Brief Hiatus

I need to suspend blog posts for the remainder of this week for personal reasons.  I hope to resume next week.  Thanks for your support.  

1850 Status Report

October 16, 1850, The Weekly Wisconsin

A few short months later, the area received this status report via the newspapers about the plank road's successful initiation and a glowing report about the hopes for a bigger and more vibrant Menasha. Investors and speculators were inclined to respond to this kind of report and ventured north undoubtedly to check it out and invest in the town.

Plank Road

July 30, 1850, Democratic State Register (Watertown, WI)

This is one of the first mentions of what we know today as Plank Road.  With the unreliability of overland roads in that era, fashioning a road made of wooden planks seemed, for a time, to be a smart move.  The plank road boom, like many other early technologies, promised to transform the way people lived and worked and led to permissive changes in legislation seeking to spur development, speculative investment by private individuals, etc. Ultimately, the technology failed to live up to its promise, and millions of dollars in investments evaporated almost overnight.  Still, the road and its location evolved over the years and remains a vital transportation artery to points east.

Bridge

July 5, 2000, Twin City News-Record

I find I never need an excuse to feature the Tayco Street Bridge in a found photograph.  Plus we get some newsy items from various decades.  I particularly enjoyed the Racine Street Bridge walker out in the middle of the day in 1975 with his "special" plant!  

Free Tool

July 28, 1970, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

From the same Prospector Days that gave you yesterday's diapers in the hardware store ad, comes this strange barbecue tool, given as a gift by the Bank of Menasha upon opening a new savings or checking account.  (Remember those days when a gift was usually guaranteed for doing such a thing?)  Toasters, candles, piggy banks all were token gifts for just doing business you were likely to do anyway.  Anyway, this so-called whatchamacallit was THE offering for the summer cook-outs in 1970.  Sadly, since we banked at First National, we had to do without this tool, yet somehow, we survived.   

Spankies

July 28, 1970, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Oh, the incongruity here!  We here at the blog, love a good Prospector Days ad as much as the next fellow but this one is too good to pass up. Kudos to Cy for stocking a new product, so much so that even a tutorial had to be included on how to use it.  But disposable diapers?!  At a hardware store?!  I won't even comment on the sale priced 50 foot hose, but to leave the "ample rear parking" in is just too good of a double entendre!  Perhaps I've been working too long from home now during the pandemic, but my mind does go certain ways some times.  Please forgive me.

Wholesome Fun

July 13, 1949, Menasha Record

Older readers of the blog will recall the soda fountain at the Memorial Building, ready to quench the thirst or sweet tooth of any number of avid teenagers. This could almost be an ad for the ubiquitous soft drink; high marks for featuring the trademark bottle at the fountain.

Pool Grand Opening

July 12. 1957, Appleton Post-Crescent

Interesting facts about the pool.  I didn't realize it was, at least for its time, an Olympic sized facility.  And the part about the underwater windows to analyze diving techniques...I'd forgotten about that.  No wonder Menasha was so proud of its pool.  But as a snapshot in time, the do's and don'ts still reflect the old era- telling patrons to wait an hour before swimming after eating.  That old myth was shot down some time ago, but it was still prevalent in 1957.  And God help you if you females didn't wear your bathing caps.  Still, it was the perfect antidote to a boring summer day for all the kids.   

Special note:  Today marks the 2000th post in this blog.  Thanks for all your support over the 8+ years I've been doing this.

Dock Work

July 31, 1906, Menasha Record

January 3, 1907, Menasha Record

March 4, 1907, Menasha Record

The wheels of change sometimes move slowly and even in the early days of the 20th century, public works still needed appropriations for much-needed repairs, etc.  Eight months after the dock deficiencies were publicized, the work was finally done.  I guess $100 went a long ways in 1907.

An Early "Character"

July 6, 1960, Oshkosh Northwestern 

July 18, 1960, Twin City News-Record

No, it's not THAT "A. Lincoln."  We're talking about ANSON Lincoln, a self-proclaimed jokester and all around character from the tone of this article.  Mr. Lincoln was an all-around civic personality- postmaster, city clerk, druggist, part-time journalist, and inveterate hoaxster.  From the sound of it, wherever he went, be it Menasha or later in Chicago, Anson Lincoln made sure the citizenry talked about him. I'd love to find the photograph his relative mentions in the story.

