I Can't Stop Dancing

 July 3, 1924, Appleton Post-Crescent

Over the years, we've seen many references to the fine music and dancing available at Brighton and Waverly Beaches in the posts of this blog and in many Menasha groups on Facebook.   But until I saw this ad, I wasn't truly cognizant of the many other opportunities for amusement and entertainment around the Fox Valley.  Yes, it was the Roaring Twenties and the stereotypical flapper and jazz bands do come to mind while scanning this page.  And thankfully, the affordable and reliable trolleys that could take patrons for 5 and 10 cents a ride "every 30 minutes" had to be a boon as well for the local economy.

Smoking in the Boys Room

             .                                                  September 9, 1975, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

This story seems like an anachronism, considering how smoking has been mostly banished and burnished with a foul reputation nationwide.  But coming from an era when one could even smoke in hospitals for heaven's sake, it's no surprise that smoking would rear its ugly head for younger folk.  After all, one has to start smoking sometime and what better time to start when one was young and peer-pressured.  I began to "sample" my own Dad's smokes while a freshman in high school, so I can relate.  

Brighton Ball Park

 June 13, 1899, Appleton Crescent

Going back to yesterday's trash talk story between Menasha and Appleton, the article above, culled from the Menasha Breeze and presented by the forerunner to the Post-Crescent, describes the new ball park underway at Brighton Beach.  Of course, this being 1899, there was no photograph of the park, nor nary a drawing.  The story continues below.

                                                                                      June 15, 1899, Appleton Post

Brighton Ball Park and Trash Talk

 June 15, 1899, Appleton Crescent

You have to love the trash talk surrounding baseball, especially when the neighboring town decides your team isn't good enough to play.  Of course, most of this is coming from the Menasha newspaper at the time, the Breeze, but the Crescent gets its licks in as well.  Point of note...until I read this, I was not aware of a ballpark in the Brighton Beach area.  I must do further research on that.  

Ducks in a Row

August 27, 1979, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Despite the law breaking ducks, the remaining canards provide a relaxing tableau on a lazy summer evening for the casual observer.  

For a Good Time....

August 6, 1943, Menasha Record

Good solid food served at the Home Plate Bar, a long time Menasha institution.  Back in 1920, the location was listed as the John B. Weisgerber & Sons Grocers, but by 1939, it was listed as George's Tavern.  I've found references to a George Weisgerber, presumably one of John's sons, being the manager of the Twin Cities Gold Labels baseball team, so a bar that morphed into the Home Plate Bar would be a natural progression, wouldn't it. I remember the bar from my younger days and a more recent search indicates the bar, then known as Becks Home Plate, closed forever on July 1, 2014.

"Modern" Moms

August 3, 1967, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

Fun times at Jefferson Park, courtesy of the Menasha Rec Department.  I'd like to have seen the rolling pin throwing contest.  I presume this was just for distance, not at a target of the ol' ball and chain.  Still, it beats getting a hit on the head by a frying pan, as evidenced in every comic strip or cartoon at one time or another in regards to domestic marital life.  And lest you think I'm making light of domestic violence, oh no, I'm just highlighting an old stereotype of the shrewish housewife yielding dominance over the milquetoast husband,  You know the trope.