Happy New Year's Eve!

December 30, 1970, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

A tradition in Menasha for oh so many years- the New Year's Eve smorgasbord at the Hotel Menasha.  As expected, they covered all the bases- beef, chicken, ham, turkey, seafood, shrimp and then dancing in the Red Bird Room to work off all those calories! 

I hope your New Year's Eve is as festive as this promised to be. 

Christmas Is....

December 24, 1960, Appleton Post-Crescent

Without judgement, without caring what your religious preferences are, here it is.  Christmas has come again.  Despite all the turmoil in the world, all the injustice, all the atrocities man can bear upon one another, Christmas is here again.  Putting aside one another's animosities for a lingering season of brotherhood and fellowship is a tough act to ask for in this day and age, but we can always hope.  So here's an editorial from the Post-Crescent that sums it all up, in a timeless message from 58 years ago.  Take what you can from it; I hope it gives you solace.
Merry Christmas to all.  I'll be taking a break until next week, so I'll see you New Year's Eve.  The best of the holidays to you and yours.

An Editor Looks Back....

December 24, 1960, Appleton Post-Crescent

I tend to get nostalgic at times in doing this blog, but probably more so during the holidays.  And so it was too for a newspaper editor from 1860, marveling at the rise of Christmas traditions in his present compared to twenty years before.  

What ever could he think of Christmas one hundred years hence, if he could have seen this article resurrected for the season?  What would he marvel at in this year of 2018?  Computers?  The internet?  Cell phones?  It is the stuff of science fiction movies perhaps to him, of having indoor plumbing, of motorized moving conveyances without horses, or of having a marvelous device in everyone's pocket that not only can communicate with folks afar, but also have more information than all the libraries of 1860.  Why, it might have even given this editor cause for alarm that his own livelihood could be jeopardized by such a device, and he wouldn't have been necessarily wrong.

Despite my ramblings, one thing stands out about this editor's description of his Christmas so long ago- the anticipation and excitement.  Regardless of how simple the offerings might have been, the sentiments remain the same.  We all, no matter our age or the calendar year, tend to await eagerly the tidings of the season.  And I take solace that that never changes. 

Bridge on the Way Out

December 14, 1974, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Remembering this bridge from way back, I look at the current state of the river and it always looks to me like something is missing.  Maybe I've been delving into the past so much, I can't recognize the present? 

Candy Land

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December 21, 1974, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

While a bit different from the enchanted house that Santa inhabited amongst the downtown merchants, the idea is largely the same- giving the young folk a special treat during the most magical of seasons.  And if you can involve reading, so much the better.

Double Features, Twenty-Five Cents

October 29, 1969, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

All I knew about the Great Depression was what my parents told me and what I'd read in history books.  That is why I love article series such as these that help put things in perspective for the every man, at least through the eyes of an editor gleaning information from back copies of the Northwestern.  Comparing what that night of entertainment at the Brin would buy grocery-wise for example, is fascinating, in that, as with anything, there are always trade-offs.  As the writer concludes, there was a lot more to life than the constant worry about market crashes and soup lines.  As we've seen, the Twin Cities were more than fortunate in their economic situation compared to other parts of the country.

Pause for Party

December 13, 1938, Appleton Post-Crescent

Aside from the usual routine of school activity, this club, as well as the rest of the student body and faculty, had been through a lot the past few years.  This marked the first Christmas since the new Menasha High School was built, after the devastating fire that took the old school on Racine Street in March of 1936.  Since then, students had been farmed all over town to complete their education, until the new campus on Seventh Street opened in 1938.   Also, just a side note about outmoded professions, a "printers club" is rather anachronistic for this day and time, considering our reliance upon computerized this and that.  Setting type has, more than likely, gone the way of buggy whips and hand cranks on automobiles.  And no doubt, some lucky reader may find a relative within these holiday revelers.

