Double Duty

December 26, 1985, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Even Santa does extra duty in his off time, leaving the toy making to the elves while he ventures to Menasha to fill a badly needed crossing guard position.  (Sure glad he has our interests at heart.           
                                                                                        
At this time, let me offer my thanks for your continued interest and support in making this blog a success.  I will take a short break, but I will return after the New Year.  Until then, my heartfelt wish is that your world be filled with warmth and good cheer this season and with love and peace throughout the coming year.  Have the happiest of holidays and the merriest of Christmases.

Santa Above

December 21, 1969, Appleton Post-Crescent

Until I ran across this, I had forgotten how Druck's had displayed Santa and his sleigh and reindeer on its roof all those years.  Finding it prompted nice memories of my boyhood in Menasha at Christmastime.

Merry Christmas from the Mayor

December 20, 1967, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Now here's something you don't see every day...newspaper Christmas wishes from the mayor.  He didn't identify himself as Menasha's mayor; I guess everyone locally would know who he was.  But this ad appeared in the "Winnebagoland News" section of the Northwestern, usually reserved for news from Green Lake, Winneconne, Berlin, and the like.  So, the placement wasn't the greatest and I can only imagine that residents of those areas opened up the paper and wondered who this guy was!  Still, a classy gesture. 

Snow Plow!

December 31, 1968, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

On second glance, this view seems to be from Neenah, but nevertheless, this scene was repeated so many times in the ol' hometown.  That could have been me or any of my friends watching the guys remove the snow on any given day in Menasha.  I was always fascinated by any type of construction or earth-moving equipment.  Notice the kid on the bike, despite the wintry mix of snow and low temps.

Little Boy Fountain

December 30, 1968, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

This is the little boy fountain in Smith Park.  According to the Smith Park Historic Walking Tour guide, this statue used to sit in the dining room of the Hotel Menasha and was donated to the city by the Dr. A.B. Jensen family, as they used to own the hotel and reside there.  I'm sure countless wedding photographs over the years have featured this little guy in he background.

No Customers

December 16, 1968, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

An unusual sight, for this seasonal time of the year in 1968...an empty post office lobby.  One wonders what time of day this photo was taken.  Even back then, I'm sure the deadline for getting packages through the system was quickly approaching, which makes the urgency to mail even more critical.  And since this is from a time when there was no Express Mail or Priority Mail yet and the average consumer couldn't go to a UPS Store (since there weren't any) and FEDEX didn't exist yet, the Postal Service was the likely option. 

Here's to your getting your own parcels and goodies to loved ones on time. 

Breaking Ground

December 13, 1967, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Slightly over fifty years ago this week, the first steps towards building the new library were taken.  This first symbolic dig into the soil at the old Racine Street Park would lead to a modern facility to replace the old structure on Mill Street.  Renovations beginning in 2003 would expand its size considerably and bring the library into the 21st century.

Christmas Bell Ringers

December 14, 1964, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

We venture back 53 years ago to review the offerings of the fine area merchants who strived to give us the fine Christmas we all wanted.  Using your Bank of Menasha Christmas Club check and this handy guide, a well-informed shopper could cover all the bases and never leave the cozy confines of Menasha. 

Cannons

December 29, 1970, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

We all played on the cannons as kids and most of us never gave a thought as to where they came from or why they were there.  After reading the above article, it looks as if we're no closer to answering those questions.  I'm more intrigued as to how Menasha could be spelled three different ways in the article.

Christmas Is Coming

December 2, 1961, Appleton Post-Crescent

Christmas IS coming to the folks at Music Box Associates and Valley Fair.  If nothing else these advertisements give us a view of some classic photographs of long ago businesses.  I remember that courtyard in Valley Fair quite fondly; the barber my Dad took me to as a boy was right behind that foliage.  The appliance store is a  cipher to me...all I remember at that curve is the Brin Theater.  Druck's is remembered more as it had a longer history as well as being closer to my side of town.  But still, a nice photo.

Milk Prices

November 14, 1958, Appleton Post-Crescent

1884 proved to be the first year for Gear Dairy's long run of serving Menasha's customer base for fine dairy products.  I found it interesting that different kinds of cows were used for the milk.  To a city boy like me, that whole concept is as alien as the story told to me by my grandfather than brown cows gave chocolate milk!

I'll be taking a week-long hiatus from the blog, so see you back here on December 11th. 

Basketball Emotion

November 28, 1973, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

If memory serves me correctly, I was at that game and recall that it was a BIG deal.  I would have been a junior at St. Mary's.  Good times. 

November 28, 1973, Appleton Post-Crescent

Welcome Parade

November 27, 1974, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

November 30, 1974, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

It's always a big day for young and old alike when the start of the Christmas season comes around, courtesy of this jolly old elf.  Today we go back to 1974 when Santa decided to forego the usual fire truck ride in favor of something more traditional.  Santa could have arrived via bicycle and no one would have cared. 

