Yesterday in La Crosse

Ten-four, good buddy…loving radios, 37 years ago April 15, 2021
By the spring of 1984, the CB radio fad may have been done, but special radios were still popular…especially police scanners, for people to listen to squad-car radios. Wettstein’s in La Crosse was selling a Bearcat scanner for $99. If you wanted a good car radio with a cassette player, you could buy a Clarion […]
These guys had “the right stuff,” 62 years ago April 13, 2021
In April of 1959, the introduction of America’s first seven astronauts was front-page news around the country, and especially for the La Crosse Tribune, which touted the selection of Sparta’s Deke Slayton for the Mercury program. At the time, Slayton was a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base. NASA declared that all seven men […]
Drink your milk, or else…52 years ago April 12, 2021
In the summer of 1969, it was against the law in La Crosse County to drink anything but milk during June Dairy Month. Okay, we think that was a joke, but the dairy celebration did swear in 18 ‘milk marshals’ at the Hotel Stoddard…including two local judges. The marshals reportedly swore to ‘arrest’ anyone caught drinking a […]
Happy Earth Day to you, or you can use another name April 9, 2021
The 22nd of April in 1970 was a big day for ecological awareness in the U.S. Walter Cronkite did a special report on CBS that night, talking about the very first “Earth Day” observed in America. La Crosse Mayor Warren Loveland issued an “Environmental Day” proclamation, in which he said the nation must find […]
Hank Aaron makes baseball history, 47 years ago April 7, 2021
On April 8th of 1974, viewers around the U.S. watched an early-season baseball game between the L.A. Dodgers and Hank Aaron’s Atlanta Braves. Aaron had tied Babe Ruth’s career record of 714 home runs, and fans wanted to see if he’d break the record that Monday night, which he did at the Atlanta stadium. When […]
We were in the spotlight for being under water, 20 years ago April 6, 2021
In April of 2001, the national media kept track of severe flooding on the Mississippi. For a couple of days, the focus was on La Crosse, as TV networks covered briefings by La Crosse public works director Pat Caffrey. The river crested in La Crosse on April 18th at 4 feet above flood stage, and […]
Why do you think they called daytime dramas “soaps”? April 5, 2021
Five-day-a-week soap operas were introduced on radio in the 1930’s, and then moved to television. An episode only lasted 15 minutes, until April of 1956. That’s when a pair of half-hour dramas debuted the day after Easter on CBS: “As the World Turns” and “The Edge of Night.” For years, the opening of “Edge” showed darkness falling on the skyline of […]
A close call for the president, 40 years ago March 30, 2021
It’s happened five times in American history…a president has been shot while in office. Abraham Lincoln was the first, in 1865. Then Garfield, and McKinley, and John Kennedy was killed in 1963. March 30th of 1981, Ronald Reagan had been president only two months. Gunfire broke out as Reagan was leaving a Washington hotel after […]
A head start for one candidate at Oktoberfest, 50 years ago March 22, 2021
One year before the ’72 presidential election, South Dakota Senator George McGovern visited La Crosse during the fall fest. At the time, McGovern was one of several Democrats challenging Republican President Richard Nixon for re-election. But McGovern would become his party’s nominee the following summer. McGovern toured the festgrounds for about 20 minutes, and gave […]
Some old buildings were getting attention, 15 years ago March 19, 2021
In early 2006, the city of La Crosse was ordering the demolition of a nearly century-old building next to the new Cameron Avenue bridge. The owners of Advanced Fiber Products on Cameron argued that the walls of the building were unstable because the two-year-old bridge was built only five feet away from the structure, said […]