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Yesterday in La Crosse

One decade wasn’t enough for Mayor Pat, 34 years ago

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Around Christmastime of 1984, La Crosse Mayor Pat Zielke launched another re-election campaign, finishing up 10 years in the 6th floor office at City Hall.  Zielke said he was hoping to get a new hotel built downtown, in place of the vacant Sawyer Auditorium on Vine Street.

Municipal Judge John Perlich was interested in moving from City Hall to the courthouse next door.  The county was expanding its courts to include a 4th circuit.  Perlich won the April election for that new court. 

It was the first Christmas without Doerflinger’s in La Crosse.  The department store at 4th and Main had closed in May of ’84, after 103 years in business.

Viterbo hosted a Christmas show featuring ventriloquist Shari Lewis and her most popular puppet, Lamb Chop. 

And high on the record charts that holiday was “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go,” by Wham!  In 1984, yesterday in La Crosse. 




A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.

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