June 12, 1963, Appleton Post-Crescent
With Father's Day around the corner, perhaps a special meal at the Birchwood might have tickled Dad's fancy. Nice inside view of the decor. And lest we forget, it is "air-conditioned for (your) dining comfort."
A blog which supplements my two books, Menasha, and Neenah and Menasha: Twin Cities of the Fox Valley
June 12, 1963, Appleton Post-Crescent
With Father's Day around the corner, perhaps a special meal at the Birchwood might have tickled Dad's fancy. Nice inside view of the decor. And lest we forget, it is "air-conditioned for (your) dining comfort."
I repost this every year.
Marathon does it again with innovative packaging for the food industry. Like so many cigars with cigar bands, Marathon saw fit to identify each hot dog with its own distinctive band, something new for 1949! And while we don't necessarily see individual banded franks anymore, I believe that plastic wrapper or something very similar is still in use. By the way, those ideas for using hot dogs on skewers and whatnot is quite derivative of the convenience era that really gained a lot of ground in post-war America. Fun, fast, and innovative...that was the watchword for a culture that brought you the tv dinner and other time savers.
July 14, 1972, Appleton Post-Crescent
Almost fifty years ago,, the steeples came down from St. John's church. The fiberglass domes were eliminated eventually too, though this fuzzy 1977 photo shows them as they were intended.
We first encountered St. John's in 2013: http://menashabook.blogspot.com/2013/04/st-johns.html, where you can see a photo of the church today.
May 30, 1979, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
Now, I don't even remember where this station was located in Neenah, but that's beside the point. To think the author of this caption was nostalgic a year later, after it had closed, for the prices then that were (shudder) hovering near a dollar. Imagine if those same folks time- travelled to our present where the gas in my area is well over $4.17 per gallon. Wow.
May 29, 1934, Menasha Record
Listed above is the order of march for the 1934 Memorial Day. Let's hope there was no rain that day as it might have been rather crowded at the S.A. Cook Armory. Needless to say, the Twin Cities did their best to honor those who gave all.
May 25, 1889, Saturday Evening Press
Great rundown of local news of 133 years ago. Of note, the fake vanilla scam perpetrated against unsuspecting individuals, the plans for the upcoming Memorial Day, and the warning about dark conditions in the vicinity of the Germania opera house. The Press did a great job in keeping the citizens abreast of Menasha's news.
May 29, 1926, Menasha Record
1926 brings us what was considered then a large graduating class at Menasha High. Just think...when these students were born, there had been no World Wars yet, manned flight was only five years old, and the Titanic disaster was still four years away. They could even converse with Civil War veterans. Sometimes people are born in times that straddle much heralded eras of history. Most of these kids eventually saw men land and walk on the moon. So much history came down the pike during their lifetimes and they saw it all.
May 24, 1965, Twin City News-Record
While the artwork provided by Schwinn isn't exactly representative of the area serviced by the Menasha Bike Shop, we get the idea anyway. Everything is better outdoors while riding a Schwinn and family fun can't be beat. We've been to this bike shop many times, the last time in 2020: https://menashabook.blogspot.com/2020/04/if-its-spring-it-must-be-bike-riding.html
May 7, 1963, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
Nothing like a grand entrance. But if it had been me, I likely would have died from embarrassment on the train ride to Chicago. Still, years later, it gives one a great story to relate to the kids or grandkids. And hopefully, this was NOT the highlight of the trip.
May 17, 1979, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
The caption says it all. Sometimes things just don't go along the way they should, despite being okay for most of the day. Sounds like a Monday thing, but occasionally the Monday blues occur on Wednesdays, too.
May 11, 1940, Menasha Record
Some leftovers from the recent Mother's Day celebration. Point of note: I'm surprised a little bit at the offering of a roast duck at the Valley Coffee Shop. That's not exactly coffee shop faire, but I suspect they were in a bit of competition with the Hotel Menasha and its fabulous Sunday buffets. Not to mention it was for Mom, so something special was definitely called for.
May 12, 1922, Menasha Record
With Mother's Day yesterday, we visit 1922 and the good wishes the Bank of Menasha brings to mothers in Menasha and throughout the valley.
From May 8, 2013
This photograph was featured in Paper With a Presence, A Gilbert Century, published in 1987 to commemorate the centennial of the Gilbert Paper Company. At the time of this photograph, Gilbert Paper was just 3 years old. William Gilbert had been in business with George A. Whiting since 1881, but sold his interests in 1886 to found his own company a year later.
From March 18, 2013
Continuing our series of aerial shots of our fair town, this postcard, taken from overhead near Jefferson Park reveals many landmarks, from the water utility on Broad Street and water tower on Second, to St. Mary's Church and High School, to downtown and many more. If you know where to look, it's there.
From June 25, 2012
From the Dictionary of Wisconsin biography:From June 28, 2012
The Menasha Lock is part of the historic Fox River lock system. Constructed between 1848 and the late 1870s, this system was once part of a twenty four lock system that connected the Great Lakes with ports on the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. This hand-operated lock permits passage of boaters from Little Lake Butte des Morts to Lake Winnebago. In the early 20th century, Menasha and Neenah were among the world’s largest producers of paper. From the 1850s through the early 1900s, the steamboats, tugs, and freighters that passed through the Menasha lock fueled this industry, bringing in timber from the north and carrying paper to ports throughout the world. There is an unoccupied two story side gabled lock tender house at the lock site that is not on the National Historic Register.
The Menasha Lock has been operated continually from the 1850’s to the present. In the early 1970’s a major reconstruction occurred and steel gates were added. In 2004, the Fox River Navigational System Authority (FRNSA) was established by the State of Wisconsin to revive the system.
UPDATE: The Menasha lock was closed in 2015 due to the discovery of the round goby, an invasive fish species populating the Great Lakes, and reopening any time before 2023 is uncertain at this time.
From May 21, 2012
I enjoyed our look back at ten years of the blog last week so much that I decided to extend the fun another week. So, please enjoy these favorites from the blog's first year.
Jefferson Park was built in 1932 and 1933 as a project of the Works Project Administration. Jefferson Elementary School, at the intersection of Second and Ice Streets, is adjacent to the park in the background of this photograph. Completed in 1931 at a cost of $125,000, it had been built at the behest of the City Council in order to provide local employment during the Great Depression. Its unusual styling is categorized as Tudor/Elizabethan revival.