Monumental Losses

 

September 23, 1935, Oshkosh Northwestern

On July 4, 1826, former Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, who were once fellow Patriots and then adversaries, died on the same day within five hours of each other.  In another historical coincidence, these two Menasha industrial stalwarts passed away within hours of each other.  While Mr. Miner was definitely a company man, and maintained and grew his company in myriad ways, Mr. Banta continually reinvented himself, culminating in founding the publishing firm that bore his name.  The comparison is far-fetched perhaps, but one cannot discount the influence the two businessmen described above had upon the economy and civic status of Menasha and, for that matter, the entire Fox Valley.