Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Time Machine Trip to January 1956

Hello Fellow Time Travelers,

It’s that time again to fire up the old “Time Machine Chair” and make a trip back in time.

Today my cousin David Grissman is sitting in the driver’s seat. The big wheel is spinning and the years are clicking back. In no time we are back to Kaukauna’s south side.  We are out front of the Kaukauna Times on Main Avenue.

We are now in January of 1956.    

·         The year 1955 had large increase in phones.
·         Police get a new car.
·         Kaukauna was second in the nation in polio 1955

For the music lovers, the top song on the Hit Parade this month is:

          Heartbreak Hotel – Elvis Presley









Carl Hansen, the publisher, has left the newspapers for us by the front door of the Kaukauna Times. Let’s see what’s in the news this month.  There are great pictures in this month’s edition. 


Your old news man – Lyle


January 4, 1956
Kaukauna's economic life experienced several significant changes during 1955. The two biggest business transactions of the year for the purchase of the Kaukauna Machine Corporation by Giddings and Lewis of Fond du Lac and the buying of the Badger Tissue Mills by the American Linen Supply Company. The latest innovation at the Thilmany Pulp and Paper Company came last week with the announcement of plans to install a new paper machine which will be known as Number 12.

The year 1955 rounded out a 10-year period of telephone growth since World War II unparalleled in Kaukauna history. Approximately 3100 telephones were in service year as the year ended. That total is some 250 more than last year in comparison with 1430 telephones in service at the end of World War II. 

The Kaukauna Community Hospitals first baby of 1956, David Philip Vander Velden, whose parents reside on Buchanan St., Little Chute, checked in just two hours and 20 minutes after 1955 became history. As has been the tradition in Kaukauna the merchants of the city have banded together to give the little fellow a real welcome in the form of a variety of gifts.
Polio played a dominant part in Kaukauna's 1955 chronology, both through the introduction of the anti-polio Salk vaccine and through the polio epidemic, which swept through Kaukauna and the entire Outagamie County during the past summer.

January 6, 1956
Two Kaukauna area boys, Dave Zwick of Kaukauna and Russell Bishop of Sherwood will be in boxing competition Saturday night at a Moose Lodge sponsored amateur boxing show at the Riverside ballroom in Green Bay. Zwick will be one of four featured fighters in the heavyweight windup of the show. Zwick is a member of the Kaukauna fighting Zwick family.

January 11, 1956

One of the principal items taken into consideration in purchasing the new police car, according to police chief Harold Engerson, was to make the auto look like a police car. The contrasting black and white coloring with the black “Police” lettered on it makes it easily to identify, according to the chief. Another advantage is the red flasher which makes the car easily visible at a considerable distance and in poor visibility.

Mrs. Ed Feldman, Gertrude Street, sustained fractures of the leg and elbow in an automobile pedestrian accident Friday morning at the intersection of Draper and Gertrude Street's just in front of her home. Mrs. Feldman, who is blind, was attempting to cross the street with her guide dog, Duchess. The dog escaped injury. Earl John Seif, the driver of the car that struck Mrs. Feldman told investigators that she stepped in front of his auto and he was unable to stop quickly enough to avoid hitting her. Her condition is described as satisfactory by her physician following an operation.

Mark Nagan blasted a 269 game and a 648 series topping the members of the business bowling league at the S&B bowling alley on January 3.

January 13, 1956







After 40 years of administration to the spiritual needs of St. John's parish in Little Chute, the Rev. Msgr. John J. Sprangers has announced that he will retire as pastor of the congregation. The beloved priest, a long familiar figure in the village, celebrated his 82nd birthday on September 19, 1955.







Kaukauna can be reasonably sure of not having a polio epidemic next summer, Dr. George Behnke, city health officer said in a talk before the Kaukauna Lions Club Tuesday. “I'm not saying that there may not be a few cases,” he added “but I believe that the great part of our city's population is immune this year because of their exposure to the disease last year and because of the number of inoculations given here.” Kaukauna was the center of the second most severe polio academic last summer, only the Boston area having a greater incidence of the disease. In addition to the 43 cases (no deaths) in Kaukauna there were 18 cases and two deaths in the Kaukauna rural area.

Private Clayton Huss, son of Mr. Mrs. Peter Huss route two Kaukauna has been stationed at Inchon, Korea with the Army since November 1955. He operates a switchboard there. 

January 18, 1956
Another step toward the creation of the High Cliff area as a state forest park was taken on Thursday as Governor Walter Kohler signed a new bill authorizing the purchase of a 288-acre tract on the northeast shore of Lake Winnebago for $245,000. With the Gov.'s signature the park became a reality after close to 25 years of effort on the part of many area citizens. Chief among the promoters of the new park was Lewis F. Nelson, having been elected twice to the presidency of the organization promoting the project. Nelson, former Mayor of Kaukauna and president of the Farmers and Merchants Bank and Badger Tissue Mills spearheaded the campaign for the creation of the park. 

Joseph Bayorgeon Thursday morning indicated his intention to run again for the office of Mayor as he took out nomination papers from the office of the city clerk. Earlier this week incumbent City Attorney H. F. McAndrews also took out nomination papers.

January 20, 1956
 
There was a fine turn out of spectators at the annual Ice Carnival sponsored by the city recreation department Sunday afternoon, according to director Robert Vanevenhoven.  Due to a lack of entries five of the scheduled 13 events had to be canceled. Winner of the girls was Nannette Brenzel and the runner up where Janet Ball and Mary Schuh. In the 100-yard dash for boys and girls from 8 to 10 years of age the girl winners in order were Janet Reuter, Shirley Schuman, and Mary Sue Nimmer, while the boys were Dan Biese, Jim Rademacher and Bob Dix.  
 .

January 25, 1956
Mr. and Mrs. Leon Vanderloop route 3, Kaukauna, have been appointed to serve as co-editors of the Kaukauna High School Alumni News this year. The Vanderloops are 1945 graduates of Kaukauna High School.




To the editor: On Friday January 6, Mrs. Ed Feldman was struck down in a most unfortunate accident. Mrs. Feldman, though blind, felt that it was safe to cross the street as her leader dog accepted the responsibility of taking her across. A leader dog checks traffic and obeys the command “Forward” only when it is safe to cross the street. Mrs. Feldman reluctantly permitted her dog “Duchess” to be returned to the school at Rochester.   

January 27, 1956
Kaukauna’s globe-trotting member of the boxing profession, Phil Zwick, is still making sports headlines wherever he goes. In a column in the Vallejo, Cal. Newspaper, where he lives, he recalled his fight in 1941 for the featherweight championship bout in Milwaukee. “He told me he beat Petey Scalzo in the match but the referee interfered throughout the match even helping Scalzo to his feet in the 25th round.”  At the end of the bout he started to raise my hand but then raised Scalzo’s hand.” “Chairs began flying into the ring and it took six cops to get the ref out of the ring.”   

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