Wisconsin was bullish on family travel, 51 years ago

In March of 1969, the state’s lieutenant governor, Jack Olson, spoke to the La Crosse Tourist Activities Corporation about ways that the Badger State could attract more visitors from other places. Olson said there should be a stress on family activities, rather than taking a fishing trip where Dad goes fishing while Mom and the kids have little to do. Camping and snowmobiling were promoted by Olson as ways to get a family out, enjoying the outdoors.

Americans mourned the death of former President Dwight Eisenhower at age 78, following several heart attacks. The major TV networks devoted many hours of programming that weekend to recalling Eisenhower’s career in politics, and as the Allied Commander who won World War II.

Drive-in theater season was beginning in La Crosse. The North Star drive-in near I-90 opened in ’69 with four Boris Karloff monster movies. At the south-side Starlite Theatre, the opening shows were the western ‘5 Card Stud’ and the sexy space story ‘Barbarella.”

At the end of March, 1969, “Dizzy” by Tommy Roe was the #1 song in America. It would be followed at #1 by the 5th Dimension’s version of “Aquarius” from the musical “Hair,” yesterday in La Crosse.