Time Machine Trip to December 1960

 

Kaukauna Times - December 1960

By Lyle Hansen

December 7, 1960

Kaukauna’s building has exceeded $1.5 Million mark for the first time. In 1952 and 1956 the mark was almost reached but 1960 it was achieved. The figures were released this week by city assessor Luther Kemp. Commercial building was mainly responsible with many industries adding on additions. Home building permits in 1960 were four more than 1959. The greatest numbers of new homes were built on the south side of the city.  

December 7, 1960

The Menasha Bluejays defeated the Kaukauna Ghosts 48-40 in the home opener.

December 9, 1960

The Combined Locks Paper Company announced this week that they would make $15,000 available for the new wing to the Kaukauna Community Hospital. The pledges to date have reached $193,840.

December 14, 1960

THE KHS CROSS COUNTRY team for 1960 is pictured above with their coach shortly after they were presented with their letters for the past season. Left to right in the back row are Coach Harold Kobin, John Whitman, Norman Eppinger, Joe Mayerl, Dick Spaulding, voted the most valuable team member, and Leigh Wachel. In the front row, Jim Zuelzke, 1960 team captain, Pete Kahler, Larry Woldt, Mickey Thompson, 1961 captain-elect, Mark McAndrews and Jeff DeBruin, manager.   

 

The KHS student council with the help of advisor Thomas Kissinger will sponsor the annual Christmas Dance; this year entitled “Peppermint Dreamland”. The event will be held Saturday 8 to 11pm. in the KHS gymnasium. The Modernairs will furnish the music.

 

December 16, 1960

Kaukauna’s snow less winter so far this year is a boom for motorist and the Mailman, but a sad time for Joe Schouten.  Mr. Schouten, the proprietor of a fuel oil business, has been offering a chance for a lucky person to get their winter’s fuel for free if they are closest in guessing the first snowfall. “The ads in the Kaukauna Times are costing more than the free oil”, he lamented, but stayed true to his bargain. A few flakes have come down now and then but it must be enough to track a rabbit. Last year the contest, which always starts in October, lasted one week. When will the first snow fall be this year?

 

December 21, 1960

Robert Roloff was elected the first president of the newly formed Kiwanis Club of Kaukauna at the organizational meeting held on Thursday.  Other officers elected include Joseph Walsh, vice president; Elton Rice, treasure and Raymond Nehrlich, secretary.  The club was sponsored by the Appleton Kiwanis Club.

 

December 23, 1960

A new high in the number of telephones in service at Kaukauna was announced by R. J. Kuehn manager of Wisconsin Telephone Company. The present total of phones is 3952, an increase of 127 over 1959.

Selections for All Conference team honors. Left to right Jim Steger, Pete Bachhuber, Gary Nowack, Bruce Bay, Doug Ludvigsen, Dennis Burns, Bruce Ludke, Ken Kavanaugh, Bob Wurdinger, and Myron Zachowski.

 

Kaukauna football fans will be pulling for the Green Bay Packers to win the World championship against the Philadelphia Eagles this Monday in Pennsylvania. Vince Lombardi coach of the team evaluated the team as “A good team but not a great team” last September. The team has grown in stature through the season. It is now looked upon as the best-balanced team in football. The Eagles coach Lawrence Shaw will be quitting this year after a long career. Their quarterback Norm Van Brocklin has also announced this will be his last game. The $10 and $8 seats have been sold out and few others remain. Winning players are expected to receive about $6000 and losers about $4500.

December 29, 1960

The Green Bay Packers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 13 to 17 in the 1960 National Football League Championship game in Pennsylvania. The Packers out gained the Eagles 401 to 296 yards and had 22 1^st downs to the Eagles 13.  Coach Vince Lombardi stated that his decision to go on fourth down on several occasions deep in Eagles territory rather than attempting field goals. “When you get down there, come out with something. I lost the game not my players.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time Machine Trip to December 1950

 

Kaukauna Times - December 1950 

By Lyle Hansen

December 1, 1950

Quick thinking five-year-old twin brothers prevented a near-tragedy last Friday afternoon. Ronald and Donald Straus and their brother Milo, 8, were playing on the ice of the river when without warning the ice cracked and Milo slipped into the water. The twins grabbed the hands of their brother and after two attempts pulled him to safety.

