Museum II

January 9, 1899, Oshkosh Daily Northwestern

January 17, 1899, Oshkosh Daily Northwestern

January 20, 1899, Neenah Daily Times

July 14, 1899, Neenah Daily Times

July 18, 1900, Oshkosh Daily Northwestern

Following the sequence of events, it is obvious that there was some confusion, at least by the fourth estate, over the exact name of the benefactor who gave the Menasha museum its initial collection.  Was it Olin, Oten, or Oleson?  Be that as it may, the end result was just disheartening as it amounted to the equivalent of a petulant child ending the game by taking his bat and ball and going home.  No small matter that the Oshkoshes of the world were salivating at the news of Menasha's misfortune.

Saved By the Florist

September 20, 1954, Appleton Post-Crescent

Typical 1950's slice of life cartoon appropriated to service a florist's advertising budget.  Looking like so many Saturday Evening Post (remember that?) cartoons, the reader is drawn into the cartoon before realizing the payoff at the end is an advertisement.  A great marketing ploy for its time.  I was only too familiar with Lindsdau's as it was the preeminent florist in Menasha for many decades.

Doty Confusion

June 29, 1960, Appleton Post-Crescent

My friend Steve Krueger poses an interesting question on the Menasha, WI Forum group on Facebook.  Although it is generally accepted that Governor Doty lived in Neenah, Steve has compiled several incidences which indicate otherwise, that his residence was Menasha.  In attempts to help, it seems I've only muddied the water even more by the addition of the above 1960 news article which states, again, that Doty lived in Menasha.  I even searched the Post-Crescent for the months after the publication of this article, thinking there might be an irate letter to the editor refuting this fact, but none was ever found. 

Museum Idea

September 13, 1898, Neenah Daily Times

September 14, 1898, Oshkosh Daily Northwestern

Mayor Schoetz came to the conclusion that a municipal museum for Menasha would be a good thing.  But then, the critics came out, as evidenced above. 

November 10, 1898, Neenah Daily Times

November 16, 1898, Oshkosh Daily Northwestern

A few months later, the whole thing came together, in the basement of the Smith Library.  But as we will see in a future posting, the future was not so bright for this endeavor.

Menasha Drills

September 27, 1934, Appleton Post-Crescent

September 29, 1934, Green Bay Press-Gazette

Evidently all that hard work by the Menasha squad paid off as they went on to defeat Shawano that Friday night some 84 years ago.  The lineups and substitution lists only reflect offensive positions but I have no doubt that many, if not all, of these hardy guys, played both ways, as was the norm for that era.

Rebels Without a Cause

September 8, 1954, Appleton Post-Crescent

Like so many James Dean wannabes from those 1950s "troubled youth" movies, comes our own panic of a sorts when kids started acting out in our own home town.  I can only imagine the reactions of the local populace to these interlopers desecrating our downtown's decorum.  On the lighter side...owning a typewriter for as little as $1.00 per week?!   Please refresh my memory...what's a typewriter, again? 

The End of an Era

September 17, 1948, Appleton Post-Crescent

Nice reminiscences of the Menasha. plying its trade along the Fox River.  One major takeaway from reading these anecdotes is how the Menasha had its own personality, you might say, judging from Captain Velte's telling of the story.  His tales of the interesting characters along the river resemble those feisty ship captains we've seen in countless movies and TV shows. 

Last Car to Menasha

September 28, 1898, Appleton Crescent

This schedule was published every day in what was then known as the Appleton Crescent (The merger with the Appleton Post didn't occur until 1920.)  Any regular user of the inter-urban would have this schedule memorized quickly so perhaps it benefitted those visitors to the area who needed to get to Menasha and had no clue as to the regularity of cars.  Or it was simply customary to do so in a newspaper. That there was regular service to the industrial city south of Appleton speaks a lot about Menasha's place in the economy and social fabric of the late 19th century. 

The Girls in the Cooking Class

September 23, 1998, Twin City News-Record

Taken from a Back in Time compilation from twenty years ago comes this 1906 photo of Menasha High students in a cooking class.  The brickwork in the background suggests the class was held in the bowels of the old high school, a basement perhaps, or maybe it is simply befitting a cooking class from that era when ovens and high temperatures would be employed and safety considerations would dictate this. 

Blimp Visits

September 3, 1935, Menasha Record

It must have been quite a scene to see the Goodyear blimp descend on the little airport at Highway 47 and Airport Road.  A shame the photographer didn't see fit to back away from the scene and give us the "big" picture of seeing the blimp in all its glory.  It's interesting that the story emphasized the safety of using helium to fill the ship.  The famous Hindenburg disaster was some 20 months in the future and you may recall that that airship was filled with the more dangerous hydrogen and the ship went up in flames very quickly with extensive loss of life. 

