Book Description

It was my intention in this book to capture an older Oshkosh from those who lived it and from a few who, in their own artistic ways, are trying to retrieve it. It's a storybook journey of an Oshkosh of horse-drawn and electric streetcars, a city of unparalleled in women's fineries, and one that saw its future in aviation. You will travel through the topsy-turvy years of the Great Depression and of the war years that follow, and read the captivating story of an Oshkosh soldier whose experiences during that first year of the Korean War is a poignant reminder of who we are and what war is really like. You will read of businesses that once were and of some that still are; of people whose gifts and contributions to the city speak volumes in their behalf, and stories of sport teams and players that turn back the clock. You will run across such luminaries as William Waters, Carl Laemmle, Charles Lindbergh, Paul "Bear" Bryant, Roger Maris, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Gene Kelly, Houdini, Al Capone, George Bush, Bill Proxmire, Lawrence Welk, Guy Lombardo, "Minnesota Fats," and a few others whose names might bring back memories of your own. Each of these public figures, indirectly at least, have become part of this city's history.