Yesterday in La Crosse
Last orders at the Chop House, 39 years ago
The Chop House was a popular restaurant on 3rd Street in April of 1980, and had been in business since the late 40’s. But the First Bank of La Crosse owned the building, and planned to tear it down, so April 20th was announced as the last day of operation for the Chop House. Restaurant owner Henry Wright estimated that he had scrambled more than 100,000 dozen eggs for customers over the years.
Millions of Americans waited until the last minute to file their tax returns in 1980. The IRS estimated that nearly 7 million taxpayers would not file their forms until deadline day of April 15th. About 93 million tax forms for 1979 were expected by Uncle Sam.
At the Oscars in April of 1980, ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ won awards for best picture, and also for Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. Sally Field got her first Oscar for ‘Norma Rae.’ The popular TV detective show ‘Hart to Hart’ featured a guest appearance by an unknown Wisconsin native named Dan Travanti. But he wouldn’t unknown for long. A year later, Daniel J. Travanti would star as Captain Furillo on the police drama ‘Hill Street Blues’…yesterday in La Crosse.
