I Can't Stop Dancing

 July 3, 1924, Appleton Post-Crescent

Over the years, we've seen many references to the fine music and dancing available at Brighton and Waverly Beaches in the posts of this blog and in many Menasha groups on Facebook.   But until I saw this ad, I wasn't truly cognizant of the many other opportunities for amusement and entertainment around the Fox Valley.  Yes, it was the Roaring Twenties and the stereotypical flapper and jazz bands do come to mind while scanning this page.  And thankfully, the affordable and reliable trolleys that could take patrons for 5 and 10 cents a ride "every 30 minutes" had to be a boon as well for the local economy.

Smoking in the Boys Room

             .                                                  September 9, 1975, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

This story seems like an anachronism, considering how smoking has been mostly banished and burnished with a foul reputation nationwide.  But coming from an era when one could even smoke in hospitals for heaven's sake, it's no surprise that smoking would rear its ugly head for younger folk.  After all, one has to start smoking sometime and what better time to start when one was young and peer-pressured.  I began to "sample" my own Dad's smokes while a freshman in high school, so I can relate.  

Brighton Ball Park

 June 13, 1899, Appleton Crescent

Going back to yesterday's trash talk story between Menasha and Appleton, the article above, culled from the Menasha Breeze and presented by the forerunner to the Post-Crescent, describes the new ball park underway at Brighton Beach.  Of course, this being 1899, there was no photograph of the park, nor nary a drawing.  The story continues below.

                                                                                      June 15, 1899, Appleton Post

Brighton Ball Park and Trash Talk

 June 15, 1899, Appleton Crescent

You have to love the trash talk surrounding baseball, especially when the neighboring town decides your team isn't good enough to play.  Of course, most of this is coming from the Menasha newspaper at the time, the Breeze, but the Crescent gets its licks in as well.  Point of note...until I read this, I was not aware of a ballpark in the Brighton Beach area.  I must do further research on that.  

Ducks in a Row

August 27, 1979, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Despite the law breaking ducks, the remaining canards provide a relaxing tableau on a lazy summer evening for the casual observer.  

For a Good Time....

August 6, 1943, Menasha Record

Good solid food served at the Home Plate Bar, a long time Menasha institution.  Back in 1920, the location was listed as the John B. Weisgerber & Sons Grocers, but by 1939, it was listed as George's Tavern.  I've found references to a George Weisgerber, presumably one of John's sons, being the manager of the Twin Cities Gold Labels baseball team, so a bar that morphed into the Home Plate Bar would be a natural progression, wouldn't it. I remember the bar from my younger days and a more recent search indicates the bar, then known as Becks Home Plate, closed forever on July 1, 2014.

"Modern" Moms

August 3, 1967, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Fun times at Jefferson Park, courtesy of the Menasha Rec Department.  I'd like to have seen the rolling pin throwing contest.  I presume this was just for distance, not at a target of the ol' ball and chain.  Still, it beats getting a hit on the head by a frying pan, as evidenced in every comic strip or cartoon at one time or another in regards to domestic marital life.  And lest you think I'm making light of domestic violence, oh no, I'm just highlighting an old stereotype of the shrewish housewife yielding dominance over the milquetoast husband,  You know the trope.

Autographed Program

 

With the coming of the upcoming football season, what better time is there to resurrect the memory of the 1000 Yarder Club that held court at The Left Guard for about 12 years.  The program above is from the very first enshrinement dinner and is festooned with autographs of the football notables in attendance.  I couldn't believe Curly Lambeau's signature was on it, but there it is on the upper right side of the program, much to my surprise.  Sadly, he passed away the next year.  We first encountered this club in 2014: https://menashabook.blogspot.com/2018/02/1000-yarders.html 

Green Acres

We first met the Uncle Sam Tractor in 2014, http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2014/04/us-tractor-company.html  manufactured for a few years in the early 1920's on Sixth Street in Menasha.  This article in Automotive Trade Journal describes the tractor in great detail.  With its steel wheels, the tractor reminded me of the one in the Green Acres TV show, though a little research revealed that that tractor was about 10 years older than this one.

Radio Days

August 13, 1927, Menasha Record

Giveaways have always been a big draw for retailers.  I wonder how much attention was caused by this promotion.  Radio was still not as popular as one would think but it was finding its way and was just changing from being a hobbyist's medium to a mass medium.  Notice how there are no speakers associated with this model; headphones were required to get any sound out of it.  In time, radio would assume the form we all remember...large floor consoles and table top versions with cloth covered speakers.  That was what pushed radio over the top- the ability to buy a ready made set, take it home, plug it in and turn it on.  But this item up for grabs, this was somewhat reminiscent of hobbyist's radio as we know it.  Still, if you didn't mind being tied to the headphones, you had yourself a free radio.

Readers?

After 2242 posts and 9+ years of doing this, this ol' blog master has no memory of whether or not we've featured this photo before.  Frankly, I don't even know where it came from...if it was submitted to me by a reader or if I cribbed it from some Flickr account.  Whatever the case, please enlighten me if you know its origin, and appropriate apologies will be conveyed if I have stepped over the line by boring you with a recent repeat.  Still, I like the photo, with period details of the old style light posts, lighting on the city square, the old mailbox inn the foreground, and what looks to be old highway signs (could it be for US 41?!)  Of course, the buildings on the north side of Main (The Clothes Shop sign which still exists today) and the buildings on the Scott block add to the view.  I zoomed in on the car's license plate but the view becomes so pixilated, it's impossible to ascertain a date.  Oh well.

Retail Prediction

August 9, 1962, Appleton Post-Crescent

In the run up before the First National Bank relocated from its old historic location down the block to a new location across from the Bank of Menasha, plans were published to include a retail/supermarket facility next door.  What became of that idea remains elusive, as it didn't pan out.  Perhaps the cost was too high or no tenants could be found.  But whatever the case, the First National Bank remained in that location for many, many years, eventually supplanted by the marina/apartment properties we find currently in the area.