be his cousin), had a falling out with the bankers in Green Bay who were nervous about his speculative enterprises.   

March 17, 1837 Wisconsin Democrat (Green Bay)

 

A curious footnote is that my research about the village of La Fontaine begins and ends with the connection to this proposed railroad. I've never seen other mentions of this place.  Kakalin, as mentioned on the map, is a former name for Kaukauna, so I at least thought I'd find La Fontaine mentioned in the same breath as Kaukauna, or in connection with the Kakalin Rapids.  Any thoughts, readers?

 

maps courtesy: Wisconsin Historical Society, viewed online at http://www.wisconsinhistory.org on 15 Apr 15

Service Stations vs. Taverns

 

In our blog post of last Friday about Deep Rock and the Badger Oil Company, reader Dave Gehrke, asked in the comments section if we had had more taverns than service stations back in the '60s.  I didn't know the answer so I'll let the above extracts from the 1967 Neenah-Menasha City Directory tell the tale.  My count was- Taverns: Menasha 29, Neenah 19.  Service Stations: Menasha 18, Neenah 32.  No judgment, no editorial commentary here; it was what it was.  Now, how many do you remember?

Deep Rock

 

Let's end the week with this colorful Deep Rock/Badger Oil matchbook. It never occurred to me until today, as I wrote this, as to what exactly the "Deep Rock" name meant.  I suspect it alludes to the "deep rock" drilled through to find the oil for the products this gas station chain peddled.  As far back as 1924, Deep Rock had been a fixture at the corner of 4th and DePere Street; see the 1924 City Directory extract below:

Sanborn Insurance Maps/Menasha Boat Company Cont'd

 

 

In past blog posts, I have alluded to Sanborn Maps but have neglected to discuss them in detail.  Sanborn Fire Insurance maps are meticulously detailed, large-scale lithographed, color-keyed street maps that helped insurance agents in the late 19th and early 20th centuries determine the degree of fire hazard associated with a particular property. These maps typically focus on the business districts within communities, and as such, prove time and again, to be invaluable tools of history and a record of their time. Features include street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, locations of fire hydrants, locations of water and gas mains, and the names of most public buildings, churches and companies. The maps also document the strength of the local fire department and the presence of fire hazards such as blacksmith forges, large baker's ovens or stored kerosene, and the existence of firefighting equipment, cisterns or community water works. Rivers, canals, railroad corridors and similar features are also noted. Each map provides a detailed assessment of the buildings within a district. Assessments include an outline of each building and outbuilding, the size and number of stories of every building, the location of windows and doors, fire walls, and indications of sprinkler systems. They note the nature of the business or businesses which occupied individual buildings, sometimes even particular room uses. They list the type of construction and the composition of building materials including the framing, flooring, and roofing materials.

So, it comes as a bit of a surprise to see our very own Little Lake Butte des Morts listed as Lake Winnebago, as shown above in this 1900 version of our fair town.  One hopes the meticulousness of the preparers in detailing construction of the town's buildings would have carried over to the geography of the area.  But considering that these were published out of a Chicago regional office for an upstate New York publisher, one suspects that their overworked surveyors were entitled to a mistake once in a while. 

Yesterday's post about the Menasha Boat Company also continues here.  The large master map, located above, shows that map sheet no. 9 is required to view the Menasha Boat Company.  The first illustration is an extract from map sheet no. 9 showing that company's location on the no longer existent Prospect Street, just north of Third.

Sanborn Maps are available for your review via the Wisconsin Historical Society's web site as well as the Library of Congress.  They are well worth your time.

Menasha Boat Company

"Menasha has twenty or more manufacturing plants employing from five to twenty-five hands each which together contribute much to the prosperity of the city. One of the busiest of these is the factory of the Menasha Boat Co., located on the banks of Lake Butte des Morts near the Lawson pulley works. This factory was built in the fall of 1892 and began operations in the spring of the following year. It is a well-built structure, 28x50, two stories and a basement. Attached to it is the engine house containing a 05 h. p. engine and boiler which furnishes the power for the machinery consisting of saws, planers, Shapers, stickers, turn lathes and the like. The principal product is, of course, boats, and everything in this line from a small skiff to a steam yacht is built by the company. During the past five years hundreds of neat craft have been turn-built from hard and soft woods. In busy seasons a force of eight hands is given employment, while more or less work is done all through the year. The boats built by this company enjoy a high repute, and 'once a customer, always a customer,' seems to be quite applicable in this case. The head of the establishment is Mr. C. A. Sorenson, who came here in 1892 from Elmhurst, this state, where he had been operating a saw mill. Prior to this he was located at Tustin, where he was also engaged in manufacturing; in fact, he has been following that line of business steadily and with success during the past fifteen years." - June,1898 Menasha Press

In its heyday, this boat company was located on a street, and a property, that doesn't exist.  It's former space has long since been overtaken by the plant, currently known as SCA Tissue (formerly Wisconsin Tissue Mills) between First and Fourth Streets off Tayco.  More tomorrow. 

