Who does fest the beste, La Crosse or Munich? A debate 54 years ago

In 1966, the police chief of Munich in West Germany visited La Crosse. Chief Manfred Schreiber was on a six-week tour of the U.S. Oktoberfest in Munich dates back to 1810, while La Crosse’s fest began in 1961, and officials here were worried about increased crime and disturbances during the celebration. Schreiber said there was fighting at the Munich Oktoberfest, but even thieves there would rather party than “work.”

An area man had given his name to a newly-discovered mountain in Antarctica. John Weihaupt was part of an Armed Forces group that explored mountains near the South Pole in 1959 and ’60. Weihaupt had family in the Dresbach area.

Jed Clampett met Dirty Harry, sort of, on a 1966 episode of “The Danny Kaye Show.” Danny’s guests one week included “Beverly Hillbillies” star Buddy Ebsen, and Clint Eastwood, who was finishing his run as Rowdy Yates on the TV Western “Rawhide.” Another Danny Kaye guest that week was an up-and-coming female Latin singer named Charo. Clint and “coochie-coochie” together in 1966, yesterday in La Crosse.