At Ease!

April 19, 1982, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Standing at the edge of Jefferson Park was the Army Reserve armory.  For the entirety of my childhood and for years afterward, that building anchored the extreme east end of Third Street.  I don't believe I ever had occasion to step inside, but after having served in the Army, I can safely attest that the photos above are quite familiar and reminiscent of experiences I had had in my own life with a guy in a Smokey the Bear hat.  Times and priorities change, forces regroup and organizations change.  So I do not believe the armory stands anymore in Menasha.  In fact, I think the USAR now meets in an armory west of Hwy 41 in Neenah.  But for several generations, this was the military in small town Menasha.  And believe it or not, I still see soldier students wearing that "wood splitter" patch from time to time as I walk the halls of the Army Schools I coordinate with at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.