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.