Table Of ContentTHE Posr-CRESCENT
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CELEBRATE APPLETON
PRESENTED BY THE POST-CRESCENT
APPLET~ N
1907100 2007
YEARS
( Thrivent Financial for Lutherans·
Let's thrive:
THE POST-CRESCENT
www.oostcrescent.com
Without the right people in the right places, a work of this magnitude doesn't happen. We were fortunate to have those people in those places for this project.
Foremost, the good folks of Appleton, Wis., deserve a pat on the collective back. More than 600 photos were received, and as you page through this book,
you'll see that most of them were used.
Many photos came from familiar sources: Outagamie County Historical Society, Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton Police Department, Appleton Fire
Department and Lawrence University. But the readers of The Post-Crescent responded to our call for their historic photos in a big way.
Those who submitted photos for this book arc:
Ralph E. Dorn, Chester E. Steiner, .Marsha Brewer, Jean Long Manteufel, Scott Firgcns, Kiwanis Club of Appleton, Clyde Stephenson, AI Ingalls, Terry
Van Domelen, William Briggs, Outagamie County Historical Society, Bonnie Buchanan, Appleton Fire Department, Lawrence University, Paul and Sue Dalla,
Rad Radke, Richard Groth, Thomas A. Greunke, Kathy Hurley, Rebecca Mai, Frank R. Kappell, William Roberts, Lawrence Bell, Linda Fleischman, Betty
Wolfgram;
Mr. and Mrs. RobertS. Ferron, Kristin Stahl, Dick and Sheila Brucks,Jcannie Pierri Bricc,Joan Sorenson, Rosemarie DeBruin, Nancy Spencer, Carl and
Marie Heinritz,Janis Ruffolo, Elaine Peterson, Chris and Ann Sager, Marilyn Anunson, Ralph andjean Zoromski, Delores Buchberger, Butch Kunitz, Marilyn
Robinson, Barbara Hirn, Marlys Fritzell, League of Women Voters of Appleton;
Marcia Hittle, Richard Bartmann, Harold Clark, Bernard Schoettler, Christine Hartman, Caroline Sigl, Patricia Macs, Carla Clapp,Janet Verstegen,
Patricia Verbrick Kuehl, Julia Stringfellow, Ethel Semrow Schulze;
J.
Lucille Vandertic, Mary Biesc, Betty Dunsmore, St. lVIary of the Seven Dolars, Mrs. Audry Kies, Fox Valley Technical College, Bill Recker, Ted Daelke,
Delores Brinkman, N. Brian Zenefski, Kay Forton, Bob Armstrong, Peter L. Thiel,Jon Zuleger, Donna Glaser, Wesley Bevers,Jim Krueger, Ann Witherell;
Michael G. Ballard,] on Riehle, Brian Zenetski, Lynn A. filler, Brad Brautigam, Reid Golf Course, Nancy Quinn, Appleton Police Department, Bob
Steenis, Gary Schier!, Don Rando, Rita Kugler, The Perkins Family, Donna Wilson, Harold and Cindy Haak.
Sadly, not all of the photos that we received were published in this book. Some were duplicative. Some wouldn't have reproduced well on these pages. And
still others had to be omitted for space purposes; in a book that attempts to show 150 years of life in a community, some chapters had to come to an end earlier than
the amount of material would have suggested.
Several Post-Crescent staffers deserve mention. Jaime Lang, the newspaper's market development manager, worked tirelessly to help Pediment Publishing
get needed material, working as a liaison with The P-C's Information Center. Jaime was a member of the Appleton Sesquicentennial Committee.
Bonnie Lutzewitz, a multimedia specialist in The P-C's Information Center, was instrumental in making this project happen. Understanding the
newspaper's photo archives is part of her job, but for this book, Bonnie went above and beyond the call of duty to secure printed photos and newspaper pages.
The corporate sponsors of this project- Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Appleton, and The Post-Crescent-have a strong presence and an equally
strong history in this community. vVhcn some of the city's major partners work together to present such a wonderful and rich history of the community, we all
benefit.
Finally, thanks go to the City of Appleton, and Mayor Tim Hanna, for being such helpful and enthusiastic partners. The city has much to be proud of in its
!50th year, and has worked beautifully with its civic and commercial colleagues in assembling a year's worth of sesquicentennial events and celebrations.
Copyright© 2007 • ISBN: 978+ 59725-096-2
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner or the publisher.
Published by Pediment Publishing, a division of The Pediment Group, Inc. www.pediment.com Printed in Canada.
Foreword ................................... 5
The 1800s .................................. 7
The Early 1900s ....................... 17
The 1920s ................................ 37
The 1930s ................................ 53
The 1940s ................................ 67
The 1950s ................................ 85
The 1960 & '70s ...................... 111
The 1980 & '90s ..................... 125
A New Century ..................... 139
orewor
The people. They have made Appleton so special over the course the men and women who make it work. As you page through these
of 150 years. photos, their faces and lives are evident. They line College Avenue for
We can - and should- reminisce about the places and the the parades and festivals. They attend Common Council meetings
buildings and the events and the news events. l\!Iuch of our collective and church services. They cheer for their kids at prep football games,
lives revolve around the experiences we've shared. community theater productions and Christmas concerts.
