Tap-Tap Ease

September 23, 1968, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Remember when this was a big deal?  Who'd have ever thought that this would replace the dial?   Technology is always evolving and the outgrowth of this was the creation of phone "trees" which made the most of this new advance.   A phone tree is an automated telephone information system that speaks to the caller with a combination of fixed-voice menus in real time. The caller then responds by pressing the phone keys which register information or route their call based on the programmed responses.  You know the routine...dial 1 for sales, dial 2 for billing, dial 3 to speak to an agent, etc.  Later, it evolved even further into the caller just speaking words or short phrases, so pushing the keys wasn't even necessary anymore.  After eliminating human interaction as much as possible for these businesses' answering systems, there was no turning back, despite the persistent recordings that tell you that "your call is valuable to us" and "we value your patronage."   

They Walk Alike, They Talk Alike....

 September 26, 1968, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Shades of The Patty Duke Show!  I guess you'd have to be as old as the ol' Blogmaster to know that reference (kids, ask your parents/grandparents....)  Seriously though, nametags seem like the logical solution for this dilemma.  Of course, if the twins are put in separate classes, perhaps it's not such a big deal.  That is, after their true identities are disclosed.    

The Big 1280

 September 23, 1952, Appleton Post-Crescent

Sometimes there was no recourse except to turn on the nearest radio.  If it wasn't on TV, it might have been on costly pay-per-view telecasts in local theaters, though it might not have been available in the Fox Valley.  A fight of this caliber on radio was a steal.  And fans of the time were still used to radio, as television was still finding its sea legs in the early '50's, so nobody thought twice about listening.  Sometime down the road, they might eventually see highlights on a newsreel at the local movie house.  By the way, Marciano knocked out Jersey Joe in the 13th round to take the belt.

Again, With the "Aggregation"

September 28, 1922, Menasha Record

Similar to our football roundup last week from 1899, again we have an "aggregation," this time the Manawa team which is purported to be speedy and husky.  As we've reported before, football at the turn of the century was a dangerous affair, so much so that the country considered banning it permanently until President Theodore Roosevelt stepped in.  When I first saw this article, I thought it might be that it was still looked upon as too dangerous to continue, until this year of 1922.  Instead I found the article below from 1916 which reported that the team had disbanded, mostly due to size problems.  Apparently, the Menasha boys weren't "husky" enough to keep from physical injury.  And, again, it was the Manawa team, which averaged a 30 pound weight advantage.  I guess the Manawa boys were...how should we say...well-fed. 

October 9, 1916, Menasha Record

A for (War) Effort

September 5, 1942, Menasha Record

Much has been said (and written) about the war effort at home and for the most part, we tend to think of Victory gardens, rationing, and Rosie the Riveter, i.e., women joining the workforce en masse in industrial occupations.  But schools made a contribution too, taking part in the obvious rubber and scrap metal drives but also, as shown here, altering the curriculum to reflect an emphasis on getting students ready for military service.  Science and math were especially emphasized, with the faculty knowing only too well that some of their students could be in uniform at any time, especially the older ones.  Some left school early to serve, some waited until graduation.  Needless to say, America came together in ways not seen since that time.

A Winning Aggregation

 

September 25, 1899, Oshkosh Northwestern

In today's blog entry, we end the week with an account of an Oshkosh-Menasha football game...from 1899.  Menasha was victorious that day, 10 -0.  And though that was a satisfying result, the real fun is in just reading this account, full of the syntax of that era.  Believe me, no account of a football game today can compare to this version ("The visitors now resisted determinedly...", "...their rushes were irresistible?")  Amazing.  

Best Yet

September 9, 1969, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

"Today's youth are the best yet."  A comment like that above coming in 1969 might have turned a few heads, considering this was the tumultuous 1960's and "generation gap" was a catch phrase the media couldn't get enough of.  That the words came from a popular Catholic priest, a high school administrator who surrounded himself with 14-18 years olds every day, might have swayed some folks.