Fashion Show

October 6, 1962, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern

1962 brought to town what the well-dressed local police officer would be wearing while fighting crime and enforcing the law.  It's a definite mid-century police issue, complete with that "Sam Browne" belt.  Today, the belt has been relegated to ceremonial use, if at all, in police forces nationwide.  Safety issues have rendered the belt obsolete because the vertical design of the belt could enable others to gain physical control of law enforcement officers in an altercation.  But seeing that belt definitely says "police."

National Downtown Week

October 23, 1964, Twin City News-Record

The News-Record highlights some 1964 improvements in area stores to improve their images and optimize the chances of people to shopping there.  There is only so much a new coat of paint can do but it is a necessary first step in improving the "optics' as they tend to say around my office.

Newest Addition

October 1, 1954, Appleton Post-Crescent

Located at 408 Water Street, this restaurant was a mainstay in the downtown for years.  Even after it ceased to be Alex's, the address operated under other names and owners for many decades.  But missing from this ad is the inebriated fish holding a martini glass, which became the restaurant's primary logo in subsequent years.  

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