Captain L.B. MacKinnon

November 10, 1852 The Weekly Wisconsin (Milwaukee)

 

Captain Laughlin Bellingham MacKinnon was one of the early benefactors of Menasha, and, as evidenced by the news article above,  maintained a high stature to the early residents. 

"As investment opportunities in the East declined, merchants looked elsewhere. The Indian territory in Wisconsin opened to settlers after the treaties of the 1830's. New England Yankees saw the Fox River Valley as an ideal spot for industrialization and for serving a rapidly growing population. Among the investors was Captain L. B. MacKinnon of Scotland who had served in the Royal Navy. While visiting New York, he met Governor James Doty who persuaded him to visit Doty Island in 1852.   They came to Cleveland, and from there, on a Government boat, came to Green Bay, and together drove on to Menasha, where the Governor had property, on Doty's Island. The captain lived here some time, returning to England, occasionally, to look after his interests there.  He was enthusiastic about the area because of its future possibilities for industries and he was also attracted to the hunting and fishing."  

His travels in America led him to publish a book, Atlantic and Trans Atlantic Sketches, Afloat and Ashore, in 1852. 

"It is related that the first night, while stopping with Gov. Doty on the island, the captain occupied the ground floor, with an open window, against which a large wooden tray was placed, to be upset if a bear should poke in his nose; and, sure enough, a bear came and awoke the captain, who seized his gun, and they had bear steak for breakfast the next morning.  He purchased extensive amounts of land throughout the Island, to include the property at the end of Keyes Street. In addition to residing at this location, he also bred cattle and other animals there. MacKinnon's pride was his horse, "King of Cymbry" which was shipped from England in 1854 with highly bred beef cattle, a Durham bull (referred to as "Menasha Mac"), sheep, and chickens.  The land on which St. Patrick's Church was built was a gift from MacKinnon. He improved roads, constructed a crib bridge across the north channel of the Fox River, and cut a road through the dense forest on the Island. Nicolet Boulevard was originally named "MacKinnon Avenue" and extended from Lake Winnebago to Little Lake Butte des Morts."

Capt. MacKinnon died in 1877 during a return visit to Great Britain. He was 59.

His sons became noteworthy in Menasha, as well- Duncan T.H. MacKinnon, founder of the MacKinnon Excelsior Factory (wood shavings used for stuffing carriage seats), and the other, Falkland MacKinnon, became a foreman and manager of the Menasha Wooden Ware and later worked in the lumber business in Wausau.
Sources: History of Northern Wisconsin (1881); Memories of Doty Island: A Link Between Two Cities (1999); History, Winnebago County, Wisconsin: Its Cities, Towns, Resources, People (1908)

Phone of the Future

March 11, 1968 Appleton Post-Crescent

 

Today, many households don't even have what have become known as "landlines."  But in the late 60's, Ma Bell was the only game in town and wired phones were it.  No jacks with the simple plastic connectors as we have today.  These were the days of the hard-wired, screwed-into-the-wall, phones.  Seeing this ad in the paper made me remember only too well when this phone came out and how neat it was to have one installed in another room. Suddenly, long distance calls became exciting.  I could actually be a part of the conversation on the phone with my Mom and my aunt in Milwaukee at the same time, for example; essentially it was a three-way call.  And when I got into those teenage years, having another phone in a different room meant a privacy my older siblings could only have dreamed about in their formative years.  I'm not sure why my parents ever got that extension phone, but I was always grateful it was there.

Bike Plate

 

Remember these?  Eventually they evolved into stickers, and after that...who knows?  Do they even register bikes anymore?  This little item sold for $33 on eBay last month.   I found a newspaper reference from 1959 that bike licenses were 50 cents that year, so this one must have cost that or less when first purchased in 1947.  Sometimes the price of nostalgia seems a bit too high. 

Family Histories

March 13 and 15, 1971 N-M Northwestern

 

I think we've all had a school project like this at one time or another.  In this case, third and fourth graders lay out their family trees or relate sometimes humorous anecdotes of their family life.  Some of the stories described here sound like my own grandparents' struggles.  Whatever the nationality, the lesson to be taken away here seems to be that, for all our desires to be absorbed into the American melting pot and assimilate into this culture, our forebearers' struggles resound with a universality that is all too familiar to many of us.  But as we move forward to newer generations, my fear is that more and more of these stories are ignored or glossed over, as you will, if they're even addressed at all.  My suspicion is that, if kids today are given the same project by their teachers, their parents likely are not even aware of their heritage to give the kid a running start.  What's that famous quote? I may be paraphrasing this, but it's something like "You don't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been."  I most likely sound like a crotchety old man when I say this, but I fear it is true.