A "Spirited" Game

July 22, 1935, Appleton Post-Crescent

Sounding like a professional wrestling match, things got out of hand during this rivalry.  A chair over the head?!  Apparently the visiting Menasha fans and players went out of their way to express their displeasure with the Appleton contingent.  Whether or not this was warranted remains to be seen.  Nevertheless, the Menashans likely set themselves up to receive responses in kind the next time they formed up against the Appleton team.

Baseball (and Beer) Buddies

July 19, 1939, Menasha Record

Much like the famed party buses of my era that took valley residents down to the Brewers games, this Northwestern special delivered you to Comiskey Park in Chicago via train.  No mention of certain beverages while en route to the games but trains traditionally had available libations so I'm sure the baseball fan and his drinking buddies could arrive in fine fettle.

The Pool is a Reality

July 12, 1957, Twin City News-Record

Despite a lot of political wrangling, strikes, and other delays, a long awaited new jewel in Menasha's crown was finally a reality...a new swimming pool.  Graduating from a modest swimming area behind the Memorial Building at Smith Park to a then-state of the art facility was a big step for the city.  Next week, we'll feature the grand opening of the city pool from 1957.

Cooper Support

                                       

July 17, 1935, Appleton Post-Crescent

Prohibition had been repealed just three years before and now the cooper industry faced a new threat- steel kegs and barrels.  Traditionally, a cooper is a barrel maker or, by definition, any artisan who makes wooden-staved containers.  The Menasha Woodenware, notable for its wooden pails, butter tubs, and yes, barrels and kegs, eventually lost the "war" to this upstart material.  But for now, in 1935, all the taverns and bars in the Fox Valley threw their support behind Coopers Local 22, as portrayed in this full page ad in time for the labor convention.

A Splendid Opportunity

July 7, 1920, Menasha Record

This is a request for teenage boys to harvest cherries in Door County under the guise of a summer camp.  Summer "outing?"  Sounds like a real job to me.  But further research (see below) indicated that it WAS a camping experience, with nightly baseball games as recreation and weekly "moving pictures."  Say what you will about some of the text in the article, but I'm sure it can be accounted for by saying it was a more innocent time.  Looking at it from a 2020 sensibility though still sends up alarm bells to the reader today.  

June 25, 1920, Menasha Record

Brighton Beach Idyll

July 5, 1899, Oshkosh Northwestern

"Menasha people" were all inspired to attend the Independence Day celebration at Brighton Beach, to celebrate America's 123rd birthday in 1899.  Nearing the dawn of the 20th century, the country was about to gain superpower status in the world.  The 1898 Treaty of Paris ending the Spanish-American War ceded important Spanish possessions to the United States—notably Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and the small island of Guam. The United States was suddenly a colonial power with overseas dependencies.  The country enjoyed a second industrial revolution, fueled by vast manufacturing capabilities, new inventions, and reliable rail transport.  The US was number one in the world in many aspects and Menasha's manufacturing base was no small component of the country's collective wealth. 

Happy Fourth of July Weekend!

Here's my Fourth of July wish for you...have a great holiday weekend and please be safe!  I'll be back next Tuesday, 7 July.  Though it might not be like other years, still...enjoy your time off with your families!

I've featured this 1943 parade photo before from past blog posts but it is still one of my favorites.  So much has changed since the day of this parade.  Parts of downtown are barely recognizable.  Today, the building at the left, with the three windows (the former Hoffmann grocery, 163 Main Street) is still standing and to the right of the building is the Marina Place Parking Lot.  Below photo from 2019.  

Time to Indulge

July 7, 1975, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern 

We've spent the week here at the blog considering fun summertime activities, be it spending time at Jefferson Park, riding our bikes in the bicycle rodeo, or attending the carnival.  Well today, we're all in...playing the games, riding the rides, and indulging in the fair food as we approach the apex of summer, the Fourth of July weekend.  Granted, things might be different this year due to the pandemic, but it cannot erase the fond memories of past Fourths that we all hold near and dear in our collective memories and hearts. 

Fair Time

July 3, 1981, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

A familiar summer sight, carnival workers set up in a local park.  To most of us they are just a band of nameless people who provide us the rides and games, the refreshments and special treats that make up an important part of our summer.  Like a methodical stage crew, they come into the town under cover of darkness and magically erect a wonderland for all ages. After a few afternoons and evenings, they pack it all up and head for the next town, where eager patrons await the cotton candy and caramel apples and a chance to impress their best girl by winning some stuffed animal.  It's all so familiar, repeated from town to town like a circuit, until the fall comes and all we're left with is a pleasant memory of a humid night punctuated by those special noises and smells and emptier pockets because it took so much to win that bear.  Sweet memories indeed.