Private First-Class Robert Agen of Kaukauna has been recommended for the Presidential Citation for heroic action in Korea. In a letter home he told of his field artillery battalion being trapped by the North Koreans and Chinese forces. The fighting, some hand to hand, lasted about 3 hours before the enemy was driven back.

 

Completing the list of 16 boys employed by the Kaukauna Times as carriers is Jack Schuh of Oviatt street. At the time of the pictures Jack was in the hospital recuperating for an appendectomy.

 

December 6, 1950

PFC. Clayton Arnoldussen, who was wounded on 1 September in Korea arrived Friday night to spend a 45-day leave with his parents on Dodge Street.

Ghost Co-captains are ready for tonight’s opener. John Diestler passing the ball and Ken Roloff, on defense, have been the two chief scoring threats this year.   

 

December 8, 1950

Sergeant John W. Peterson, Ninth Street, Kaukauna, has been transferred to the Percy Jones Army Hospital at Battle Creek, Mich. He is working as an assistant in the hospital diet kitchen. 

 

December 13, 1950

Sergeant William P. McCormick, Jr. Lincoln Avenue, Little Chute, who was serving with the First Marine Battalion in Korea has been wounded in action and is now aboard a Naval hospital ship. He received a bullet wound to the abdomen and his condition is reported as serious.

 

December 20, 1950

Three of the five ice skating rinks in Kaukauna are now open. They are located at Park and Nicolet schools and at Reichel’s pond near the ballpark.

 

Phil Haas, former Lawrence College cager and now a center with the Athletic Club, banged home 36 points to set a new high individual scoring record. Haas broke a record set by Ray Heim here in 1946.

 

December 28, 1950

Chief of Police Harold Engerson told the Rotary meeting at the Hotel Kaukauna dining room yesterday of the unsung mark done by the Police Department. He said the six-man force in Kaukauna made over 1700 investigations in 1949.  He mentioned that there were 76 miles of roads and streets within the city limits and it was hard to do all the police work necessary with only two men on duty each eight-hour shift. Engerson said that the surrounding towns of size comparable to Kaukauna have as many as 20 policemen in their police departments.

 

Jerry Kobussen, 6, Tobacnoir street, Kaukauna, suffered fractures to both legs when he was struck by a car at 3:00 o'clock Sunday afternoon near the intersections of Lawe and Tobacnoir Streets. Jerry was crossing the street on his way home from a movie and the car was traveling south on Lawe St when the mishap occurred.

 

James Otte is the top scorer in the grade school league after three games. Otte of Holy Cross topped the individual scores with 39 points. Joe Van Linn of St. Mary’s is second with 31 points and Bruce Kemp of Lutheran is in third place with 24 points. 

 

DECEMBER BRIDES – 1950

Time Machine Trip to December 1940

 

Kaukauna Times - December 1940

By Lyle Hansen

December 4, 1940

Coach Guy Krumm’s high school cagers scored and easy 33 to 13, win over Waupaca here Friday night for their second win of the season. 

Top row, left to right: Lloyd Wink, F. Zirbel, W. Stanette, James Helf, Frank Giordana, J. McGowan. Middle row: Kenneth Reinholz, William Knapp, Cal Spice, Mr. Krumm, R. Johnson, William Van Dyke, John Ryan. Front row: Carl Giordana, William Tessin, William Alger, Karl Swedberg, captain, Willis Ranquette.

The NYA program has received word from Washington Tuesday giving permission to employ 17-year-old youths on the out of, schoolwork program, who have graduated from high school.

December 6, 1940

Miss Mary Faust, Grignon street, was named Miss Merry Christmas in the popular contest concluded Wednesday noon. She received a total of 692,000 votes in the contest conducted by the Kaukauna Advancement association. Dorothy Zink received second with 428,000.  Miss Faust will ride on the lead float in the Santa Claus parade. Besides this honor she will receive a cash prize of $3.00.

Sergeant Gene Winn, one of the members of the 120^th Field Artillery band, at Camp Beauregard, La., writes the Times. There are four Kaukauna fellows in our unit, Pfc. Loyal Belongea, James Mayer, Richard Hoehne and me.

December 11, 1940

The air minded Green Bay Packers made three trips by plane to New York, Detroit and Cleveland, this season, and Coach E. L. Lambeau, and his players are thoroughly sold on the air route.

December 13, 1940

 

Kaukauna Deer hunters are successful.

 

Gun accidents of the current hunting season will exceed 80, a drop of about 20 from the 1939 season.