Get to Work, Old Pal

November 15, 1931 was a Sunday, so our correspondent, Earl, really must have been enjoying his weekend as it drew to an end.  Hopefully, his "Old Pal," Ruthie, could say the same, ensconced in the hustle and bustle of Chicago's south side.

I find this postcard to be unusual for the era in that it doesn't show the Memorial Building in a straight on view, as most seem to do.  Instead, we get a scene of two landmarks in one- the Mem and the Nicolet Monument, as seen from the intersection of Riverway and Keyes Street.

G. M Lockwood, Photographer

"found" items for sale on eBay some time ago.  (Kudos to the city for reusing the Board of Education letterhead for receipts)

This photo shows where his studio would have been around 1900, on the second floor of the building with the Gunderson ad.

In this blog, we've discussed the prominent photographers of Menasha's early days, primarily George Bradley and W.H. Pinder.  Today, we address G.M. Lockwood, notable enough to be mentioned in the June,1898 souvenir edition of the Menasha Press on the occasion of the city's semi-centennial year:
 

"One of the strictly up-to-date photographers of this section is G. M. Lockwood, who has handsomely appointed rooms in the second story of the Clovis shoe store, where he may be found any day in the week, including Sundays. (The Clovis shoe store would have been across the street from the present day Club Liquors, that first building which once displayed that large painted Gunderson's ad for many, many years.)  Here may be seen a beautiful array of specimens of his work as an artist, as well as all the latest improved instruments and accessories for high-grade photography. Mr. Lockwood is fully prepared to do work in the latest and best styles, and is turning out a large amount of this class of work right along. He makes a specialty of enlarging and copying, of commercial work and of ink and paste work. Another line of work at which he excels is flash pictures of the interiors of buildings, rooms, etc. 

Mr. Lockwood is also a musician, being a member of the widely known Lockwood & Bauer Orchestra, which has furnished music for so many parties and balls in this city during the past few years. The orchestra is prepared to furnish music for all occasions, and engagements may be made with Mr. Lockwood at his studio. During the social season it has almost every evening booked, and its music gives the most complete satisfaction. Mr. Lockwood has been a resident of Menasha since 1895, removing to this city from Oshkosh, where he was engaged in business for many years. He is a genial, companionable gentleman, an artist of ability and a popular musician."

In October, 1912, the Bulletin of Photography reported that this "pioneer photographer," had sold his studio to Emmett Linsdau.  Presumably, Mr. Lockwood went on to other pursuits. 

While it is, perhaps, ironic that I have no photo of the man, I'm sure it is not surprising, as I'm sure he focused on his work.  Unlike today, where everyone is a potential photographer and, alas, we are made all too aware of their prowess, or lack of it. 

"...Shook off the Hoodoo..."

June 10, 1907 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

In honor of Spring and the return of baseball to my consciousness, I'm focused today on a minor little item buried within a June, 1907 newspaper article.  Mostly it talks about the upcoming Foresters convention and other goings-on in Menasha.  But midway through, it talks of Menasha's baseball team that "shook off the hoodoo" in order to beat Kaukauna. 

I am always fascinated by the writing style of the day and found this phrase intriguing.  A quick Google search showed me that it was used in many other sports-related stories throughout the years, particularly where baseball is concerned in America in the teens, 20's, and 30's.  Contemporary usages seem limited to Great Britain and Australia.   

Whatever the case, here's hoping you can shake off the hoodoo of another Monday morning.

Happy Easter!

April 17, 1930 Appleton Post-Crescent

 

Located in the Brin Building, the Schlintz Bros. Drug Store was Easter Headquarters for shoppers in 1930 Menasha.  From candies and toys to Kodak film, this place had it all covered for an enjoyable holiday. 

 

Have a great Easter and a great weekend!

Masonic Block and Post Office

from the June 1898, souvenir edition of the Menasha Press

 

Before the current Post Office was built on Racine Street around 1932/33, it had been located on the south side of Main Street at 221 Main, roughly across the street from the old Grove's Clothing Store.  This building was constructed in 1894.  Before that, the Post Office sat at the corner of Main and Bridge (later Mill) Streets, where Tucscherer's Shoes eventually settled. We first discussed the Post Office several other times:  http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2012/07/post-office-dedicated.html and http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2014/01/post-office.html 

Early Bridge Dreams

November 3, 1932 Oshkosh Northwestern

 

History shows that there was a bridge across Little Lake Butte des Morts in the 19th century but eventually was abandoned as it fell into disrepair.  The idea of a new bridge never died.  Even though it took until the 1970's to construct a bridge, the above article from 1932 shows that the idea had been kept alive consistently for many, many years.  See previous posts at: http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2012/09/roland-kampo-bridge.html and http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2013/12/first-butte-des-morts-bridge.html for more information about bridging LLBDM.