October 30, 1980, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
Let's end this Halloween-themed week while featuring the smallest of revelers, the ones to whom Halloween likely means the most. And while this pandemic is stalling usual efforts to have a great time, let's hope the ingenuity of some of the parents out there can at least salvage some of the Halloween experience while not putting anyone in unnecessary peril. Happy Halloween, everybody!
October 29, 1890, Oshkosh Northwestern
Halloween was even a thing back in the 1890's, though this article raised several questions in my mind. First of all, what was the local grocer going to do with the beans? Shoot them at offending trick or treaters? And what is a Hibernian? Turns out the Ancient Order of Hibernians was (and still, is) an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be male, Catholic, and either born in Ireland or of Irish descent. And was the devil himself going to make an appearance at their event? And what about these "tick-tacks" that are to be employed? No, it's not the familiar breath mint we now find at checkout counters, but as best as I could find, it was a noisemaker employed to rattle windows and create a scare for the average homeowner. The article below from a Le Roy, Kansas newspaper (some forty years later, mind you) explains the idea in much detail and it looks rather complicated. Needless to say, Halloween promised to be quite the event in 1890. Sadly though, a snow storm hit the area and curtailed activities sooner than desired.
November 4, 2004, Twin City News-Record
Not so historical, but yet relevant to our Halloween-themed week is this relatively recent (by blog standards) costume parade outside Jefferson Elementary. Participants cross the intersection of Second and Ice Streets, showcasing their carefully designed outfits for this, one of the most important holidays to kids nationwide.
November 13, 1965, Appleton Post-Crescent
Menasha kids prove it isn't just about them as they collect funds during normal trick or treating for a good cause. I remember these containers very well and the whole effort beginning when I was in my prime Halloween years in the 1960's. Undoubtedly, I'm sure many of my contemporaries recall it, too.
October 31, 1903, Oshkosh Northwestern
This week is Halloween, one of the blog's favorite holidays, so it's no wonder that yours truly is obsessed with covering it properly. Today, we go back 117 years when young ladies could predict the identity of their future husbands via varying lengths of candles. I see this as a party game, a Halloween version of "Mystery Date" for young girls with as much seriousness as conjuring up the spirit of "Bloody Mary" in a mirror. But of course, this was a different time when marriage had a different importance than today. Back then, that was, in most circles, what young women were expected to aspire to, as suitable occupations for women were limited and freedoms were curtailed. Today, women can be anything, not just secretaries, telephone operators, teachers, nuns, or nurses (and some of those occupations weren't open to women in 1903 either). So, fun as it might be, there had to be some undercurrent of legitimacy and urgency in the backs of some of those young minds. Too much seriousness for a Halloween posting on a Monday...leave it to me!
October 12, 1982, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
Not sure how much legitimacy was involved in getting this job done, versus providing a cute photo op for the Northwestern photographer, but hey, we'll take it on a Friday after a long week here at the blog. We've seen cute kids before, but little Billy in the lower photo puts an extra emphasis on bringing a smile to our faces. Let's have a great weekend!
October 18, 1982, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
As the caption writer says, only a few short months away and it'll be a different, harsher environment. But in the meantime, enjoy the autumn for what it is, brisk temperatures, changing colors, and a snap in the air that reminds us to enjoy each day as it comes. Fall was always my favorite season and until I moved to the south, I could always count on it to spark good memories of autumns past. I'm sure it is the same with you.
Not to be confused with the "Take Your Son/Daughter to Work Day" movement which came much later, comes this field trip to see where Dad works. I'm not sure which of the two is more palatable, as ANY field trip away from school was a Godsend, though there's something to be said about hanging with your school friends in a new environment as opposed to being alone at Dad's office and spending the day playing Solitaire on his computer while he completes other work. Besides, to a little kid, blue collar jobs are cool...just ask any one stopped on the sidewalk watching the road crew at work.
October 11, 1967, Twin City News-Record
The ever-changing downtown certainly looks different today, as opposed to this view from 53 years ago. The columns of the old First National Bank/City Offices survive to this day to provide an iconic backdrop to the river view downtown, but the rest is gone. Notice the old style mail box, the kind with the red top and the navy blue body. It looks to be a busy day in the city.
October 31, 1905, Oshkosh Northwestern
We've been exposed to this in the blog before...derivations of city names. Do a search for "names" at the blog search function and you'll find other similar articles talking about street names as well as cities. The derivation for "Menasha" is no surprise to those of us in the know, the fun comes from neighboring or farther away towns and hamlets with their own histories. Of course, this being Wisconsin, most of the puzzlement comes from the head-scratching native American names, but just knowing that "Suamico" means "yellow sand" might win you a bar bet or two.
February 16, 1960, Twin City News-Record
Let's end the week on a "cheery" note, with meeting these Menasha cheerleaders from sixty years ago. Hard to think these ladies are now mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers, but hey, I'm no spring chicken either! We all have our moments in the spotlight and these cheerleaders made the most of theirs. Happy weekend!
November 5, 1968, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern\
We've been to Menasha Hardware before, both in person, and in the blog. I used to frequent the place for the requisite spark plugs and other paraphernalia needed to operate my parents' aging lawn mower. And, it being autumn now, this serves as a reminder to be like the ant in the legendary Aesop's Fable, tending to one's future well-being, instead of dancing (and, presumably, frittering) his time away like the grasshopper.
October 13, 1954, Appleton Post-Crescent
Those who read the blog regularly know that October is Fire Prevention Month. So, many times we've highlighted the efforts of the Menasha Fire Department engaged to educate kids about fire safety and prevention. Of course, this entailed school visits and field trips to the fire department. If they were lucky, there were free hats and badges involved as well. As indicated above, some lucky kid usually got to sit behind the wheel and pretend it was his "someday," and he was answering the call. Ah, the dreams of youth.
October 11, 1945, Appleton Post-Crescent
Except for government employees getting the day off and having post offices and banks closed on the day, most people likely missed this holiday, especially if they had to work. Every year, it is getting more and more unpopular; the idea of honoring a person who people see as an exploiter of Native Americans is anathema to them. But this may be changing gradually...my cell phone's calendar actually listed the day as "Indigenous People's Day," while it also said it was Columbus Day.
Despite the debates over the political correctness of the day, Menasha's school kids over the years, ensured the holiday was not unnoticed. Case in point, the events listed above. Whatever your feelings about the topic, any holiday was a good excuse for the history, government, or civics class in your school to engage in a bit of pageantry and this holiday was no exception.
October 1, 1920, Menasha Record
Today we feature a great ad for the George Banta Publishing Company. The ad features what is referred to as the "Pierce Arrow of printing presses." Years later, this might have been referred to as the Cadillac of printing presses. Pierce-Arrow was a luxury automobile for its time and was highly thought of and coveted. In fact, Pierce-Arrows were the first official automobiles of the White House in 1909.
I'm taking off next week; see you the week of October 12th!
Today would have been my mother's 100th birthday, had she lived to that ripe old age. She's been gone for over twelve years now, but I didn't want this moment to go unnoticed. She was a lifelong resident of Menasha and was even born in the house whose steps she was sitting on. I started this blog and wrote the books after she'd left us. I like to think she would have enjoyed what I did.