Yesterday in La Crosse

Those pesky bugs returned for the summer…mosquitoes, 50 years ago June 11, 2021
In June of 1971, the La Crosse city council was back to debating the best way to control mosquitoes. Aldermen voted down a plan to resume the long-time practice of sending fog machines out on summer nights, and proposed an April referendum to let voters decide whether to continue fogging. A Tribune editorial predicted that […]
“Fangs” for the memories? A rock band meets a fan, 8 years ago June 8, 2021
In May of 2013, a couple eyebrows may have been raised when a man from Superior appeared in Judge Dale Pasell’s courtroom, and the judge was asked to order the man to stay away from rock bands called “American Fangs” and “Hollywood Undead.” Twenty-three-year-old Scott Mehtala said he thought he was in Superior, but he […]
We’re off to see the Wizard…at Oktoberfest? May 19, 2021
In 1994, La Crosse’s Oktoberfest chose a button design featuring a wizard and a crystal ball, emphasizing the “magic” of the 34-year-old festival. But one person from Coon Valley wondered where the heck a wizard fit into the fest. He wrote to the Tribune, complaining that Oktoberfest wasn’t German enough, and said associating a wizard […]
Viva Las Vegas! We play “21” with the King May 14, 2021
Elvis Presley was just 21 when he played his only concerts in La Crosse, two shows in one night at the old Mary E. Sawyer auditorium on May 14th, 1956. Twenty-one years later, in August of 1977, Presley died at his Graceland mansion in Memphis. Twenty-one years after the death of Elvis, the very first ‘Elvis Explosion’ […]
What do you call that big round thing with the tomato sauce on it? Pizza catches on in La Crosse, 60 years ago May 11, 2021
Pizza Hut, Pizza Villa, Pizza Ranch, Pizza Doctors. La Crosse has fallen in love—that’s “amore”—with the Italian delicacy of crust and sauce, cheese and toppings. In 1961, the Racquet newspaper at La Crosse State devoted a large article to the popularity of pizza in the U.S. Only about 500 pizza places existed in North America […]
Would the iceman cometh? Maybe not, 77 years ago May 6, 2021
For many La Crosse families in May of 1944, during World War II, the kitchen icebox was still literally an ice-box. Not an electric refrigerator. To keep their food cold, they needed deliveries from the iceman, especially in the summer. And the city was facing an ‘ice crisis.’ The war labor board had turned down […]
Time for the Safety Patrol trip to D.C., 47 years ago May 5, 2021
In May of 1974, more than 1000 young Safety Patrol members from Wisconsin schools went on the patrol’s yearly bus trip to the Nation’s Capital, and Gettysburg. There were 8 busloads of kids from La Crosse and Monroe Counties, and 3 buses from Prairie du Chien. During the ’74 visit, Prairie Safety Patrol supervisor Ruth Ryan presented […]
The old courthouse came tumbling down, 56 years ago April 28, 2021
Late in April of 1965, the domed courthouse in downtown La Crosse was demolished, after being used for 61 years. A new jail and courthouse had just been completed a block away, and the county had decided there was no reason to keep the old building around. The courthouse on what is now called Belle […]
Amuck, amuck, amuck…La Crosse city leaders in 1939 April 27, 2021
During the race for mayor of La Crosse in 1939, candidate Donald Lyden used the word “amuck” to describe the city’s taxing practices. He was one of six people running for mayor, and they all wanted lower taxes. That April, incumbent mayor C.A. Boerner was voted out, in favor of former mayor Joseph Verchota, who […]
A La Farge dam seemed like a good idea at the time, 50 years ago April 21, 2021
In the summer of 1971, about 500 people attended the ground-breaking for a new Kickapoo River dam project near La Farge. Just one protester spoke out at the ceremony. The plan to prevent flooding in the Kickapoo Valley had been proposed as early as 1937, and got Congressional approval in 1962. The $29 million dam was scheduled […]