April 5, 1969, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
One of my daughters asked me one day about growing up in the 1960's, thinking it was all hippies and peace marches. I told her that I didn't remember much of that in Menasha. Of course, I was only approaching the teenage years when the sixties ended, so my viewpoint was that of an adolescent who had his nose in perhaps too many comic books and certainly I didn't have the world view I would develop later on. Case in point, the photo and article above. I about 12 and a half when this march occurred and from the looks of it, it looked rather benign. I have no memory of it, but then on that Friday afternoon, I was more than likely ensconced in my sixth grade classroom whiling away the hours until the 3 o'clock bell and missed the news coverage of the day anyway. Still, I am heartened that Menasha students of the time felt the need to get involved, despite the obvious sparse turnout. Parenthetical notes: I love the 29 cent gasoline sign. Anybody out there recognize exactly what street they were marching on and which gas station this might have been? And how about that police car accompanying the group? I'm not sure if was protecting Menasha from the potential civic "unrest" the march might have incited, or was it protecting the marchers from the "angry mobs" of Menasha citizens railing against those long hairs and their peace doctrine?! Oh, those kids and their Beatles music.
I'm guessing this view looks northwest near the intersection of Third and Milwaukee Streets. There was a gas station where later Doering's Super Valu was built. It looks like Laemmrich's Funeral Chapel parking lot in the background.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Wally, but Doering's was already in place when this march happened. I checked in a past blog post and Doering's opened in January 1964. I wondered if this was the Second and Racine Street intersection behind the kids. But my problem with that is: shouldn't the newly built library be in the background? If the march started at St. Mary's church and if they did, as the story says, "circled a small area of Menasha and then marched into the gym...", then it almost sounds like they just went around the block!
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