Christmas Tree Bonfire

January 13, 1956, Appleton Post-Crescent

Nothing says the season is over than a scene such as this. Here where I live in South Carolina, we have "Grinding of the Greens" where free mulch made from the recycled trees is made available to the public in early to mid-January.  But I know back in Wisconsin, the trees can have an even longer life as markers for ice fishermen or as feed for animals in preserves and zoos.  Still, there's nothing like a roaring bonfire to excite things a bit.

Hope Springs Eternal

October 30, 1969, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

This is the fourth in our series of Great Depression articles and its effects upon the Twin Cities. "Hope springs eternal" was the watchword, though the article seems to tell an otherwise bleak tale. 

Basket Trophy

January 21, 1925, The Daily News-Times

In an age when photographs in newspapers were not as prevalent as they were in later years, the newspaper often employed an artist to render depictions that could work just as well. Here, we see an artist's rendering of the trophy in question.  The Daily News-Times was based in Neenah so why would it donate a trophy like this to Menasha High School?  Parenthetically, this newspaper, along with the Menasha Record, merged in 1949 to create the Twin City News-Record.

The End of the Season

January 4, 1926, Menasha Record

Rarely have I featured a cartoon within the pages of this blog, and without a thorough checking, this might be the first time.   Despite that, this one-panel sums up the ending of the holidays- the wistful looks of dismay from the schoolboys as the tree departs, marking the end of another Christmas season.  In the Catholic world and in my own upbringing, my mother was insistent that the decorations stayed up until January 6th, Epiphany, or Three Kings Day, when the Magi were said to have visited the baby Jesus.  She always referred to the day as "Little Christmas," and to this day, my own family has maintained her tradition, much to the distress of my South Carolina neighbors who believe there is some stigma attached to having decorations around longer than the DAY AFTER Christmas!  My wife says that that is THEIR tradition.  What ever do they think the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," means?!

Future Ice All-Stars

December 31, 1985, Appleton Post-Crescent

Typical of outdoor life in wintry Menasha, one can always count upon ice-based sports, be it skating or an impromptu game of hockey.  If I had to guess, I'd bet these two were trying out some recently acquired loot from Santa.  

Merger Editorial

November 30, 1959, Appleton Post-Crescent

This is a question that has come up quite often and it has been voted upon several times over the last century and a half by Menasha's citizenry.  Back in 1896, familiar names to Menasha history voted upon a resolution to put the matter to a public vote and the motion was not carried. 

Happy New Year, 1964!

December 31, 1963, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Once again we bring you a Menasha Blog tradition, the New Year's parade of little ads from local businesses offering good wishes for the coming year.  The latter portion of 1963 was especially sad and tragic, so the country looked forward to 1964 with restored hope that the new year would bring hope and prosperity and the best of everything.  A little four piece band from England spent the next year pretty much taking the worldwide spotlight and, with all that attention, gave us all a respite from our sorrows and troubles.  And, oh yes, (or should I say yeah, yeah, yeah) some pretty good music for the ages.