Little Boy Fountain

December 30, 1968, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

This is the little boy fountain in Smith Park.  According to the Smith Park Historic Walking Tour guide, this statue used to sit in the dining room of the Hotel Menasha and was donated to the city by the Dr. A.B. Jensen family, as they used to own the hotel and reside there.  I'm sure countless wedding photographs over the years have featured this little guy in he background.

No Customers

December 16, 1968, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

An unusual sight, for this seasonal time of the year in 1968...an empty post office lobby.  One wonders what time of day this photo was taken.  Even back then, I'm sure the deadline for getting packages through the system was quickly approaching, which makes the urgency to mail even more critical.  And since this is from a time when there was no Express Mail or Priority Mail yet and the average consumer couldn't go to a UPS Store (since there weren't any) and FEDEX didn't exist yet, the Postal Service was the likely option. 

Here's to your getting your own parcels and goodies to loved ones on time. 

Breaking Ground

December 13, 1967, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Slightly over fifty years ago this week, the first steps towards building the new library were taken.  This first symbolic dig into the soil at the old Racine Street Park would lead to a modern facility to replace the old structure on Mill Street.  Renovations beginning in 2003 would expand its size considerably and bring the library into the 21st century.

Christmas Bell Ringers

December 14, 1964, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

We venture back 53 years ago to review the offerings of the fine area merchants who strived to give us the fine Christmas we all wanted.  Using your Bank of Menasha Christmas Club check and this handy guide, a well-informed shopper could cover all the bases and never leave the cozy confines of Menasha. 

Cannons

December 29, 1970, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

We all played on the cannons as kids and most of us never gave a thought as to where they came from or why they were there.  After reading the above article, it looks as if we're no closer to answering those questions.  I'm more intrigued as to how Menasha could be spelled three different ways in the article.

Christmas Is Coming

December 2, 1961, Appleton Post-Crescent

Christmas IS coming to the folks at Music Box Associates and Valley Fair.  If nothing else these advertisements give us a view of some classic photographs of long ago businesses.  I remember that courtyard in Valley Fair quite fondly; the barber my Dad took me to as a boy was right behind that foliage.  The appliance store is a  cipher to me...all I remember at that curve is the Brin Theater.  Druck's is remembered more as it had a longer history as well as being closer to my side of town.  But still, a nice photo.

Milk Prices

November 14, 1958, Appleton Post-Crescent

1884 proved to be the first year for Gear Dairy's long run of serving Menasha's customer base for fine dairy products.  I found it interesting that different kinds of cows were used for the milk.  To a city boy like me, that whole concept is as alien as the story told to me by my grandfather than brown cows gave chocolate milk!

I'll be taking a week-long hiatus from the blog, so see you back here on December 11th.