Heileman went for a Blatz, 48 years ago

The Heileman Brewery of La Crosse was eager to buy Milwaukee’s Blatz Brewery in the summer of 1969.  Heileman offered $8.5 million for Blatz, competing with two other breweries, including Grain Belt of Minneapolis.  The local company argued that letting an out-of-state company purchase Blatz would be “adverse” for the state’s academy. 

In the late 60’s, many communities still sent fog machines out on summer nights, spraying a white cloud of pesticide to kill mosquitoes.  The La Crosse Tribune published notices, describing which part of town would be sprayed that night. 

The Apollo 11 astronauts had to spend several days in quarantine after their historic flight, but early tests indicated that the three men had not brought back any alien life from the moon.  On just one day, August 13th of 1969, astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins took part in a cross-country celebration of their feat, starting with a ticker tape parade in New York and ending with a dinner in Los Angeles.

And on August 8th of 1969, the Beatles took a stroll across a London street, for the cover of what would be their last album together.  A photographer took six poses of the band walking single-file across Abbey Road.  Forty-eight years ago, yesterday in La Crosse.