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Downtown 1958

Downtown 1958

Friday, December 22, 2017

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.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

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.

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

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. 

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

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.

Monday, December 18, 2017

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.

Friday, December 15, 2017

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. 

Thursday, December 14, 2017

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.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

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. 

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

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.

Monday, December 11, 2017

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.

Friday, December 1, 2017

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.