Yesterday in La Crosse
The city council was a popular club for men only, in 1963
Fifty-four years ago, La Crosse had a primary for the April city elections on the first week of March. Six candidates were challenging incumbent Mayor Milo Knutson, and several council races had primaries, too. Among the names on the March ballot who would become familiar faces in city government in later years were Allis-Chalmers worker Don Medinger, insurance agent L. Peter Groves, Mobil Oil employee Bob Johnson, and Bernie Maney, who worked at Ross Furniture as a salesman and color coordinator. David Hogue, the assistant dean of men at La Crosse State, also ran for council. The newspaper mistakenly identified Hogue as 88 years old.
The next presidential election was still 20 months away, but Republicans were eager to find a candidate to challenge President John Kennedy. They talked about drafting both Michigan Governor George Romney and Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, but both tried to discourage drafts. RNC Chairman William Miller predicted that his party would win the White House. Eventually, Goldwater did get the nomination, and had William Miller as his running mate, and they lost.
Ray Hutson Chevrolet was celebrating 10 years in business. You could buy a 1941 Dodge Truck from Ray Hutson for $125, and a 1955 Mercury convertible for almost $300. Hutson was located near the bridge, at 4th and Cass…now the location of Pischke Motors. But it was a Chevy dealer in 1963, 54 years ago, Yesterday in La Crosse.
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