Scandalous Hijinks, 1890's Style

June 27, 1890 Oshkosh Northwestern

Another mention of the Mystic, as seen previously on this blog.  

Here's hoping your weekend is a lot less "scandalous!"  See you next week! 

Cozy Bar

Cozy Bar in left center of above photo at Old Style sign. 

Aluminum token,  reverse says "Good for 15c in merchandise," presumably the price of a beer at the time of this token's use.   

Bars and taverns sometimes issued tokens which could be used in payment for future drinks.  When buying a round of drinks for friends, the bartender would give a token to those patrons already having a drink, and collect the full sum from the round-buyer. The owner would collect immediately, and the drinkers would have a token for later use. As the token cost less to produce than the value of the drink, there was a significant profit to the bar owner. Sometimes, drinkers would take the token home, and forget to bring them back. This has been cited as the reason bar owners loved tokens, and they were found in virtually every drinking establishment.  Tokens were also used as change, where the price of the drink was odd. For example, in America for many years, drinks were two for 25 cents, or one bit (12.5 cents) each. Thus some tokens exist with one-bit denominations.

The early tokens were usually made of brass or aluminum and would have the name or initials of the bar on them, so that they could not be used anywhere else. Often, they had the landlord's name on them as well. This ensured that, when the bar changed hands, the new landlord would not have to honor old tokens. Many small, family bars still use tokens today, but modern tokens are generally made of plastic (brass and aluminum tokens are still made, but as they are more expensive, are less used). -- thanks to Wikipedia

Gear Dairy

from 1945 Neenah-Menasha Telephone Directory

May 4, 1967 Appleton Post-Crescent

Some images and memories of Gear Dairy.  About the time of the ad above, Gear's was finalizing its merger with Morning Glory, closing out a chapter that saw the demise of the many local dairies in the community selling out to corporate interests.  Today, its 1st Street location is home to a screen printing and embroidery concern and an insurance agency. 

Looking West

A view of Main Street, looking west, extracted from the 1975 centennial Nicolet, the Menasha High yearbook.  Looks like a messy day, weather-wise.  Judging from the cars on the street, this was no contemporary photograph though, merely a step back in time to the late 50s/early 60s to help celebrate 100 years of MHS' service to the community with period photos. 

Those ARE some classic cars to the left.   

Menasha High School Band First Uniforms

Though not what we'd expect when we think of today's band uniforms, I'm sure these sweaters and headgear brought plenty of excitement to the community (and the band itself) when they were first worn. 

Gala Opening

This program details the exciting movies to be shown at the New Menasha Theatre at 155 Main Street, opening on Thanksgiving Day, 1934.  Take a break from your own busy Thanksgiving weekend shopping and family time for some escapist entertainment.  Happy weekend! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 21, 1964 NM Northwestern

Here's wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving and hoping that what's on your table rivals what was on the Hotel Menasha's menu back in 1964.   Take some time to reflect on all the blessings bestowed upon our lives, big and small.  Despite all our political and socio-economic differences, it's still a great place to live!  

And to the readership of the Menasha book and my blog, I bestow upon you a very large thank you.  Your generous enthusiasm for Menasha history inspires me to seek out more and more interesting aspects of this great town of ours to share with you. 

Best wishes to you for family, fellowship, and friendship.