Police Experience

August 11, 1973, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

The wealth of police experience pictured here is substantial but what is really telling is the description of the early 20th century police force, as put forth by former Chief Slomski.  It's hard to imagine in today's world a time when a police force could be run with so few assets that the chief had to flag down a passing motorist for a ride to the crime scene! It conjures up images of the Keystone Cops.  (Google it, if you don't know what that was.)  But I am not denigrating these cops' efforts; I'm sure they were dedicated and conscientious in spite of the constraints they served under.  And as a civil servant myself, I understand a little of that.

Birds Rule

November 4, 1982, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

November 30, 1982, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Birds of all sorts ruled the roost, so to speak, in November of 1982, holding the Northwestern's staff photographers' attention and providing their readers with folksy atmospheric nature shots.

A Menasha Thanksgiving

November 19, 1982, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

The times may have changed but the main course remains the same throughout the years.  Today, or even 136 years ago, families still gathered to give thanks for the blessings they had received throughout the year. 

As it was in 1881, may it be that you are fortunate enough to spend time with your loved ones and enjoy a special holiday together.  I'll see you next week, on Monday.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Make Your Christmas Bright

November 8, 1977, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

It's never too early to begin your Christmas plans for NEXT year with a handy Christmas Club account.  And what could be better than getting a gift in the process as well (notice I didn't say FREE gift, as that'd be redundant- all gifts are free by definition.)

Chips Ahoy!

November 19, 1980, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Monday brings a bit of momentary whimsy, courtesy of the Northwestern's photo editor. Unfortunately, the clock is ticking for this mall.  In four short years, what eventually became the biggest shopping mall in Wisconsin would be built on the west side of Appleton, about five miles away.  As a result, Valley Fair would begin a long, painful decline into obscurity.

Rail Post Offices

July 26, 1958, Appleton Post-Crescent

How often have you seen trucks on the highway that say "US Mail carrier" on the trailer?  Perhaps it's not as evident anymore because of security, but today, mail transportation by motor carrier is the norm.  But go back fifty or more years and you enter a then-declining age of railway post offices or RPOs, which were railroad cars that were normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. From the middle of the 19th century, many American railroads earned substantial revenues through contracts with the U.S. Post Office Department to carry mail aboard high-speed passenger trains. In fact, a number of railroad companies maintained passenger routes where the financial losses from moving people were more than offset by transporting the mail.  I'm sure you've witnessed scenes in many old movies of a train "grabbing" a leather or heavy canvas sack of mail from a hook hanging on a track-side mail crane at smaller towns where the train did not stop.  That was just one, though memorable, aspect of railway postal service.

The article above describes the RPO that passed through the Fox Cities in the late 1950s. When the Post Office Department made a policy change in the 1960s to process mail in large regional "sectional centers," mail would now be sorted by large machines, not by people, and the remaining railway post office routes were phased out of service. In September 1967, the Post Office Department cancelled all "mail by rail" contracts, electing to move all First Class mail via air and other classes by truck transport. This announcement had a devastating effect on passenger train revenues; the Santa Fe, for example, lost $35 million in annual business, and led directly to the ending of many passenger rail routes. Enjoy this nostalgic ride from another era.

Deck the Streets

November 16, 1977, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

I have a tendency to remember that Christmas preparations weren't such an early affair, but photos like this seem to prove a guy wrong. I'd have bet good money that our town's decorations didn't come out until Thanksgiving or so, but there you go.  This writer more or less admits that the trend is ever increasing...and that was 1977.  No sooner was Halloween over this year than my local stores started putting out the Christmas merchandise.

How Paper is Made

November 12, 1982, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Another cool field trip to local industry.  I wonder how many students were intrigued enough to set their sights on a career in paper after attending events like this.  I was intrigued by the one student's honest comment that while she had set her sights on college, the tour still had helped her understand the economic aspects of paper production.  Strong words for somebody who could have had the day off like everybody else.

Rally

November 5, 1980, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Students come out en masse to the old Menasha square to get voters enthused for the 1980 election. 

Flags

November 17, 1966, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

I could have saved this post for Flag Day in June.  I'm not sure why the state flag hadn't been flown before along with the U.S. flag at local high schools.  But in order to distinguish it from the many other blue U.S. state flags, Wisconsin's flag was modified in 1979 to add "Wisconsin" and "1848", the year Wisconsin was admitted to the Union. All Wisconsin state flags manufactured after May 1, 1981 were required to use this design.

Veterans Day

November 12, 1976, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

November 12, 1982, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Two Veterans Day observances, held only six years apart, yet spanning generations.  Grizzled veterans and fresh-faced young people.  Please take a moment to remember the sacrifices of all the brave men and women who have given of their lives to keep us all safe and free.

Election Celebration

November 10, 1900, Oshkosh Daily Northwestern

While there was an election this past week, it wasn't a large-scale election as in the Presidential year of 1900.  Perhaps it was just a sign of the times, when rhetoric and lectures were a form of entertainment, that caused such a focus by the populace on politics and such an outpouring of enthusiastic revelry upon election results being released.  Nowadays, such enthusiasm might be channeled negatively into street riots, or at best, loud demonstrations against one or another candidate's politics.  And in the political climate of today, it's hard to see Democrats and Republicans coming together to agree on anything.