Shave and a Haircut....

September 28, 1943, Menasha Record

I guess I never thought there'd be a standardized price for haircuts, but that must be the influence of the barbers' union (its existence, a fact of which I was, again, unaware.)  That shave and a haircut, two bits rhyme was a victim of inflation evidently.

Pioneers

August 29, 1934, Appleton Post-Crescent

When I saw the headline, I had hoped for more anecdotal information than just a recitation of the pioneers' ages, especially when the opening paragraph of the story literally says that many of them have distinct memories of when Menasha was a village.  Still, it's a wonderful thing to imagine having had conversations with them and what they could have offered. 

Rev. Clinton and the Battle of Chickamauga Creek

September 20, 1963, Appleton Post-Crescent

The Reverend O. P. Clinton was born on November 22, 1808 in Ferrisburg, Vermont. Clinton first visited the area in December 1845 and in March 1846 moved his family from Lake Mills, Wisconsin to Winnebago Rapids (Neenah). At the time Reverend Clinton represented the American Home Missionary Society and worked as a missionary in northern Wisconsin. Reverend Clinton organized a Congregational Church in 1847 and moved to Menasha in 1848. On September 4, 1862 he enlisted and served as a Chaplain for the 21st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment in the Civil War. He died in Menasha on June 19, 1890.

Tragedy Averted

May 23, 1918, Menasha Record

I ran across this item in my travels through the archives recently.  The whole affair brings to mind one of those serials from the silent era, where the heroine is floating downstream and coming precariously close to the falls or tied to the train tracks as the locomotive barrels around a corner at full speed.  But then the handsome hero comes to her rescue at the last minute.  Shows like this most likely played out at Menasha's own Orpheum Theater.  I can almost hear the frantic piano music as the drama unfolds....

$2.50 Service Call

September 10, 1958, Appleton Post-Crescent

A fleet of service trucks lay at the wait to travel the valley, providing the best appliance service available to its customers.  And at the anniversary price of $2.50, you'd wish your TV was on the fritz to save like that!  (Seriously though, coming home from school to an empty TV cabinet was a bit of a shock and an even bigger let down, since my family only had the one TV in those days and I LIVED for television!) And, full disclosure, it was a Zenith and my father wouldn't let anybody but the dealer we bought it from, touch it, and that was Suess TV in Appleton.

Back to School Blues

September 29, 1943, Menasha Record

In the throes of World War II and despite the tense times, there was still occasion for a humorous back to school ad by the Bank of Menasha.  Looking like any stereotypical kid from 1940's movies, I can only imagine he's wearing knickers below that desk.  And the Brin, as many theaters of the time practiced, had the perfect way to bring in patrons to the show...the chance to get free dinnerware.  As a kid in the sixties, I can still recall filling up for gas and getting drinking glasses at the old Consolidated station on Washington Street behind St. Patrick's.  I imagine the giveaways in the forties were that much better.

Ride the Valley Queen

September 1, 1922, Appleton Post-Crescent

The Valley Queen was formerly known as the Leander Choate.  One of the best known Oshkosh steamboat builders, George D. Ryan, began building his boats in 1884. The company, later succeeded by his son William, also built sailboats and continued in business until 1942. They are attributed to building the last steamboat in Oshkosh, the Leander Choate (the second vessel by that name). Captained by Mike Golden, it was built in 1908 for the Oshkosh Steamboat Company as an excursion boat, measuring 126' long and 30' wide. In 1922 the Choate was rebuilt as the Valley Queen and continued as an excursion boat until it was destroyed by fire on November 10, 1922, where it was tied up for the winter on the north side of the Fox River next to Deltox Grass Rug Company at the end of Osceola Street in Oshkosh.

--info courtesy of the Oshkosh Public Museum

Postcard with a 1909 postmark

November 10, 1922, Appleton Post-Crescent

Drink Hearty

August 28, 1956, Appleton Post-Crescent

It's been a while since we've featured Twin City Beverages, but what could be more enticing than those icy cold fruit flavors on a hot Labor Day weekend?  Notice how, back then, 12 ounces was considered "king-size," when a 7 ounce bottle was the norm. 

Labor Day Activities (Or Lack Thereof)

September 1, 1915, Appleton Crescent

September 5, 1933, Appleton Post-Crescent

What a difference a generation makes.  From the grandiose in 1915, to the overlooked in 1933.  Granted, there WAS a depression ongoing, but still....  I find it fascinating that the newspaper reported 1933's lack of activities at all.