Merry Christmas Wishes

December 24, 1966, Appleton Post-Crescent

Christmas wishes come in all shapes and sizes when it comes to the Fox Valley's businesses and merchants, at least in 1966.  And here's one more Christmas wish, from me, to you.  May the blessings of the season be upon you and your families.  My thanks to you for your interest and support of this blog throughout the year.  Merry Christmas.  I'll be back after the New Year.

Buy Them Fresh for the Holidays

December 14, 1962, Oshkosh Northwestern

As we wind towards Christmas, here's another advertisement to get you in the mood.  Model Bakery was located on Main Street next door to the Ace Bar and filled the space of the former A&P.

Received Payment

Another "found" artifact associated with the ol' home town.  John B. Stitgen was the proprietor of the Hotel Menasha until 1920.  

This envelope is reminiscent of so many other documents of the 19th/early 20th century, with elaborate logos and that blocky style print you only see now on currency and old stock certificates.  

Racine at Main

From about 1980, we look towards Racine and Main Streets, from the vantage point of the corner of Broad and Racine.  Nothing remarkable about this photo, other than the fact that this area never gets the photo play that Main Street gets.  On the extreme left edge is the Racine Street bridge.  The last building on the right, before you turn right to enter Main Street is the old Loescher Hardware, which, over the years, later became Menasha Bike and Toy, Anderson's Coins and Novelties, and currently is a part of Club Liquors.  The other buildings in the photo have been a carousel of businesses over the years as well, but the one constant was usually a tavern at the location marked by the Schlitz sign. 

A Sparkling List of Gifts

December 10, 1967, Appleton Post-Crescent

With Christmas Club checks in the mail, what better time than now to get started on all your holiday shopping? 

Brin Christmas Party

 December 26, 1967 N-M Northwestern

What joy it must have been for these kids to have received these bikes at Christmas time!  It's bordering on quoting clichés to mention this, but it is so easy to lose sight of the real spirit of giving at this time of year.  The writer of this caption had it right, in capturing the magic of that party for these two little ones.

Drainer Bottoms

Here is an 1890's era advertising card from the Menasha Wood Split Pulley Company.  As we all know, Menasha had a long history of manufacture using wood, originally making chairs and other wooden ware- barrels and pails.  Eventually other firms used wood to make paper and paper products.  And of course, wood split pulleys from this company.  While not sexy products as Detroit's cars or Hollywood's movies, seemingly mundane items like this nevertheless fueled Menasha’s economy and helped broaden its companies' product lines.

100 People in a Lock

As the weather gets colder, let's hearken back to a warmer time, maybe an excursion on the water.  This photo of the Menasha lock, as featured in Lakeland Yachting magazine, sometime between 1946-1955 is also featured on the Fox-Wisconsin Heritage Parkway website.

A Holiday Staple

To me, this label just screams Christmas.  The color and the design must have been sanctioned from the jolly old elf himself.  I'm sure we had this around the house at Christmas time.

Give a Sweet Gift....

December 10, 1967,  Appleton Post-Crescent

 

This ad takes me back to Christmases past.  It wasn't Christmas without candy from Bowlby's around the house for entertaining.  There are so many candies on this list you can't find just anywhere, to include the fried oysters, cherries on a wire, and the angel food candy. I don't exactly remember what the peco flake was, but I have many Christmas memories of chocolate covered cherries, my Mom's favorite.

Marty's Sinclair Service

November 25, 1958, Appleton Post-Crescent

The local newspapers of the time are always good for shots like this.  The Post-Crescent and Northwestern for years had a business page where they'd feature local businesses with photos and sometimes feature length articles which essentially were commercials for the businesses.  I like this photo because not only do I love old gas station architecture, but you can see the Tastee-Freez sign in the background, as well.  And if the photo were clear enough, you'd see that a Sinclair employee was filling that car; another era, for sure. 

Smoother, Quieter, Comfort-Plus!

November 24, 1958, Appleton Post-Crescent

We first encountered the concept of the "400", as used by the Chicago and North Western Railway in a blog post last year:  http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-flambeau-400.html.  In short, the 400 became the moniker for the C&NW's trains because, in the competitive railroad environment of the 1930's, the "400" was able to travel between Chicago and Minneapolis in 400 minutes.  Eventually, the 400 name became synonymous with the C&NW's double decker coaches, or bi-level cars.  Of course, this all ended for the Neenah-Menasha area when service was terminated in 1971.

Santa Comes Calling...

November 23, 1966 Appleton Post-Crescent

 

Time for all those Christmas ads.  It wasn't yet known as Black Friday, but once upon a time, the Post-Crescent would tell you where to pick up their thick Christmas shopping edition, just in time to ensure Little Nell or Cousin Jimmy got what they'd been wanting all year long.  Sadly, none of these businesses exist any more. 

Pails, Pails, Pails

In time, 1956 to be exact, this activity would cease at the Wooden Ware.  But here, in this undated photo, pail workers man the conveyor and ready the finished product for shipment. During the Civil War, the pail factory led the Menasha Wooden Ware to become the largest manufacturer of woodenware in Wisconsin.