Now and Then

November 8, 1984, Appleton Post-Crescent

Times change and, of course, the clothes we wear.  Comparing the outfits shown here shows that style changes from any two generations could be as drastic as, say, turn-of-the-century fashions versus the Roaring Twenties.  The photo above only touches upon the still ongoing process that is evolving fashions into more casual wear than formality.  People just don't dress up anymore.  But I remember that school uniform on the right only too well.

Harmonizing

November 5, 1965, Appleton Post-Crescent

While I'm uncertain if the photo above is from 1945 or a then-current one, I'm confident that the Paper City Four still provided much harmonizing and jaunty phrasing for all in attendance, even if the membership might have changed over the course of those twenty years.

Halloween's Aftermath

November 2, 1977, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

The leftover detritus of Halloweens past found its way to many trash cans this past week.  Undistributed candy made its way to offices, lunchboxes, and the snack jars of many participants, clearing the way for many more holiday celebrations to test our waistlines in the weeks to come.

Postal Progress

November 5, 1966, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Advancement in the two cities is reflected by the addition of one new post office in Neenah and an addition to the existing facility in Menasha in 1966.  Menasha's facility gained a larger sorting room and a loading dock.  In later years, a handicapped access ramp would be added to comply with Federal laws. 

Miss Menasha

October 25, 1978, Appleton Post-Crescent

Reading this, I wonder if little Menasha ever DID visit the location attributed to her name.  If they'd had twin girls, I suppose the other girl could have been named "Nina."  I'm sure you saw THAT coming! (Groan.)

Dinner Time at ...Menasha Hotel

October 30, 1964, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

We haven't featured the sumptuous array of dining delights at the Hotel Menasha for some time now, so there's no time like the present to remind you of what once was.  And I was glad to see the management had their priorities in order, cautioning potential diners that they needn't worry about missing the Packers game.

Getting Ready

October 27, 1979, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Can that certain holiday be far behind with efforts like this afoot?  Creativity takes a front seat for these Halloween revelers.  Here's hoping your Halloween is a spooktacular affair.

Halloween Reading

October 29, 1971, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

I always loved how the librarians could create a themed display of books that were applicable to a certain holiday.  Halloween was no exception, as depicted here. And I remember this happening at my own elementary school as well as at the public library.  There was no monopoly on that concept.

Along the Lawson

October 16, 1966, Appleton Post-Crescent

We close this week with a nice view of the Lawson Canal as we look past Banta Publishing towards Gilbert Paper Company.  We first encountered it in 2012 but have revisited it many times in the blog:  https://menashabook.blogspot.com/2012/05/lawson-canal.html.

That Time of Year

October 3, 1979, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

One can almost expect to find Charlie Brown's friend Linus in this pumpkin patch, awaiting the Great Pumpkin's annual apppearance.  As we near the fabled holiday, many of us will be going to patches like this, perhaps introducing kids or grandkids to the holiday for the first time.  Another rite of Autumn comes to pass, as the year winds to a close.

Ghostly Safety

October 13, 1961, Oshkosh Daily Northwestern

With October traditionally Fire Prevention Month and also Halloween, why not be innovative and combine the two to grab the attention of young people to get the message across?  Kudos to our educators for a job well done.

Herb's Food Town Closes

October 21, 1978, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

I first mentioned this store in 2012, featuring a 1962 article when Herb retired and turned over the store to his son John:  https://menashabook.blogspot.com/2012/10/herbs-food-town.html.  I was quite familiar with this store growing up, as it was only a block from my house.  In that post, I lamented the demise of this corner grocery from Menasha, where, at one time, it seemed every neighborhood had one.  But now, after the rise of the big box retailers mostly built away from town centers, many neighborhoods are virtual food deserts.  If one doesn't have transportation, the only alternative is shopping at convenience marts and pharmacies.  And usually, it's difficult to find real food at those places. 

Pulaski Portrait

October 21, 1978, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Namesake for the village near Green Bay, Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski became the "father of the American cavalry" during the American Revolution and was a war hero to Polish-Americans everywhere.  Is it any wonder that a portrait of him with General Washington would hang in the Polish Falcons hall for oh, so many years? 

Just Marching Along

October 6, 1958, Appleton Post-Crescent

Growing up around St. Mary's, it didn't seem like a normal week if the high school marching band didn't come by the house and give us a free concert, of sorts.   I've mentioned this in past blog postings: https://menashabook.blogspot.com/2013/08/st-marys-marching-band.html and https://menashabook.blogspot.com/2015/08/front-porch-parade.html. 

New In Town

October 18, 1967, Appleton Post-Crescent

I recall this store only too well, as it was the first ShopKo in the area.  And despite what the article says, it was located on Hwy 47, not 41 obviously.  (Guess the proofreader was asleep this day).  This store eventually became the current Goodwill store after ShopKo closed in early 1975.  At the time, the local branch of the Retail Store Employees Union accused ShopKo of closing because that store's employees had wanted to organize.  But the National Labor Relations Board later found in ShopKo's favor that the store had decided to close before the organizing action ever arose.  ShopKo remained out of the Menasha market for several years before coming back with another ShopKo built a bit farther south on 47 in 1981.