Mr. Menasha

 

December 16, 1970, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Mr. Banta seemed to live his life for Menasha and the Fox Valley.  Besides his leadership at the Banta Publishing Company, he was instrumental in the effort to build Calder Stadium as well as the Lawrence Bowl in Appleton.  As a dedicated railroad buff, he facilitated the caboose installation in Smith Park and contributed heavily to the railway museum in Green Bay.  He served as a director and officer of the First National Bank of Menasha and was a member and president of the board of trustees at Lawrence University.  He served as director and president of the Valley Council of the Boy Scouts and was a president of the Wisconsin Historical Society.  Mr. Banta lived until 1977, a lifelong resident of Menasha for 82 years.

New Lights

November 3, 1969, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Growing up at Second and DePere Streets, it seemed like these lights had always been in my consciousness, even though I now know I was 13 before they appeared.  With changes in ownership, the name changed and the lights came down.  Heck, there's even three tanks there now instead of the lonely one that held the sign.  Progress.  We first visited Central Paper earlier this year:  http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2018/07/central-paper.html.

Bank Holiday

October 28, 1969, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

This is the second of that series of articles I promised which detail Neenah-Menasha's response to the stock market crash of 1929 and the resultant Great Depression.  I found it humorous that in the midst of all this with Prohibition ending, Wisconsin outlawed the word "saloon" in favor of "tavern."  Without looking it up, I can only imagine it was designed to rid the memory of the anti-saloon sentiments conjured up which created Prohibition in the first place.  The word "tavern" is associated with food, so this may have been a more agreeable compromise to get the industry back on its feet.

Where is Santa?

December 9, 1965, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

A long standing tradition for downtown Menasha was the magical Gingerbread House which housed Santa's visit to the area during the Christmas season.  During this year of 1965, the house was next to the Menasha Sweet Shop.  For several years, it was found near the old public library or elsewhere on Main Street. 

Pearl Harbor Aftermath

December 8, 1941, Menasha Record

Today is Pearl Harbor Day, so let us look to the day after the event 77 years ago.  Menasha, of course, like the rest of the country, was on edge, as its finest men were serving in harm's way. Robert Gazecki, mentioned in the article, lost his life at Pearl Harbor and became the second namesake for the local American Legion Post as evidenced in the 1944 news item below.  He was on board the USS Arizona.  I have left a link at the bottom of this page to take you to the official USS Arizona record.  The other Navy men mentioned in the article were more fortunate.

June 2, 1944, Appleton Post-Crescent

http://www.ussarizona.org/index.php/features/lists/uss-arizona-casualty-list/748-gazecki-philip-robert

Free Ride to Appleton

July 17,1884, Saturday Evening Press

With our dependence upon automobile travel for so many years now, it's easy to forget how big a role railroads once played in the lives of Menasha residents, even for an Appleton retailer to entice customers from the lower Fox Valley by offering rail transportation to and from his place of business.

A Victorian Toyland

December 17, 1887, Saturday Evening Press

A Neenah retailer advertises in the neighboring Menasha newspaper.  This ad shows the nature of play in 1887 America and what was offered for children in what Mark Twain termed "the Gilded Age."  Tin toys, wooden toys, sleds and soldiers undoubtedly filled Christmas stockings everywhere and though these offerings appear modest, you just know they inspired the imaginations of countless youngsters regardless of their simplicity. 

Great Depression Looms

October 27, 1969, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

This is the first of a series of articles to be offered in the coming weeks which detail Neenah-Menasha's response to the stock market crash of 1929 and the resultant Great Depression.  As you will see, the Twin Cities did not suffer the way other municipalities did, being blessed with what proved to be recession-proof industries. 

Humorous Take

November 30, 1969, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Sometimes you just have to laugh, as evidenced by this account of humorous news items from days gone by.  It seems the whimsical editors of our local newspapers put a little extra grit and forthrightness in their news accounts, hesitating to pull any punches.  Se for yourself.