Ninety air conditioners please…31 years ago

When the New Orleans Saints moved their training camp to UW-La Crosse in 1988, they were trying to escape the summer heat and humidity of Louisiana. As it turned out, the summer of ’88 was the city’s hottest on record up until that time. The dorm rooms where players, coaches, and reporters were going to stay on campus had no air conditioning. So, the Saints went shopping, and bought 90 Carrier air conditioners from W.A. Roosevelt in La Crosse. At $209 each, the total bill came to nearly $19,000.

The same week that the Saints came marching to UW-L, Democrats had a hot time in Atlanta, nominating Michael Dukakis for president. The Arkansas governor who gave a nominating speech for Dukakis, Bill Clinton, got the nomination at the party’s next convention.

Big summer movies in ’88 included “Big,” “Cocktail,” “Coming to America,” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” That was 31 years ago, yesterday in La Crosse.