Thanksgiving Football

February 25, 1904, Appleton Post-Crescent

Wisconsin is a football-centric state, as we all know, so I found this article questioning the appeal of playing football games on Thanksgiving to be of great interest.  Now granted, this is 1904 and there is no television.  For that matter, there is no radio, so anybody wanting to see football must trudge out to the actual football field in person to view the game.  Moreover, there is no NFL and colleges are the hit with the football crowd.  At least for the upcoming season, after Lawrence University decided that Thanksgiving was out, it added further to the debate about ANY game being more important than the holiday.

But as we all know, football won out and now we have multiple pro games on Thanksgiving.  Weren't there three NFL games last Thanksgiving?  But now, the average fan can have his turkey and eat it, too, and never miss a down.

Happy Birthday, Sister!

February 15, 1963, Twin City News-Record

What a lovely gesture for Sister Evangelus.  It does the heart good to do things for others.  I'm sure the values instilled by the good Sister in her students came back a hundredfold that day.  

Sad Boiler

February 25, 1965, Twin City News-Record

Here's a foundation principle of Advertising 101:  People react more favorably to an anthropomorphic product than not.  Readers seek out connections to themselves, and a friendly or sad face can invoke an emotional response to the ad.  That can spell the success between a lucrative ad campaign vs. one that just fizzles out.  Books have been filled with advertising images from decades past and the popular ones of today- the Geico Gecko, Tony the Tiger, the Michelin tire man, for instance, all have lenghty legacies that bring this principle to validity.  (Yes, I know, not much Menasha history today, although our fair city's retailers and service companies WERE willing partners in this advertising experiment in past years.)

Two Stories

 Neenah Times, February 20, 1904

 Appleton Post-Crescent, February 25, 1904

Young love, particularly in the month of Valentines, is especially valued as an ideal; what could be a better subject?  Meanwhile, long-standing moral invectives against alcohol abuse are readily apparent in this missive.  It is hard to overcome this prejudice as these were values engrained in people for hundreds of years before alcoholism was finally recognized as a disease in the 1950's.

Presented today, we see two decidedly different human interest stories, one to cheer about with another to wince at.  

Greatest...Values in Our History

 

February 12, 1932, Menasha Record

A good use of the colonial theme in the Grove's ad above.  Seeing that it's February and all good retailers know that that's the time to invoke George Washington's name or likeness or dress or whatnot, Mr. Grove does not disappoint.  

Field Trip

February 24, 1967, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

These same third graders who were enamored of the post office trip were the same kids who paused to watch the street crew pave the street in front of their houses and  who pestered them with questions all the while.  "Young at heart" is not just a phrase; it's a way of life.  

Excitement!

February 13, 1954,Twin City News-Record 

I came across this photo and was taken by the excitement shown from these Menasha fans, as captured by the TCNR photographer.  Now granted, the "catch you in a blink of an eye" camera shutter can immortalize the worst expressions a person can conjure up, but this group fared pretty well, showing their true emotions at a particular Menasha rally during the game.