Two ice rinks will be constructed in the city. One rink will be at the Park School playgrounds and the other at Nicolet School playgrounds.

December 18, 1940

Although the Packers were not in the championship playoff this year, the team members will get a good-sized Christmas present as their share of the cut which went to the second-place teams in each division. According to figures the members of the Green Bay and Brooklyn teams will divide a pot of $4,456.45.

December 24, 1940

Generation of power in the new $600,000 hydroelectric power plant will begin Friday, according to an announcement received this morning from H.F. Weckwerth, general manager of the electrical and water departments. Work on the project was started two years ago. The plant will permit development of 100 percent of the waterpower in the Fox River at this point over that which was used for navigation. The plant is designed to develop 2,400 kilowatts of electricity at the present time, if there is an outlet for more power; it can ultimately develop 5,600 kilowatts.

December 27, 1940

A group of 13 Boy scouts of Valley Council left Thursday for Gardner Dam Camp to spend five days. Included in the group were three from Kaukauna, Tom and Dick McCarty and Jim Gustman.

 

 

Time Machine Trip to December 1930

 

Kaukauna Times December 1930

By Lyle Hansen

December 9, 1930

Coal made up 84 per cent of the tonnage routed over the Fox River and according to N. Wightman, federal engineer. The tonnage was 325,734 valued at 1.5 million dollars.

 

Word received from Germany of the death of Mrs. Oscar Thilmany, widow of the late pioneer paper manufacturer of Kaukauna. The Thilmany family came to Kaukauna 45 years ago and Mr. Thilmany founded the Thilmany Pulp and Paper company, obtaining the old Doane and Hutchinson Mill in Kaukauna.

 

December 12, 1930

Work on leveling the proposed athletic field to the rear of the high school is progressing at a rapid pace, A crew of thirty men having been given jobs after registering with the unemployment committee. The work is being paid for by the city and the utility department.

 

December 16, 1930

 

Several new 1931 license plates have been noticed in Kaukauna.

 

Parents of the city are warned by the local police department not to allow their children to use the main traveled streets as coasting places. Chief McCarty pointed out that there are several side streets hills which might be utilized.

  

 Cold and snowy day at Kaukauna High School

 

December 19, 1930

Twenty-four hours after he had held up the Shiocton bank and escaped with $178.69, Cutis Herferd, 23, of Northport, was receiving a sentence of from 15 to 25 years in state prison. He was captured on a Northwestern train Wednesday morning; the bank was held up Tuesday at noon.

 

A party of hunters came through the valley with a robe covered figure in the back seat which they told gasoline station attendants was one of their party who had been shot to death in the woods. They were stopped at the state line for speeding and the real story came out. The body under the robe was a buck, one more than the law allowed.   

 

December 26, 1930

In Kaukauna as in other cities, unemployment during the depression seemed for a time to make a Christmas anything but happy for many residents, but remarkable work on the part of relief committees will no doubt make for a very happy holiday season. More than fifty baskets heaped high with foodstuffs and Christmas articles were distributed today.

 

December 30, 1930

A transient, who was arrested in Kaukauna Thursday night, was sentenced to seven days in the county jail in Appleton Friday after he was unable to pay the $10 fine.

Time Machine Trip to December 1920

 

Kaukauna Times - December 1920

By Lyle Hansen

December 3, 1920

The officers of the Moloch Company and the office force of the onetime Kaukauna Machine Works are feeling pretty well, for the good news has been given them that the Foundry building now being erected for the Moloch Company will be turned over to them fully completed by the 15th of January, the builders, the Ludolf M. Hansen Construction Company, having the work advanced to the point where the end is now in sight. Two weeks later, or on the first of February, the Hansen Company will have the Machine Shop completed, enabling the Moloch Company to move in and begin production of their various products.

The First National Bank of this city has completed the details of purchase from the August Mill estate of the NE corner building on Main Avenue and Third Street which at present is the Verfurth Shoe store and the Farmers and Merchants Bank. 

 

December 10, 1920

John Coppes stands a fine chance to receive a check for $120,000 provided he complies with the certain conditions. Our gentile neighbor has just received word from Madrid, Spain to the effect that he could have the funds bequest which belongs to the writer an unfortunate prisoner in a Spanish dungeon. Mr. Coppes was asked to pay the fees of the Registrar of the Court mentioned in the letter the sum of $60,000 and the balance of the check would be his to keep.  He said he received the same offer last year, but the sum was somewhat less.

