Feiner Beer 2

We first met the short-lived Feiner beer last year:  http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2015/03/a-finer-brew.html.  Feiner was brewed in the old Winz facility on Manitowoc Street, between First and Second.  Winz Park sits on the site today.  

Expressway

 

January 28, 1959, Appleton Post-Crescent 

It's hard for me to believe that US Hwy 41, now I-41, was once a two-lane highway in my own lifetime.  The engineers and planners of this marvel would be dumbfounded at what this "expressway" has evolved into, some fifty years later.

Another Wrestling Treat

 

January 18, 1937, Appleton Post-Crescent

 January 20, 1937, Appleton Post-Crescent

Professional wrestling always had its gimmicks, even in the 1930's.  The nicknames and the archetypes have carried through to this day. I wonder what it cost to see such entertainment....

                                      
                                  January 21, 1937, Appleton Post-Crescent

Exchange Students

January 20, 1969, N-M Daily Northwestern

It must have been a slow news day or just a big deal for the Rotary Club to get two photos of this event in one edition.  I'm sure the students enjoyed their tour of the Lakeview Mill on their Saturday off from school. 

Soot

January 20, 1937, Appleton Post-Crescent

Living in an industrial town brings its own special problems.  Growing up, I don't recall much said about this situation in Menasha.  Of course, that was in the '60s and '70s so measures to mitigate the problem had already been implemented, I would imagine.  But I do recall stories that occasionally came up in the newspapers for the families living around the Neenah Foundry near Winneconne Avenue.  I can only imagine the problems they faced.

Christmas '69

January 20, 1969, Appleton Post-Crescent

As if it wasn't enough to just get the tree taken down and the decorations put away finally, now comes the planning for NEXT Christmas.  Isn't that always the way?  But thank goodness, the Bank of Menasha had a strategy for the reluctant saver in all of us.  .

Key to Unity?

January 20, 1971, Appleton Post-Crescent

Back in the early '70s when consolidation of the Twin Cities was a big topic, this article appeared.  It was a couple of years before the 1973 vote which sent the consolidation issue packing, so to speak.

Interesting factoid that the "center" of Menasha in 1971 was Third and DePere.  With all the growth towards Calumet County, along WI 114, I wonder what it would be now.

Harbor from Smith Park, 1958

Somewhere in the vacinity of the rear of the Memorial Building comes this picturesque postcard view from 1958.  In the midst of a typical Wisconsin winter, it may seem like forever until this tranquility is achieved once again.

Post Office

I know this photo is post-1971 because in that year, the mail boxes became that color blue by order of the Postmaster General.  If you recall, before that, they had had a red, white, and blue paint job since 1955, red on top, blue on bottom with white lettering.   This is long before the building became handicapped accessible.

 

Logging Scene

Apparently, this was a popular scene for use in postcards in the late 19th/ early 20th century.  I wonder how many other communities throughout the upper Midwest had postcards attributed to this?

Shanties Go Drifting

January 13, 1975, N-M Daily Northwestern

Typical winter behavior in my last year of high school, some 41 years ago this week.  Despite the poor quality of the photo, you can see the future Roland Kampo Bridge in the background which linked US 41 to Menasha across the lake. Otherwise known locally as "The Polish Connection," it was the first link in what eventually became the Tri-County Expressway. It would open later that year in November. 

Report of Condition

January 13, 1966, Appleton Post-Crescent

I present this document/advertisement from the past, not to cast scorn or derision on the small (by today's standards) amount of assets the First National held for its account holders in 1965, but rather to marvel at the names listed of its directors.  There are two generations of Bantas, a Whiting, a Shepard- just a few of the names from the very fabric of Menasha history that we will not see again. 

Menasha Corp

It's been a while since we featured a photo of the Menasha Woodenware, or Menasha Corporation as it later became known.  As we all know by now, the Menasha Woodenware Company started as a small plant making tubs, barrels and pails; by 1871 it had grown to be the largest woodenware factory in the world. 

Joe the Trader

November 3, 1964, Appleton Post-Crescent

 

How many of us remember Joe the Trader?  On Highway 47 on the way to Appleton, you'd go straight and make a quick left instead of taking that sweeping curve that went past the big insurance company on the right.  I was just a kid during his heyday and I only recall going there a few times, but I had an aunt who used to swear by the guy.

Hotel Menasha Interiors

A reader recently asked about interior photos of the Hotel Menasha.  I had a couple, which were featured in the Menasha book from 2012, but I reproduce them here today with the captions from the book.  

This 1905 interior view of the Hotel Menasha, shortly after its opening, shows the main lobby and desk area (top photo). The bellmen are poised at the stairs, ready to service any of the clientele coming in from the various train stations. Tom Fitzgibbon was the desk clerk.

Billy Guenter was the proud bartender in the Hotel Menasha bar (bottom photo). Prominently placed on the floor are the spittoons for patrons’ use. Notice the absence of bar stools which are commonplace today. Most hotel bars existed largely to cater to business travelers, though many a high-end local political deal might have been settled within these walls.

Bicycle...for Six?

At the parade for the 1953 centennial celebration in Menasha, comes this unique six seat bicycle.  Riders are, from left to right:  Willard Salana, William Weber, Gilbert Young, Robert Porter, Ralph Neshek, and Dick Vercauteren.  Great views of the Ace Bar and Model Bakery signs in the background. 

Band Officers

November 9, 1959, Appleton Post-Crescent

Yesterday's blog post about the mid-winter concert at St. Mary's piqued my curiosity so I rummaged through the newspaper archives a few years more before that date and found my dear brother John staring out at me. 

Midwinter Concert

January 14, 1961 , Appleton Post-Crescent

No better time to beat the winter doldrums than with an after-Christmas local high school band concert.  St. Mary's fills the bill during a January winter 55 years ago. 

Fox Valley Campus

 January 5, 1964, Appleton Post-Crescent

This two year college has had a presence in the Fox Valley since about 1933. This expansion in 1964, has been eclipsed by consistent building efforts to transform the campus, which now extends beyond 40 acres.  With a student body of nearly 1,800, the school is the second largest of the 13 that make up the University of Wisconsin Colleges.

Happy New Year!

December 31, 1963 Appleton Post-Crescent

Welcome to 2016.  But in case your 1963 New Years' Eve plans hadn't already been set in stone, here were a few alternatives from the area in which to spend the evening. If the Hotel Menasha shindig wasn't to your liking, you could always venture to one of the neighboring Fox Cities and try your luck there. 

By the calendar, it was the 1960s, but in reality, it felt like the end of the 1950s was finally upon us.  1964 would bring The Beatles, the Gulf of Tonkin resolution (Vietnam's big kickoff), and monumental civil rights legislation.  The 1960s would finally begin in earnest.