April 15, 1880, Saturday Evening Press
Looking back, especially in this sesquicentennial year, it is easy to romanticize the past and overlook that everything wasn't always hunky dory in our fair city. It seems the criminal element can't be forgotten as far as the Twin Cities go. Curious that the Press writer believes it's an inside job and not attributed to outsiders. I wonder what he knows. Hmmm.
April 30, 1964, Oshkosh Northwestern (Neenah-Menasha Edition)
I understand the need for destruction in this case but find it a bit amusing the amount of ceremony that went into to it, to include this photo opportunity. As if the signing of the legal documents wasn't enough, we have photographic proof (sort of) of the final disposition of the unused bonds. Today, perhaps we'd just feed them into a shredder? And take a video of it with our cellphones.
April 10, 1964, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
I apologize for the bite someone took out of this photo but it still showcases how Menasha, once in a while, got a name brand guest speaker to entertain the students with a provocative presentation about love, sex, and marriage. And what could be more timely for high school students in the 60's than those topics? In a few short years, the decade would really start in earnest and all bets would be off. At the time of this photo, aside from The Beatles, it might just as well have been the 1950's. (With the demise of her venue as a regular part of people's routines, Miss Landers might have had a hard time getting a footing in today's newspaper-less media environment.)
April 5, 1965, Neenah-Menasha Daily Northwestern
Shades of the Harlem Globetrotters, this football-style exhibition on the Menasha High basketball court had to have been a tongue-in-cheek hit, knowing how beloved the Packers are (and were). And since we were all in on the joke, it made it even more of a fun time. Why, just look at the faces in the stands. Menasha had a long history of such antics, to include donkey basketball games and semi-pro softball exhibitions, such as The King and His Court. What fun!
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November 26, 1988, Appleton Post-Crescent
From an article devoted to the redevelopment of Main Street, comes this view we'll never see again. The then-recent demise of a local strip club led to much optimisim for redeveloping the downtown area. And as we all know, the block was razed eventually and an office building was built on the site.
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June 18, 1874, Saturday Evening Press
Menasha was justifiably proud of its new civic status as a city and nothing could have said it more than having a first class fire fighting oufit to serve the community. The new hook and ladder wagon undoubtedly looked much like the illustration below which was culled from the 1879 Chicago-based Caswell Fire Department Supply Company catalogue. The catalogue's title page states: "Fire Apparatus and Fire Department Supplies of Every Description." Kudos to the city fathers for having the wagon constructed locally. I'm sure the Caswell Company would have charged more than $358!
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June 25, 1874, Saturday Evening Press
Above, a warning to the miscreants who abuse the hospitality of the National Hotel. In other words, it's enough he can somewhat tolerate the layabouts and hangers-on within the property, he's not going to make their "stays" any easier by their pilfering. (See? Consuming this flowery 19th century language DOES pay off, lol.)