\ Ve can - and will- haggle over the wisdom of closing They show up in large numbers to vote about issues that make
South Oneida Street in the early 1980s, and we can thump our chests a difference, and they wear their hearts on their sleeves when national
about the beautiful Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. campaigns pay a visit.
We can remember what Goodland Field was like in its heyday, They teach their sons and daughters how to ride a bicycle. They
and we can fondly recall the July 4 fireworks shows at Pierce Park. keep company with the community band, and they help raise money for
Appleton was a smaller city back then, the hub of the growing unending lists of worthy community causes.
Fox Cities. But despite the difference in boundaries, our city's people They understand that the Appleton of 2007 is a changing
have been the beat of consistency, the one thing upon which we can rely. community, quite different than the Appleton of their childhood. The
The way we talk, or the way we show up for work every clay. borders of the city have changed, and so have the downtown storefronts.
The way we pull together for a common cause, or the way we (\tVe used to have angle parking on College Avenue, you know.)
rally around the Flag Day Parade. That we're celebrating Appleton's I 50th birthday speaks volumes
The way we throw a party for Octoberfest, or the way we cherish for the city's early settlers. While they could not have known how this
the education we give to our children. city would evolve over the decades, they must have had a strong sense of
The way we take pride in our neighborhoods. The way we care place and a stronger sense of pride and accomplishment in watching its
for each other, and keep the streets clean and safe. birth. They must have known they had started something special, when
The way we worship, and the way we often put our differences they saw how early Appletonians responded to the challenges of the day.
aside for the greater good. That spirit lives on, 150 years later.
The way we make progress. It was the people then, and it's the people today.
The people of Appleton are what make the city so special. You Happy birthday, Appleton.
can visit any number of similar-sized cities across America, and view
their architectural and cultural history through their streets, business Dan Flannery
districts and neighborhoods. That's the easy part. Executive editor
But the heartbeat of any community pumps in the chests of The Post-Crescent
5
Pre-Civil War America was torn between the euphoria of exploring formed Board of Public Works planned a city sewer system.
and expanding a young nation's vast natural wealth and the divisive One of Appleton's early developmental landmarks was an ordinance
dilemma betvveen freedom and slavery. passed by city fathers that sidewalks must be a minimum of six feet wide
Wisconsin settlers were quickly transforming a wooded wilderness "owing to the ladies' hoops.
where wild animals freely roamed into a civilized habitat where commerce, "Six feet is rather narrow judging by what we have seen on tl1e avenue,
education, religion and the arts could flourish. namely a gentleman hugging tl1e doorstep of a store to let two ladies pass on
As a representative of the U.S. government, '1\fisconsin Territorial a 12-foot walk," reported the local newspaper, the Crescent, a forerunner of
Governor Henry Dodge purchased about 4 million acres of northeastern today's Post-Crescent.
Wisconsin from native Indians on Sept. 3, 1836. Several businesses can trace tl1eir roots to the early days of Appleton's
A community sprang up around a frontier school started in 1849 history.
by wealthy Boston businessmen and ardent Methodist ministers. First Conkey's Bookstore, a downtown College Avenue landmark, was
incorporated as a village on a wooded bluff above the Fox River in 1853, founded by P.M. Conkey in 1896 and is the state's oldest independent
Appleton - with a population of about 2,000 - became a city on May 2, bookstore. St. Elizabeth's Hospital was established in 1899.
1857.
"Appleton" was the surname of several prominent figures in Boston
and the municipality's name is said to honor Samuel Appleton, who gave
a generous $10,000 endowment for a library at tl1e fledgling Lawrence
University.
Appleton's infrastructure developed rapidly despite the Civil War that
ravaged the young country. The Chicago- orthwestern Railroad extended
service to Appleton beginning Feb. 27, 1861, and the Lawrence (Fire)
Engine Company was formed in 1863. Two years later, the Appleton City
Gas LighL Company was incorporated.
'Vhen the Civil \ Var ended, Wisconsin had supplied the federal service
with 91,379 men, of which approximately 11,583 died ofbattle wounds or
disease.
Wisconsin men fought in every southern state except Florida and tl1eir
honorable service prompted Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman to say that he
"estimated a \tVisconsin regiment equal to an ordinary brigade."
Streetcar service in Applclon began in 1866 and 20 years later a newly
• LEFT: View of the city f1·om the Upper Dam, ci1·ca 1887.
Conrlesv of Ralph aud Jean Zoromski
• RIGHT: Dedication of Main Hall at Law1·ence University, 1854.
Cour/esv of Lawt·ent·e Univet·sii!J
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