Lucey’s last-minute campaign visit…43 years ago

Just before the 1974 election, Wisconsin Governor Patrick Lucey spoke in the new North Hall of UW-L, now called Wimberly Hall.  Democrat Lucey was seeking a second term, and told students he could not support a tuition cut approved by the Board of Regents, because that would put more burden on taxpayers to fund the colleges, and they paid about three-fourths of the cost already.  Lucey accused Washington of putting American dairy farmers out of business, by permitting more imports of foreign dairy products.

Lucey won the election, but left office halfway through his second term to become U.S. ambassador to Mexico.  Republican President Richard Nixon had resigned that year, and it turned out to be a good election for Democrats.  Al Baldus unseated 7-term GOP Congressman Vernon Thomson in western Wisconsin.  Democrat Paul Offner became the new Assemblyman for La Crosse, Ed Nix was elected district attorney, and Russ Fiedler was the new La Crosse County clerk. 

The UW-L campus opened its new Fine Arts Building that fall with a big-scale production of “Hamlet” in the Toland Theatre.  At the La Crosse Community Theatre downtown, the run of “South Pacific” was extended.  And on the radio, Eric Clapton admitted “I Shot the Sheriff” in 1974…43 years ago, yesterday in La Crosse.