 

The Times suggests that the city council changed the name of one of the much-traveled streets on the south side to Kangaroo Ave. Stretches of the concrete sidewalks require a person who jumped from one section of sidewalk to another to avoid the mud.    

 

December 14, 1920

The girls’ 1920-21 basketball team of Kaukauna High School played at West High School, Green Bay on Friday December 10th. The game resulted 6 to 0 in favor of Green Bay. Even though this, their first game was lost, they hope to defeat the De Pere team next week. The following girls represent Kaukauna: Top row left to right - Mildred Kern, Helen Guilfoyle, Miss Boettcher, Odanah Hahnemann and Martha Van Abel. Bottom row - Lorraine Thelen, Ada Grebe, and Olive Jacobson. 

December 21, 1920

Editing the newspaper is a nice thing. If we publish jokes, people say we are rattle-brained. If we don’t, we are fossils. If we publish original matter, they say we do not give them selections. If we give them selections, they say we are too lazy to write. If we don't go to church, we are heathens if we do go, we are hypocrites. If we remain in the office, we ought to be out looking for news items. If we go out, then we are not attending to business. If we wear old clothing, they laugh at us, if we wear good close, they say we have pull. Now what are we to do just as likely as someone would say we stole this from an exchange. So, we did.

 

The Dynamite Specials played the hometown Mulford Clothing Boys basketball team Thursday evening. The team failed to explode proving to be a dud as the Mulford’s emerged from the conflict with a 7 to 4 victory.  

 

Burglars entered the Royal Clothing store on Wisconsin Avenue last Tuesday evening and made a successful getaway, obtaining loot to the value of several hundred dollars’ worth of merchandise. The robbery was discovered the next morning when the store was opened. The window in the rear of the building was forced open to gain access.

 

December 24, 1920

Our first real snowstorm of the winter began last night and continued throughout the day has given us all the real Christmas feeling. The snow put an end to the disagreeable clouds of dust from the streets.

 

   

Time Machine Trip to December 1910

 

Kaukauna Times - December

By Lyle Hansen

December 2, 1910

Operations were commenced Monday tearing out parts of the Kaukauna Fibre plant to rebuild portions of the interior and to build an entire new chip bin which is located at the top of the building. One side of the pulp mill was found in an unsafe condition and this will be replaced by new work.

 

December 9, 1910

John G. Fechter, the hustling merchant of the White Front on Wisconsin avenue, who is always a firm believer in progressiveness and up-to-date business methods, has set the pace for local merchants by installing electric arch lights in front of his store to brighten and enliven the avenue for the holiday season.

 

Owing to the forest fires that swept many portions of northern Wisconsin last summer, Christmas trees this year will be pretty scarce. There will be few desirable trees on the market this holiday season for less than forty or fifty cents each.

 

December 16, 1910

According to the Chicago Tribune, which has been keeping tab on football casualties, a total of fourteen dead and forty seriously injured was the price paid for football by its followers during the season just closed.

 

December 23, 1910

For the first time in over eight months the mills on the Fox River received word last Friday afternoon that until further notice they would be permitted to use the full flowage of the river or 100 percent. With permission to use the full flow of the river the mills will be able to run full force and will save hundreds of tons of coal a day.

 

The contract for the building of a dam in Combined Locks was awarded to O’Keefe Orbison Engineering Company. Work will begin as soon as the ice clears in spring. The cost of construction is estimated between $90,000 and $100,000. The new dam will replace the wood and stone structure now in place. The dam will provide seven steel gates to control flow of water. 

 

December 30, 1910

The Thilmany Pulp and Paper Company has purchased the Grignon flats and will erect a new $250,000 pulp mill in the very near future. The Thilmany Company now owns the land on both sides of the government canal, which indicates the great growth this company is experiencing at present. Construction of the new plant will commence within a few weeks.

 

Cutting Ice on Lake Winnebago - 1910

Peter Renn, the ice man, began cutting and delivering new ice from the government stone quarry this week. The new congealed aqua squares are about ten inches thick.

By almost a unanimous vote, the citizens of Kaukauna decided Tuesday to purchase the local plant of the Kaukauna Gas, Electric Light and Power Company and convert it into one of municipal ownership. The question of the purchase of the plant was submitted to a vote of the people at a special election held for that purpose, and the result came to be 552 for and 52 against the purchase.

                                              The Fox Club